μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Dwarf. (Underground spirit.) The dwarf, especially in Northern Europe, is considered an underground spirit. He is to be distinguished from the other conception of dwarf, viz., a very small person, pigmy, or thumbling (F535). [Note: For help in the preparation of this item I am indebted to Mr. Alfred Thomas of Chicago. For full titles of references see F420.]

Marvels. · Marvelous creatures. · Spirits and demons. · Underground spirits. · view the constellation · filed as F451

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Scholars’ trail — 17references

The index’s own references — the collections where scholars sighted this story-shape, tradition by tradition. Titles on our shelf are live links; the rest is the frontier, not yet shelved.

  • IcelandicMacCulloch Eddic 264ff., 287
  • DanishKristensen Danske Sagn I (1892, new series 1928)
  • NorwegianSolheim Register 18
  • FrenchF. Wolgemuth Riesen u. Zwerge in der altfranzösischen erzählenden Dichtung (Tübingen, 1906)
  • HawaiiBeckwith Myth 326
  • N. Am. Indian*Thompson Tales 356 n. 287a. See also F200–F399 (Fairies and Elves), F420 (Water-spirits), and F460 (Mountain-spirits) for many common motifs.
  • general Types 480, 403B
  • general *Roberts 123
  • general **Lutjens Der Zwerg in der deutschen Heldendichtung des Mittelalters (Breslau, 1911)
  • general *Wehrhan 67
  • general *Thien 42
  • general *Gould Scandinavian Studies and Notes IX 190
  • general *De Boor Der Zwerg in Skandinavien (Mogk Festschrift 536)
  • general *Ritchie Zwerge in Geschichte u. Überlieferung (Globus LXXXII 101)
  • general *Tegethoff Schweiz. Archiv f. Vksk. XXIV 147
  • general Jensen Zs. f. Vksk. II 407
  • general *Hdwb. d. Abergl. IX Nachträge 1008–1120. Irish myth: *Cross
Within the index

Filed under Underground spirits. (Cf. F200–F399, Fairies and Elves.)

11 finer motifs beneath it
Luchrupáin (leprechauns) (as fairies)Origin of dwarfsAppearance of dwarfCharacteristics of dwarfsHome of dwarfsDwarfs and human beingsOther actions of dwarfsPossessions of dwarfsNames for dwarfsDwarfs emigrateDwarfs and other supernatural beings
Filed beside it
Voetter (generalized underground spirit)Helpful underground spiritTrolls. Sometimes underground spirits, sometimes also thought of as mountain-spirits. In many tales trolls are ogres. (Cf. G100, G400–G599.)Mine spirits. Gnomes. (Cf. E336.)
Travels with
Magic object summons dwarfs. (Cf. F451.)Dwarfs in otherworld. (Cf. F451.)Water-spirits as dwarfs. (Cf. F451.)

wander