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dwarf

Dvalinn

A dwarf named often but never given a story: a leader of the dwarves in Völuspá, the carver of runes for the dwarves in Hávamál, father of some of the Norns, and the name of one of Yggdrasil's stags.

Dvalinn is one of the most often named dwarves in the Eddas, yet no story about him survives. Each mention is a single phrase, and together they suggest a figure of some importance.

Völuspá lists him among the first dwarves Völuspá 11, then speaks of "the race of the dwarfs in Dvalin's throng", who left the rocks to seek a home in "the fields of sand" Völuspá 14. In Hávamál, the speaker, Odin, says runes were carved for each race: "Othin for the gods, Dain for the elves, / And Dvalin for the dwarfs" Hávamál 144. In Fáfnismál the dying dragon says the Norns are of many births, some kin to gods, some to elves, "And Dvalin's daughters some" Fáfnismál 13; Snorri quotes the same idea Gylfaginning 15.

In Alvíssmál the dwarves' name for the sun is "The Deceiver of Dvalin" Alvíssmál 16. The poem does not explain it. Since the same poem ends with the dwarf Alvíss trapped by the sunrise — "The day has caught thee, dwarf!" Alvíssmál 35 — many readers guess at a lost story in which Dvalinn was tricked into staying out until dawn.

The name is used in other ways too. Dvalinn is one of the four harts that browse Yggdrasil Grímnismál 33. In Snorri's kennings, poetry is "the Drink of Dvalinn" Skáldskaparmál 3, from the story of the mead made by dwarves, and a Dvalinn rides a horse called Módnir in a list of famous horses Skáldskaparmál 57.

In the sources

Quoted from the hosted translations; each line is checked against the text when the site is built. Select a reference to read it in context.

The race of the dwarfs in Dvalin's throng Down to Lofar the list must I tell
Völuspá 14 Völuspá names a group of dwarves after Dvalinn, as if he led them.
Othin for the gods, Dain for the elves, And Dvalin for the dwarfs
Hávamál 144 Each race had its own rune-master; Dvalinn carved the runes for the dwarves.
Some to gods, others to elves are kin, And Dvalin's daughters some.
Fáfnismál 13 Some of the Norns are Dvalinn's daughters.
'The Deceiver of Dvalin' the dwarfs
Alvíssmál 16 The dwarves' name for the sun hints at a story, not told, in which the sun tricked Dvalinn.

Where the sources disagree or fall silent

  • 'The Deceiver of Dvalin' for the sun suggests a lost story, perhaps of Dvalinn caught out by daylight, as Alvíss is caught by the dawn at the end of Alvíssmál. This is a guess.
  • Whether the dwarf and the stag of the same name have anything to do with each other is unknown.
  • A late Icelandic tale, Sörla þáttr, names Dvalinn among four dwarves who made Freyja's necklace; that story is outside the Eddas.

In modern culture

Not from the medieval sources.

J. R. R. Tolkien took the names of most of the dwarves in The Hobbit (1937) from the Völuspá list; his Dwalin, one of Thorin's companions, is this Dvalinn.

Myths with Dvalinn

Odin on the tree: how the runes were won In Hávamál Odin tells how he hung for nine nights on a windswept tree, wounded with a spear and given to himself, without food or drink, until he seized the runes and fell back. It is the most famous passage in Old Norse poetry, and one of the most mysterious. Thor and the dwarf Alvíss A dwarf named Alvíss, 'All-Wise', comes to claim Thor's daughter as his promised bride. Thor agrees, if the dwarf can tell him what everything is called in every world, and keeps him answering until the sun comes up.

Related

Dwarves dvergar The underground smiths of Norse myth, made from the giant Ymir's flesh or blood; they forge the gods' greatest treasures, brew the mead of poetry, and fear the daylight. The four stags of Yggdrasil Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr, Duraþrór Four harts that browse the topmost branches of Yggdrasil; two of them share names with dwarves. The Norns nornir The female powers who fix the lives and deaths of gods and men: three named Norns by the well under Yggdrasil, and many lesser norns who come to every birth. Runes rúnar The letters of the old Germanic alphabets, used from about the 2nd century AD for inscriptions, and in myth the secret signs Odin won by hanging on the tree, carved for victory, healing and protection. Alvíss The dwarf who comes to claim Thor's daughter as his bride. Thor keeps him answering questions about the names of things in every world until the sun rises and catches him. Durinn The second of the dwarves in Völuspá, after Mótsognir; the dwarves were made in the earth 'as Durin said'. Tolkien borrowed the name. Mótsognir The first and mightiest of the dwarves in Völuspá, made when the gods decided to shape the race of dwarves; Snorri calls him Módsognir.