In the cosmogonic account preserved in the Prose Edda, Búri is brought into being when the primeval cow Auðumbla licks blocks of salty rime-stone. Over the course of three days of licking, Auðumbla frees Búri from the rime; this emergence places him in the mythic 'first times' of Norse cosmology. The surviving texts then record that Búri fathered a son named Borr (Burr), but the mechanism of that procreation is not specified in the sources and is the subject of scholarly debate.
The primary attested physical action associated with Búri is his being 'licked free' from salty rime by Auðumbla over three days; beyond this account there is no morphological or clothing description in the sources. The extant passages provide no further physical details—height, features, or garb are unrecorded.
Surviving texts do not ascribe further deeds, powers, or habitual behaviors to Búri beyond his cosmogonic emergence and his place in a divine genealogy. The Prose Edda (including Gylfaginning) and a quoted skaldic verse in Skáldskaparmál are the primary attestations; apart from the origin episode and genealogical mention (fathering Borr), there are no recorded supernatural acts, cultic roles, or ongoing functions for Búri in the preserved material.
Weaknesses
- otherNo attested weaknesses — the sources give no information
Wards
- otherNo attested wards — the sources give no information
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.
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.
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]Búri (Wikipedia). Wikipedia contributors, 'Búri,' Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopediawiki
- [2]Prose Edda (attestation summarized). Summary of Prose Edda (Gylfaginning) and Skáldskaparmál references as provided in research notesliterary