Dvalin
Encyclopedia
In Norse mythology
, Dvalin is a dwarf who appears in several Old Norse
tales and kenning
s. The name translates as "the dormant one" or "the one slumbering" (akin to the Danish
and Norwegian
"dvale" and Swedish
"dvala", meaning "sleep", "unconscious condition" or "hibernation"). Dvalin is listed as one of the four stags of Yggdrasill
in both Grímnismál
from the Poetic Edda
and Gylfaginning
from the Prose Edda
.
, Dvalin is mentioned as a name in the listing of dwarves, and again in a later stanza as a leader taking a host of dwarves from the mountains to find a new dwelling place:
In Hávamál
, Dvalin is said to have introduced the writing of runes
to the dwarves, as Dain
had done for the elves and Odin
for the gods
.
In Alvíssmál
, a kenning for the sun is listed as the "deceiver of Dvalin", referring to the sun's power of turning dwarves into stone. In skaldic poetry, "Dvalin's drink" is used as a kenning for poetry, since the mead of poetry
was originally created by the dwarves.
In Fáfnismál
, during a discussion between Sigurd
and Fafnir
concerning the minor Norns
(apart from the three great Norns), those who govern the lives and destinies of dwarves are also known as "Dvalin's daughters".
, Dvalin is one of a pair of dwarves (including Durin
) who forged the magic sword
Tyrfing
.
, an Icelandic short story written by two Christian
Priests in 15th century, Dvalin is the name of one of the four dwarves (including Alfrigg, Berling and Grer) who fashioned a necklace which was later acquired by a woman called Freyja, who is King Odin's concubine, after she agreed to spend a night with each of them.
took the name as Dwalin for one of the dwarves in The Hobbit
.
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
, Dvalin is a dwarf who appears in several Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
tales and kenning
Kenning
A kenning is a type of literary trope, specifically circumlocution, in the form of a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon poetry...
s. The name translates as "the dormant one" or "the one slumbering" (akin to the Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
and Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
"dvale" and Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
"dvala", meaning "sleep", "unconscious condition" or "hibernation"). Dvalin is listed as one of the four stags of Yggdrasill
Four stags of Yggdrasill
In Norse mythology, four stags or harts eat among the branches of the World Tree Yggdrasill. According to the Poetic Edda, the stags crane their necks upward to chomp at the branches. Their names are given as Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór...
in both Grímnismál
Grímnismál
Grímnismál is one of the mythological poems of the Poetic Edda. It is preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript and the AM 748 I 4to fragment. It is spoken through the voice of Grímnir, one of the many guises of the god Odin, who is tortured by King Geirröth...
from the Poetic Edda
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...
and Gylfaginning
Gylfaginning
Gylfaginning, or the Tricking of Gylfi , is the first part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda after Prologue. The Gylfaginning deals with the creation and destruction of the world of the Norse gods, and many other aspects of Norse mythology...
from the Prose Edda
Prose Edda
The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...
.
Poetic Edda
In the Poetic Edda poem VöluspáVöluspá
Völuspá is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. It tells the story of the creation of the world and its coming end related by a völva addressing Odin...
, Dvalin is mentioned as a name in the listing of dwarves, and again in a later stanza as a leader taking a host of dwarves from the mountains to find a new dwelling place:
- "The rocks they left, and through wet lands
- They sought a home, in the fields of sand"
In Hávamál
Hávamál
Hávamál is presented as a single poem in the Poetic Edda, a collection of Old Norse poems from the Viking age. The poem, itself a combination of different poems, is largely gnomic, presenting advice for living, proper conduct and wisdom....
, Dvalin is said to have introduced the writing of runes
Runic alphabet
The runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using letters known as runes to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialized purposes thereafter...
to the dwarves, as Dain
Dáin
Dáin or Dain can refer to: Dain is a name for male people*In Norse mythology:**Dáin, a dwarf from Völuspá**Dáinn, one of the four stags of Yggdrasill**Dáinn, an elf who introduced the runes to his race according to Hávamál*In J. R. R...
had done for the elves and Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
for the gods
Æsir
In Old Norse, áss is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in Norse paganism. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir...
.
In Alvíssmál
Alvíssmál
Alvíssmál is poem collected in the Poetic Edda, probably dating to the 11th century, that relates a conversation between Thor and a Dvergr called Alvíss .-Plot:...
, a kenning for the sun is listed as the "deceiver of Dvalin", referring to the sun's power of turning dwarves into stone. In skaldic poetry, "Dvalin's drink" is used as a kenning for poetry, since the mead of poetry
Mead of poetry
In Norse mythology, the Poetic Mead or Mead of Poetry , also known as Mead of Suttungr , is a mythical beverage that whoever "drinks becomes a skald or scholar" to recite any information and solve any question. This myth was reported by Snorri Sturluson...
was originally created by the dwarves.
In Fáfnismál
Fáfnismál
Fáfnismál is an Eddic poem, found in the Codex Regius manuscript. The poem is unnamed in the manuscript, where it follows Reginsmál and precedes Sigrdrífumál, but modern scholars regard it as a separate poem and have assigned it a name for convenience.The poem forms a more coherent whole than...
, during a discussion between Sigurd
Sigurd
Sigurd is a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. The earliest extant representations for his legend come in pictorial form from seven runestones in Sweden and most notably the Ramsund carving Sigurd (Old Norse: Sigurðr) is a legendary hero of...
and Fafnir
Fafnir
In Norse mythology, Fáfnir or Frænir was a son of the dwarf king Hreidmar and brother of Regin and Ótr. In the Volsunga saga, Fáfnir was a dwarf gifted with a powerful arm and fearless soul. He guarded his father's house of glittering gold and flashing gems...
concerning the minor Norns
Norns
The Norns in Norse mythology are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men, a kind of dísir comparable to the Fates in classical mythology....
(apart from the three great Norns), those who govern the lives and destinies of dwarves are also known as "Dvalin's daughters".
Sagas
In Hervarar sagaHervarar saga
Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks is a legendary saga from the 13th century combining matter from several older sagas. It is a valuable saga for several different reasons beside its literary qualities. It contains traditions of wars between Goths and Huns, from the 4th century, and the last part is used as...
, Dvalin is one of a pair of dwarves (including Durin
Durin (Norse mythology)
In Norse mythology, Durinn is the name of a dwarf attested in the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá and repeated in Gylfaginning from the Prose Edda. He was the second created after the first and foremost dwarf Mótsognir. He is also attested in Hervarar saga, where he forged the magic sword Tyrfing with the...
) who forged the magic sword
Magic sword
The term magic sword refers to any kind of mythological or fictional sword imbued with magical power to increase its strength or grant it other supernatural qualities. The archetype originated in myth and legend, and occurs regularly in fantasy fiction....
Tyrfing
Tyrfing
Tyrfing or Tirfing was a magic sword in Norse mythology, which figures in a poem from the Poetic Edda called Hervararkviða, and in Hervarar saga...
.
Sörla þáttr
In the Sörla þáttrSörla þáttr
Sörla þáttr is a short narrative from a later and extended version of the Saga of Olaf Tryggvason found in the Flateyjarbók manuscript, which was written and compiled by two Christian priests, Jon Thordson and Magnus Thorhalson, in the late 14th century.The narrative begins 24 years after the death...
, an Icelandic short story written by two Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Priests in 15th century, Dvalin is the name of one of the four dwarves (including Alfrigg, Berling and Grer) who fashioned a necklace which was later acquired by a woman called Freyja, who is King Odin's concubine, after she agreed to spend a night with each of them.
Modern influence
J. R. R. TolkienJ. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
took the name as Dwalin for one of the dwarves in The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
.