Modsognir

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Modsognir , also Motsognir ( Old Norse Módsognir or Mótsognir ), is the first dwarf in Norse mythology and was created by the gods .

The meaning of the name is controversial, it could best be translated as 'the tired, the powerless' (from Old Norse modr and suga , compare Swedish dialectal modsugen 'apathetic').

The Völuspá (verse 10 f.) Describes Modsognir in the Dverga valley not only as the first, but also as the most powerful of the dwarfs:

Then the counselors went to the judges' chairs,
Most holy gods held advice,
Who should create the dwarf gender
Made of Brimir's blood and blue limbs.
Modsognir was then the most powerful
This dwarf and Durin after him.
Some still made them human
The dwarfs of Earth, as Durin stated.

Sources about whether Modsognir is to be understood as king or leader of the dwarves are not available.

The Gylfaginning (verse 14) complements and clarifies further. After that, the emergence of the dwarfs was initially closely linked to the creation of the world . At first, dwarfs were like maggots in Ymir's flesh and only received human intellect and human form through the gods. However, as before, they lived their lives in the earth and in the rock.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rudolf Simek: Lexicon of Germanic Mythology (= Kröner's pocket edition. Volume 368). 3rd, completely revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-520-36803-X , p. 287.