Note to Þul Dverga 2^III

[2] Dvalinn: This name may mean ‘torpid one’ (cf. the verbs dvala, dvelja ‘delay’, New Norw. dvalen ‘lazy, sleepy’, ModNorw. dvale ‘stupor, state of hibernation’; Gould 1929, 944). According to Vsp 14/2 and Hávm 143/3, Dvalinn was the leader or the ruler of the dwarfs, while in Fáfn 13/6 he is the father of some norns. The name is also mentioned in the list of dwarfs in Vsp 11/4 and in Gylf (SnE 2005, 16, 18). In Alv 16/3 (NK 126) it is said that the dwarfs call the sun leica Dvalins ‘Dvalinn’s plaything/playmate’ (see also Þul Sólar l. 8), which may allude to a myth similar to the story told in Alv 35 where the first sunbeams turn a dwarf into stone. However, the pers. n. in the poetic circumlocution leika Dvalins may well be just a term for ‘dwarf’ in general, since the name Dvalinn occurs frequently in skaldic kennings. Dvalinn is also known from Anon Kálfv 1/2 (see Note there) and from Sǫrla þáttr (Flat 1860-8, I, 275); in both cases the name most likely refers to other legendary persons. Dvalinn is otherwise a mythic stag in Grí 33/4. See Note to Dvalarr in Þul Hjartar l. 4.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
3. NK = Neckel, Gustav and Hans Kuhn (1899), eds. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 2 vols. I: Text. 5th edn. Heidelberg: Winter.
4. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
5. Gould, Chester N. 1929. ‘Dwarf-names: A Study in Old Icelandic Religion’. PMLA 44, 938-67.
6. Internal references
7. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Sǫrla þáttr’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 785. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=41> (accessed 27 April 2024)
8. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=113> (accessed 27 April 2024)
9. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Kálfsvísa 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 664.
10. Not published: do not cite ()
11. Not published: do not cite ()
12. Not published: do not cite ()
13. Not published: do not cite ()
14. Not published: do not cite ()
15. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Hjartar heiti’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 898. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3214> (accessed 27 April 2024)
16. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Sólar heiti’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 909. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3218> (accessed 27 April 2024)