In the Eddic poem Alvíssmál, the dwarf Alvíss (‘All Wise’ or ‘Omniscient’) is himself an
active narrator. The lay is essentially a knowledge contest structured as a dialogue that
bears similarities to other poems of the Poetic Edda, generally classified as ‘wisdom
contests’. The frame story begins with Þórr’s promise to Alvíss of his daughter’s hand in
marriage – a recurring theme in Old Norse mythology in which such mixed alliances
almost always lead to a host of vexing tribulations. In this particular lay, when Alvíss
arrives to claim his bride, the thunder-god demands that he first pass the test of wisdom
by providing appropriate answers to a number of questions. The story provides one
of only a handful of examples in which there is a lengthy verbal exchange between a
representative of the Æsir and a dwarf.
Strongly linked to the notion of the dwarfs as bearers of unique wisdom is the notion
of the dwarfs as artisans who have crafted some of the most precious paraphernalia
possessed by the Æsir, including: Draupnir, Óðinn’s arm-ring; Mjo ̨llnir, Þórr’s hammer;
and Brísingamen, Freyja’s collar. Their handicraft is incomparable and is often allied with
cunning insight.
ELVESThere was, according to Snorri’s Gylfaginning ( 17 ), a mythological division between
the black elves and the light elves: ‘There is one place that is called Alfheim. There live
the folk called light-elves (ljósálfar), but dark-elves (dökkálfar) live down in the ground,
and they are unlike them in appearance, and even more unlike them in nature. Light-
elves are fairer than the sun to look at, but dark elves are blacker than pitch.’ Snorri is
perhaps influenced by Christian dualism in his description, and thus translates the
various groups of álfar into a kind of ‘angels’ and ‘demons’.
There are many names for the spirits and deities of a certain place. The landvættir and
the álfar both appear to dwell close to the farmhouse, with the latter also receiving a
standardised form of worship known as álfablót, according to some texts. In Kórmaks saga
(ch. 22 ) the álfablót is described as a healing ritual, while Ynglinga saga describes álfablót
as an ancestral celebration. As is obvious from their name, the landvættir are closely
connected to the land surrounding the farm and the cultivated soil. This is confirmed in
Egill Skalla-Grímssonar saga (ch. 57 ): when Egill forcefully employs poetry (níð) against
King Eirik Bloodaxe and his queen, the landvættir are offended and abandon the place,
after which not even the royal inhabitants are able to remain.
FATE AND DESTINYThe saga literature tells of ceremonies and rituals that aim to reveal future events. The
task of conducting such ceremonies was assigned to persons with special capabilities.
Fate in these texts appears to function both as a convenient literary motif and as a
conceptual belief.
Already Tacitus, the Roman historian, had noted in both his Germania and Historiae
that prophetic women were held in high esteem among the Germanic peoples because of
their capacity to foretell the future, with one of them even having been worshipped as a
goddess. Moreover, both priests and heads of the families could, according to Tacitus,
seek for premonitory signs and perform lottery oracles by means of twigs carved with
signs.
–– chapter 17: Popular religion in the Viking Age––