In the creation account preserved in Old Norse sources, after the gods formed the sky from the skull of the primeval jötunn Ymir, four named dvergar—Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri—were set at the four cardinal points to hold up the heavens. The names derive from the Old Norse compass-direction nouns austr (east), vestr (west), norðr (north) and suðr (south) and thereby conflate directional designation with the office of supporting the sky. Their listing among dwarfs appears in the Dvergatal section of the poem Völuspá and their cosmogonic function is described in Snorri Sturluson’s Gylfaginning (Prose Edda).
Medieval textual sources identify Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri as dvergar (dwarfs) placed at the four cardinal points to support the sky but provide no detailed physical description beyond that functional placement. Archaeological interpretation has proposed that a hogback stone at Heysham might depict figures holding up a roof/sky, a reading sometimes linked to these dwarfs; that identification is debated and inconclusive. Any judgments about stature, bestial features, or precise iconography therefore rest on modern interpretation rather than explicit medieval description.
The surviving medieval attestations consistently ascribe to them the structural, cosmogonic ability to hold up the sky—an enduring, architectural role rather than episodic feats or interactions with humans. Skaldic kennings treat the heavens as the burden or helm of these dwarfs (e.g., erfiði eða byrði dverganna; hjálm Vestra ok Austra, Suðra, Norðra), reflecting their conceptual function in poetic language. No other powers, magics, or behaviors involving direct engagement with humans are recorded in the cited sources.
Alvaldi
Alvaldi (Old Norse: Alvaldi / Ölvaldi) is a jötunn in Norse mythic genealogies, attested chiefly as the father of the notable jötunn Þjazi and described in one source as exceedingly rich in gold. He survives in the record mainly as a familial antecedent and an etiological figure rather than as an active participant in preserved narratives.
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.
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.
Bragi
Bragi is a figure in Old Norse mytho-poetic tradition associated with skilled eloquence and poetry among the Æsir; Snorri presents him as a god of poetry and husband of Iðunn, while modern scholarship often treats the divine Bragi as a mythologized reflection of the historical 9th-century skald Bragi Boddason.
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.
Community Record
- [1]Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri (Wikipedia). Wikipedia: "Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri"wiki
- [2]Wikidata entry for Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri. Wikidata: Q1757834other
- [3]A Cosmogonia Nórdica / Norse Cosmogony (archive audio). ESMAVC Radio Station – A Cosmogonia Nórdica / Norse Cosmogony (archival recording discussing Norse cosmogony and sources such as the Prose Edda and Völuspá)other