Dain (dwarf)
Dain , also Dainn ( Old Norse Dáinn "died"), is a dwarf of Norse mythology who created the golden boar Hildisvini of the goddess Freyja . In contrast to other dwarfs, Dain is mentioned comparatively often in the ancient texts.
Sources and reception
Dain is one of the dwarfs mentioned in the song Edda in the Völuspá in the Dverga valley . He is listed as an earth dwarf. The Prose Edda probably confirms this statement by stating that Dain is one of the dwarfs who live in the earth.
The song Hyndlulióð shows that he was a blacksmith . Together with the dwarf Nabbi, he forged the golden boar of the goddess Freyja called Hildisvíni 'fighting pig '. Freyja comments on this in a dialogue with Hyndla :
"Dulin ertu, Hyndla, draums ætlig þér,
er þú qveðr ver minn í valsinni,
þar er gǫltr glóar, gullinbursti,
Hildisvíni, er mér hagir gørðo,
dvergar tveir, Dáinn oc Nabbi."
"Foolish are you, Hyndla, in a dream you are, I think,
when you say, my husband was on the Walweg,
which goldborstige where the boar shines
Hildiswini that created me Art Ready,
two dwarfs, Dainn and Nabbi."
- - Hyndluljóð 7
A dark passage about Dain can be found in the old Norse literature in the song Odin's Raven Magic ( Hrafnagaldr Óðins ) :
“Hverfr því Hugr, hinna leitar,
grunar guma grand, ef dvelur;
þótti er Þráins þunga draumr;
Dáins dulu draumr þótti. "
“ Hugin started to look for heaven;
Calamity feared the Asen , indwelling it.
Thrain's saying is a difficult dream,
dark dream is Dain's saying. "
- - Forspjallsljóð (Hrafnagaldr Óðins) 3
In addition, the song Hávamál says that a being named Dain taught the elves the runes .
"Óðinn með ásom,
enn fyr álfom Dáinn,
Dvalinn dvergom fyrir,
Ásviðr iotnom fyrir,
ec travels siálfr sumar."
" Odin with the sir,
but with the albums Dainn,
Dwalinn with the dwarfs,
Alswid with the giants,
I scratched some myself."
- - Hávamál 143
Whether this refers to the dwarf Dain or an otherwise unknown elf of the same name cannot be decided.
In Nordic mythology, Dain is also the name of a deer, which is one of the four deer on the world tree Yggdrasil . The extent to which the two figures are related is unknown.
Impact history
British author JRR Tolkien used the name Dain for a dwarf king in his novel The Hobbit (1937).
literature
- Rudolf Simek : Lexicon of Germanic Mythology (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 368). 3rd, completely revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-520-36803-X .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lieder-Edda : Völuspá 11 in connection with Völuspá 10. Dain is only mentioned in the Völuspá variant of the Hauksbók , but not in that of the Codex Regius .
- ^ Prose Edda : Gylfaginning 14.
- ↑ Lieder-Edda : Hyndluljóð 7th text edition based on Titus Project, accessed on November 19, 2009.
- ↑ a b Translation by Arnulf Krause: The songs of gods and heroes of the Elder Edda. Philipp Reclam jun. Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-15-050047-8 .
- ↑ Hrafnagaldr Óðins 3. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Text based on CyberSamurai Encyclopedia of Norse Mythology , accessed November 19, 2009.
- ↑ Thrain, like Dain, is one of the dwarfs who are called in the Dverga Valley. Otherwise nothing is known about him.
- ^ Translation based on Karl Joseph Simrock : Die Edda . 6th edition. Publishing house of JG Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, Stuttgart 1876, first edition 1851.
- ↑ Lieder-Edda : Hávamál 143. Text edition based on the Titus Project, accessed on November 19, 2009.
- ↑ John Lindow: Handbook of Norse Mythology. ABC-CLIO Ltd, USA 2001, ISBN 1-57607-217-7 , p. 92. Online - Compare also Simek (2006) p. 68.
