Alvaldi is attested in Old Norse poetic and prose texts as a jötunn whose primary role in the surviving corpus is genealogical. He is named as the father of Þjazi in the poem Hárbarðsljóð and appears under the form Ölvaldi in Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál, where he is described as the father of Þjazi, Gangr and Iði and as being very rich in gold. Modern scholars (e.g., Rudolf Simek, as cited in the summarized sources) have suggested that the account of Alvaldi's distribution of gold may be a remnant of an older, now-lost mythic episode, but no fuller narrative or origin tale survives in the cited materials.
No physical description of Alvaldi survives in the cited sources. He is identified in the texts only by name, by kinship (father of Þjazi; in Skáldskaparmál also father of Gangr and Iði), and by the attribute of great wealth in gold. The sources do not record his stature, features, or any distinctive visual traits.
The only explicit attribute recorded in the surviving attestations is great material wealth: Skáldskaparmál describes Ölvaldi as 'very rich in gold' and relates that he divided his gold among his sons 'in such a way that each may take the same mouthful of gold.' Beyond this episode of inheritance division, the provided summaries record no other powers, deeds, or behaviors for Alvaldi; he functions in the texts primarily as a wealthy progenitor rather than as an actor demonstrating magical or martial abilities.
Weaknesses
- otherNot attested in sources
Wards
- otherNot attested in sources
Andhrímnir
Andhrímnir is the named cook of the Æsir and the einherjar in Old Norse myth, responsible for slaughtering and preparing the beast Sæhrímnir daily in Valhalla and for producing the gods' mead from Heiðrún's milk. He is attested in the Poetic Edda and summarized in modern reference works.
Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri
A quartet of named dwarfs in Old Norse cosmology positioned at the four cardinal points who are described in medieval sources as holding up the sky after the gods made heaven from Ymir’s skull. They function as structural/cosmogonic supports and are attested in the Prose Edda and the Dvergatal of Völuspá, with echoes in skaldic kennings and in later scholarly interpretation linking their role to roof-beam terminology.
Bestla
Bestla is a jötunn (giantess) in Old Norse mythic genealogies, attested as the mother of Odin, Vili, and Vé by the giant Borr. She functions primarily as a maternal progenitor in the medieval Icelandic corpus (Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, and skaldic verse), and surviving references to her are sparse and fragmentary.
Brimir
In Old Norse mythic tradition the name Brimir appears in two closely related roles: as a name applied to a primordial jötunn (often equated with Ymir/Aurgelmir) whose body supplies the material of the world, and as the name of a beer‑hall or hall of plenty that Snorri interprets as an afterlife dwelling for virtuous survivors after Ragnarök.
Búri
Búri is an Old Norse primordial divinity attested in the Prose Edda and a skaldic verse as an early ancestor of the Æsir. He is presented as a first-born godlike figure who is freed from salty rime by the primeval cow Auðumbla and is genealogically prior to later gods such as Borr and, by descent, the Æsir.
Býleistr
Býleistr is an Old Norse mythic name attested as a brother of Loki. He appears only as a kin-term in skaldic and Eddic contexts and in Snorri Sturluson's prose lists; no independent deeds or narratives are preserved for him in the cited sources.
Dagr
Dagr is the Old Norse personification of the day: a luminous being who rides across the sky on the horse Skinfaxi, bringing daylight in the mythic cosmology preserved in the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda. The lexical item Dagr functions both as the common noun for 'day' and as a proper name for this mythic actor.
Durinn
Durinn is an early named dwarf (Old Norse: dvergr) attested in the medieval Norse corpus; counted as the second-created dwarf after Mótsognir and associated in saga tradition with exceptional smithcraft, including a role in forging the magic sword Tyrfing.
Dvalinn
Dvalinn is an Old Norse mythic name attested in the Poetic Edda and several sagas applied to at least two distinct figures: a named dwarf among the dwarf-kind (craftsman, rune‑figure, leader in some lists) and one of the four harts/stags that feed among the branches of the world‑tree Yggdrasill. The corpus does not reconcile these uses of the same name into a single coherent biography.
Eitri
Eitri (also attested as Sindri) is an Old Norse dwarf smith celebrated in the Skáldskaparmál episode for forging three famous artifacts — Gullinbursti, Draupnir, and Mjöllnir — while working with his brother Brokkr. He is presented as a master craftsman whose work directly affects the gods, not as a deity.
Eldir
Eldir is a named servant of the sea-being Ægir in Old Norse myth, attested in the poem Lokasenna where he stands outside Ægir's hall and speaks with Loki. His name, Old Norse Eldir, is glossed as 'fire-stoker' and marks him as a household attendant and threshold interlocutor rather than a deity.
Fornjótr
Fornjótr (Old Norse Fornjótr) is an Old Norse mythic jötunn presented in medieval sources as the father of the personified forces Hlér (sea), Logi (fire) and Kári (wind). In saga and genealogical material he is also portrayed in some manuscripts as a legendary ruler of northern lands (Finnland/Kvenland) and appears as an ancestral figure in certain royal genealogies.
Community Record
- [1]Alvaldi — Wikipedia. Wikipedia contributors, 'Alvaldi,' Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.wiki
- [2]Wikidata: Alvaldi. Wikidata entry Q2021358 for Alvaldi.other