2nd Search (Mythologies)

8/13/2019 2nd Search (Mythologies)

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1. Chinese Mythology

KUI XING (KUEI HSING,CHUNG KUEI)

An ugly dwarf in Chinese popularmythology who was discriminated againstbecause of his features, even though hehad earned excellent grades on the civilexamination. He tried to commit suicidebut was saved, in one version of the myth,by an enchanted FISH or turtle. (In someversions, he dies.) Kui Xing wasworshipped by scholars studyingfor the imperial examinations. He assistsWEN ZHANG, the god of literature. Artistsportray him sitting on a giant sea turtle,

holding an official seal and writing brushin his right hand to list outstanding

scholar candidates. He lives in the STARSin the Ursa Major constellation.

2. Celtic Mythology dwarf Folkloric figure. Dwarfs or little

people

found in most Celtic lands were immigrants

from Scandinavia or Germany, where they

were

common folkloric characters resembling trolls.In Irish lore dwarfs were either FAIRIES or

simply

short people like the harpist of FIONN MAC

CUMHAILL, Cn Deiril; the creatures in the

former

case were not true dwarfs but shapely smallversions of normal-sized humans. Legends of

pint-sized people inspired one of the great

SATIRES of the English language, Jonathan

Swifts Gullivers Travels, whose human hero

was

a GIANT among the diminutive Lilliputians.

gnome Folkloric figure. Not a Celticcreature

at all, the gnome found in Celtic lands derives

from medieval science and alchemy that

imagined

creatures appropriate to each of the four

elements: salamanders (fire), nereids (water),

sylphs (air), and gnomes (earth). The gnomes

were thought to live under the earth, workingperhaps as miners; the word itself may derive

fromgenomus, earth-dweller. They are

easily

confused with such truly folkloric creatures asFAIRIES and KNOCKERS, but have no real legends

attached. The DWARFS familiar to modern

children

from the tale of Sleeping Beauty are a variation

of the gnome.

3.Norse Mythology

Alfrigg One of the four dwarf brotherswho

made the marvelous Brisinga men necklace for

the

goddess Freya. The brothers were talented at

the

smith crafts and were discovered one day by

Freya

as they worked on the golden necklace. Theydrove a

hard bargain for the necklace.

Alvis (All-Wise) A dwarf, tricked byThor, who

was turned to stone. Alvis had come to Asgard

to

claim the bride (perhaps Thrud, daughter of the

god Thor) whom the gods had promised him.

Thor,

knowing that Alvis, like many dwarfs, liked to

show

off his considerable knowledge, lured the

dwarfinto a lengthy question-and-answer game. Thor

asked Alvis for alternative names for the 13

words

that were most important in the lives of

Viking-age

Scandinavians. These names the dwarf gaveaccording

to the main groups of beings that inhabited

the worlds of Norse mythology. Alvis talked as

the night wore on. At dawn, the Sun, which the

dwarf had called Dvalins Delight, came up

andturned Alvis to stone, as was the fate of all

dwarfs

caught in the sunlight.

Andvari The dwarf whom Loki, thetrickster

god, robs of his hoard of gold. Andvari had put

acurse upon his treasure, including the ring,

which

was called Andvaranaut. Loki gave the

treasure to

the magician Hreidmar in compensation for

killing

his son Otr. Eventually, Andvaris gold

became thehoard guarded by the dragon Fafnir.


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Austri (East) One of the four dwarfsnamed

after the cardinal compass directions. The

others

are Vestri (West), Nordi (North), and Sudri

(South). Though these four dwarfs are

mentionedin early Norse poetry, it was Icelandic poet

Snorri

Sturluson who gave Austri and his three

companions

the job of holding up the four corners of

the sky.Austri is a name used often in Norse poetry. In

some cases the name refers to a person

involved in a

conflict who is smaller and weaker than his

opponent.

In another use, Austri refers to the dwarf whosteered

a ship filled with dwarfs.

Berling One of the four dwarfs whomade the

golden necklace or collar known as the

Brisinga

men. The goddess Freya found the dwarfs

making

the piece of jewelry and bargained with themforit. Berlings brothers were Alfrigg, Dvalin (1),

and

Grerr. They are named only in the Sorla Thattr,

which is found in the manuscriptFlateyjarbok.

Brokk A dwarf who was the son ofIvaldi and

brother of Eitri. All three were well-known

craftsmen

among the dwarfs.

The Dwarfs The gods made gnomes anddwarfs

from the grubs in Ymirs rotting corpse. They

gavethem human form and endowed them with

brains,

but they were ugly, misshapen creatures,

greedy and

selfish. The gods gave them Svartalfheim, thedark

realm underground, and put them in charge of

the

Earths treasures of gold, other precious

metals, and

gems. The dwarfs were master smiths.

Dain (1) A dwarf mentioned only inHyndluljoth,

a part of thePoeticEdda, as one of the creators

of the gold-bristled boar Hildisvini. According

to

this poem, Dain and his brother, Nabbi, made

the

magical boar.

Durinn (2) One of the two dwarfs whocrafted

the great sword Tyrfing. The other was Dvalin

(2).The dwarfs were forced to make the sword for

a

powerful king and, in revenge, they put a curse

upon

it. The story of that curse in the lives of the

swords

owners forms the center of an Icelandic heroic

legend. It is told most completely in the

manuscriptsof theHervarar Saga. Dvalin (1) (Dwalin) A dwarf who, with

his

brothers Alfrigg, Berling, and Grerr, fashionedthe

golden Brisinga men necklace coveted by the

goddess

Freya. They are part of the story that begins

The

Tale of Hogni and Hedinn, which is also

known as the

Sorla Thattr. When the goddess Freya discoversthe brothers making the beautiful Brisinga

men, she

desperately wants the necklace and bargains

with the

dwarfs in order to own it.

Dvalin (2) One of the two dwarfs whocrafted

the great sword Tyrfing. The other was Durinn

(2). The dwarfs were forced to make the swordfor a


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powerful king and, in revenge, they put a curse

upon

it. The story of that curse in the lives of the

swords

owners forms the center of an Icelandic heroic

legend. It is told most completely in the

manuscriptsof theHervarar saga. DWARFS The small, ugly, misshapen

creatures

made at the creation from the grubs in the giant

ymirs dead body. They were given the realm

of Svartalfheim(land of the dark elves) in which to live.

The gods put them in charge of Earths

underground

treasures: precious metals and gems. They

were

master craftsmen and fashioned many treasuresfor

the gods (see Treasure of the Dwarfs under

Loki).

The poem Voluspa lists many dwarfs names,

most repeated by Snorri Sturluson in

Gylfaginning,

but few of them are ever heard of again in the

surviving records of Norse myths. Among the

more

memorable ones are

Alvis, who, like many of the dwarfs, had avast

store of knowledge and poetically listed thevarious names for the 13 most important words

in the medieval Scandinavian vocabulary

Brokk and Eitri, who fashioned various gifts

for the gods Dvalin, one of the dwarfs who made the

Brisinga men coveted by the goddess Freya

and who was turned into stone at sunrise

Andvari, the dwarf who was tricked by Loki

into giving up his gold hoard, upon which he

then placed a curse Lit, the dwarf who was inadvertently

cremated

on Balders funeral pyre Nordi, Sudri, Austri, and Vestri, the four

dwarfs who were bidden to hold up the fourcorners of the sky

Here is the list of dwarfs named in Voluspa:Ai, Alf, Althjof (Mighty Thief ), An, Anar,

Andvari,Aurvang, Austri, Bifur, Bild, Billing, Bofur,

Bombur, Bruni, Buri, Dain, Dolgthrasir, Dori,

Draupnir, Duf, Durinn, Dvalin, Eikinskjaldi

(Oak Shield), Fili, Fith, Fjalar, Fraeg, FrarHornbori, Frosti, Fundin, Gandalf (Magic Elf ),

Ginnar, Gloi, Hannar, Har, Haugspori, Hepti,

Heri, Hlaevang, Hliodolf, Hoggstari, Jari, Kili,Lit, Loni, Mjodvitnir (Mead-wolf ), Moin,Motsognir

(the Mightiest), Nain, Nali, Nar, Nidi,Niping, Nordri, Nori, Ny, Nyr, Nyrad, Ori,

Radsvid (Swift in Counsel), Regin, Skafid,

Skirfir,

Sudri, Svior, Thekk, Thorin, Thrain, Thror,Vestri, Vigg, Vindalf (Wind Elf ), Virvir, Vit,

Yngvi

22 dvalin

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