Seiðr Loom

dwarf

Eitri

The dwarf smith, Brokkr's brother, who forged the boar Gullinbursti, the ring Draupnir and Thor's hammer Mjöllnir; Brodeur's translation calls him Sindri.

Eitri is the smith in the story of the gods' treasures, Brokkr's brother. Readers of this site's text will not find the name: Brodeur's translation of Skáldskaparmál calls him Sindri throughout Skáldskaparmál 35. Most modern editions and translations use Eitri, and that is the name under which he is usually known.

The whole of his story is the forging contest (see The treasures of the gods: Sif's hair and Brokkr's wager and Brokkr). Loki bets his head that this dwarf cannot make three treasures as good as those of Ívaldi's sons. The smith lays a pigskin in the hearth and tells Brokkr to keep the bellows going; out comes a boar "with mane and bristles of gold" (Gullinbursti). Next he lays in gold, and takes out the ring Draupnir. Last he lays in iron, warning that it will be spoiled if the blast fails. Brokkr pauses for a moment to brush away a stinging fly, and the hammer Mjöllnir comes out with its fore-haft "somewhat short" Skáldskaparmál 35. He hands all three to his brother to take to Ásgard. Later, when Brokkr wants to sew up Loki's lips, he wishes for "his brother's awl", and it appears Skáldskaparmál 35.

The name Sindri turns up elsewhere. Völuspá has a golden hall in Niðavellir "for Sindri's race" Völuspá 37, and Snorri names a hall of red gold Sindri Gylfaginning 52. Some modern accounts use these passages to make Niðavellir the smith's home. The sources do not connect them.

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.

Now when they came to the smithy, Sindri laid a pigskin in the hearth and bade Brokkr blow
Skáldskaparmál 35 The smith begins the first of three treasures: a pigskin in the fire becomes a golden boar.
Then Sindri laid iron in the hearth and bade him blow, saying that it would be spoiled if the blast failed.
Skáldskaparmál 35 The third piece, the hammer, is nearly ruined when Brokkr stops blowing.
Then Brokkr said that it would be better if his brother's awl were there: and even as he named it, the awl was there
Skáldskaparmál 35 Even the smith's awl has power: it appears when named.

Where the sources disagree or fall silent

  • The hosted translation (Brodeur, 1916) names the smith Sindri; most modern editions and translations call him Eitri. The difference presumably goes back to the manuscript or edition Brodeur followed; this page does not try to settle which reading is older.
  • Sindri is also the name of a golden hall in Snorri (Gylfaginning 52) and of a race or kin in Völuspá 37; whether these are connected to the smith is unknown.

In modern culture

Not from the medieval sources.

In the God of War games (2018 onward) the dwarf smith Sindri, Brok's fastidious brother, is a major character.

Myths with Eitri

The treasures of the gods: Sif's hair and Brokkr's wager Loki shaves Sif's head, and to save his own skin sets two families of dwarf-smiths competing. The result is six treasures — golden hair, a folding ship, a spear, a ring, a golden boar and Thor's hammer — and Loki's lips sewn shut.

Related

Brokkr The dwarf who bet Loki his head that his brother could out-forge Ívaldi's sons, worked the bellows while a fly stung him, won, and sewed Loki's lips shut. Mjölnir Mjöllnir Thor's short-handled hammer, forged by the dwarf brothers Brokkr and Sindri: it never misses, always returns to his hand, kills giants, and hallows brides, pyres and the dead goats it brings back to life. Draupnir Odin's gold ring, forged by a dwarf, from which eight rings of equal weight drop every ninth night; Odin lays it on Baldr's pyre and Baldr sends it back from Hel. Gullinbursti Freyr's golden boar, forged by the dwarf Sindri. It runs through air and water faster than a horse and lights up the darkness with its bristles. Loki The giant-born trickster counted among the Æsir: father of Fenrir, the Midgard Serpent and Hel, contriver of Baldr's death, bound until Ragnarök. Sons of Ivaldi Ívalda synir Dwarf smiths who made three treasures for the gods: Freyr's folding ship Skíðblaðnir, Odin's spear Gungnir and Sif's golden hair. 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. Niðavellir A place named once in Völuspá, where a golden hall stands for 'Sindri's race'; modern lists often make it the dwarves' world, which the sources do not quite say.