Thompson F451 — Dwarf

Dwarf.1 (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). Types 480, 403B; *Roberts 123; **Lutjens Der Zwerg in der deutschen Heldendichtung des Mittelalters (Breslau, 1911); *Wehrhan 67; *Thien 42; *Gould Scandinavian Studies and Notes IX 190; *De Boor Der Zwerg in Skandinavien (Mogk Festschrift 536); *Ritchie Zwerge in Geschichte u. überlieferung (Globus LXXXII 101); *Tegethoff Schweiz. Archiv f. Vksk. XXIV 147; Jensen Zs. f. Vksk. II 407; *Hdwb. d. Abergl. IX Nachträge 1008—1120. Irish myth: *Cross; Icelandic: MacCulloch Eddic 264ff., 287; Danish: Kristensen Danske Sagn I (1892, new series 1928); Norwegian: Solheim Register 18; French: F. Wolgemuth Riesen u. Zwerge in der altfranzösischen erzählenden Dichtung (Tübingen, 1906); Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 326; N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 356 n. 287a. See also F200—F399 (Fairies and Elves), F420 (Water-spirits), and F460 (Mountain-spirits) for many common motifs.