Editing Dwarf (folklore) (section)

====Size====
In the early [[Old Norse]] sources, dwarfs are typically described vaguely, with no reference to them being particularly small; in the legendary sagas and later folklore, however, they are often described as short.{{sfn|Simek|2008|pp=67-68}}

[[Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri]] are four dwarfs, potentially depicted as four anthropomorphic figures on the [[Hogback (sculpture)|hogback stone]] in Heysham in [[Lancashire]], that according to the [[Prose Edda]], each holds up a corner of the sky, that was fashioned from the skull of [[Ymir]]. It has been suggested that this would imply that dwarfs could be very tall; however, it has been noted that the sky could have been conceived of as being close to the earth at the horizon.{{sfn|Mikučionis|2017|pp=65-66}} [[Regin]], a figure identified as either a dwarf or resembling a dwarf, is a similar size to the hero [[Sigurd]] on both the [[Ramsund carving]] and carvings from the [[Hylestad Stave Church]].{{sfn|Mikučionis|2017|pp=82-88}} Dwarf names in Eddic sources include {{lang|non|Fullangr}} ('tall enough') and {{lang|non|Hár}} ('high'); however, the terms are ambiguous and do not necessarily mean the dwarfs were conceived of as tall relative to a human.{{sfn|Mikučionis|2017|p=73}} Some names suggest a small size, such as Nori and Nabbi, which have been translated as "tiny" and "little nub", respectively; however, it has been argued that this was not necessarily the general rule.{{sfn|Liberman|2002|p=177}}

Not all late sagas involving dwarfs describe their size, but all that do describe them as short.{{sfn|Mikučionis|2014|p=184}} In some German stories, the dwarf takes on the attributes of a knight but is most clearly separated from normal humans by his small size, in some cases only reaching up to the knees.{{sfn|Lütjens|1911|pp=69-70,74}} Despite their small size, dwarfs in these contexts typically have superhuman strength, either by nature or through magical means.{{sfn|Lütjens|1911|pp=79-80}} [[Anatoly Liberman]] suggests that dwarfs may have been initially thought of as lesser supernatural beings, which became literal smallness after Christianisation.{{sfn|Liberman|2008|p=57}}