What Are Dwarves? - A Quest For the Origins and Nature of Dwarves

A close examination of dwarves in Germanic mythology and folklore reveals some surprising results. Sleep, dreams, spirits and elves loom large. Are you prepared to descend into the mists of their realm to discover the truth?

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[Jim-Mc]

Back when Dinklege said that, I was so frustrated that no nobody was pointing out that he is in fact, not a supernatural being.

[marcusfridh]

dwarves are more related to gnomes, goblins and house-elves than little people. the dwarves in snowwhite are gemanic mountainspirits.

[sirelfinjedi]

Thank you so much. I've been researching elves, faerie, dwarfs, giants, and such and this was such a concise and well thought-out video. It was more than I was hoping for.

[BoarLord]

Something that just dawned on me is the relationship of Kobolds to the mineral cobalt. I've heard somewhere that Kobolds were supposed to put people to sleep in the deep mines where weird gases would aggregate and knock miners out cold or asphyxiate them. Perhaps dwarves are remembered as little spirits under the earth that would put miners to sleep, the sun (or just bringing them back out to the fresh air) would dispel or kill them. And over time this evolved into a little creature that is small enough to dwell comfortably in the cramped tunnels of the mines, a Dwarf!

[waltonsmith]

I couldn't help but think of Aule's creation of the dwarves in the Silmarillion. Tolkien knew his mythology well, and so do you! Great video! Thanks so much for making it. When I was young I wanted them to be real so much.

[josepheridu]

People on psychodelic drugs often talk about seeing "Mechanic dwarves", and it is weird most of them use that description.
Dwarves as little people, but also mechanical, like people in the past described them as craftmen and elemental, metal.
It is very interesting.

[scottpofahl]

It seems “light” elves like Freyr (yes he’s a god, but he’s the king of the elves) create life (seeds and fertility) and are associated with nature and “dark” elves AKA dwarves, while associated with death, also champion CREATIVE creation in the form of dreams, mead, and metal work. Beautiful duality.

[alexramey]

I think a common thematic thread that seems to connect each trait of the dwarves (sleep, dreams, deep dark places, death, craftsmanship, creativity) is the subconscious, almost as though they are a manifestation of it. Very often the subconscious, despite being a part of our own minds, can *feel* like it acts by its own will, intruding itself upon our lives regardless of our interests. A horrible dream, a bout of creative inspiration, or delirium induced by a drunken stupur can often feel as though they exert control over us, weather it be for better or for worse.

[johnkeane]

Man, that was beautiful, like a waking dream. You have just the right voice for discussing mythic beings.

[denasewell]

Dinklage is a great actor but he became famous as a result of his role as a Dwarf. I think what he said was insane. My former partner was born with dwarfism and worked with me as a retired American Character Clown who toured with Ringling Bros from 87 to 93. Snow White and the 7 Dwarves is a classic grim tale and the fact that Snow White lived with and was beloved by the 7 Dwarves is a major component of the story

[fringer]

I'd imagine that Dwarves are capable of such power, due to their direct birth/sustenance of Ymir's corpse. I'd imagine such a meal would no doubt grant them similar boons to what can be found among Jotnar.

Absolutely love your work, and it gives me a focal point when delving deeper into the lore (and an expanding collection of literature)

[faarsight]

I think the best way to look at this is that in the Norse mythology Dwarves, Elves, Jotunar (giants), trolls, vanir and aesir are more like different tribes of the same type being (or spirit) than completely different types or "species" of beings.

[elainedaprano]

You connected the threads of myths very well. I remember reading some of this in bits here and there, but you brought it all together for me, and brought it again to mind.
I really like the artwork and photography you've chosen...
and your expressive reading of the poetry.
I like it all! 😊

[belzebul]

Masterfully crafted video--almost hypnotic to watch.
Thank you

[ozlemaktas]

I’ve always believed that dwarves were to stone and rock the way dryads are to trees and vegetation. The fey or deities of such places.

[biggumstevens]

I wonder if there is some connection between the dwarves and creative inspiration? They reference sleep a lot and they are also crafters, perhaps "dreaming up" an invention or something is related?

[jordanaz]

Did a pretty sick woodcarving of a dwarf for the first time while listening. Thanks for this brilliant talk

[DieZerstorer]

You’ve done so much great work on the Celtic pantheon of gods and goddesses. I really hope that someday you begin work on the Norse gods as well. Would absolutely love a video by you on Odin, Tyr, or even Thor!

[EresirThest]

Love this video. The ancestor connection is elaborated on by Maria Kvilhaug's video on Elves. They have a close association with barrows. It's my own belief that elves are those ancestors who were great enough to ascend to a form of higher being.

[dewaynemaddox]

Wow, so much info, very well done. I'm glad that algorithm brought this up on my YouTube, you've got a new subscriber 🤘