Editing Dwarf (folklore) (section)

===Germanic heroic legend and sagas===
[[File:Pfizer (1843)-ed-Nibelungen Not-p091-sigfird&alberich-gezwerge.jpg|thumbnail|250px|right|[[Sigurd|Siegfried]] wrestling [[Alberich]], by [[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld]]]]

====Continuity with older beliefs====
After the [[Christianisation of the Germanic peoples]], dwarfs continued in the folklore of Germanic-speaking areas of Europe and the literary works produced there.{{sfn|Lindow|2001|p=101}} Opinions on the degree of continuity in beliefs on dwarfs before and after Christianisation differ significantly. Some scholars, such as [[Rudolf Simek]], propose that the folk beliefs remained essentially intact in the transitional period, making later sources exceedingly informative on [[pre-Christian Germanic religion]]. In contrast, others, such as Schäfke, argue that there is no resemblance between Eddic and skaldic dwarfs and those in later sources.{{sfn|Simek|2008|pp=67-68}}{{sfn|Schäfke|2015|p=366}}

====Old Norse====
Dwarfs feature throughout both [[fornaldarsögur]] and [[riddarasögur]]. In [[Völsunga saga]], which details the events that unfold after [[Loki]] extorts treasure out of the dwarf [[Andvari]], to pay the [[wergild]] for his killing of [[Ótr]], a being whose brother [[Regin]] is also described in some sources as either resembling or being a dwarf.{{sfn|Mikučionis|2017|pp=82-83}}{{sfn|Volsung Saga|loc=Chapter 14 - Regin's tale of his Brothers, and of the Gold called Andvari's Hoard}} In [[Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks]], the sword [[Tyrfing]] is forged, and subsequently cursed, by a dwarf named Dvalinn, and another named Dulin in the [[Hauksbók]] manuscript.{{sfn|Crawford|2021|pp=13,137-139}}

====Middle High German====
In German literature, many dwarfs can make themselves invisible, typically via a "Tarnkappe" ([[cloak of invisibility]]), which has been suggested to be an ancient attribute of dwarfs.{{sfn|Lütjens|1911|pp=80-86}} Depending on the story, they may be hostile or friendly to humans.{{sfn|Lütjens|1911|pp=94-98}}

The dwarf [[Alberich]] plays a vital role in the ''[[Nibelungenlied]]'', where he guards the Nibelung's treasure and has the strength of twelve men. He is defeated by [[Sigurd|Siegfried]] and afterwards serves the hero. In ''[[Ortnit]]'', Alberich seduces the Lombardy queen, spawning the hero Ortnit. The dwarf then aids Ortnit in his adventures after revealing to the hero that he is his father. In ''[[Das Lied vom Hürnen Seyfrid]]'', Siegfried is aided by the dwarf Eugel, who is the son of the dwarf king [[Nibelung]], originator of the Nibelung's treasure.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

The hero [[Dietrich von Bern]] is portrayed in adventures involving dwarfs. In [[Laurin (poem)|''Laurin'']], he fights against the dwarf [[King Laurin]] at the dwarf's magical rose garden. He later rescues a woman whom Laurin had kidnapped. A similar plot occurs in the fragmentary poem ''[[Goldemar]]''. In [[Virginal (poem)|''Virginal'']], Dietrich rescues the dwarf queen Virginal from a force of invading [[Paganism|heathens]]. The dwarfs Eggerich and Baldung play a role in aiding Dietrich in the poem ''[[Sigenot]]'': Baldung gives Dietrich a magical gem that prevents him from being bitten when thrown into a [[snake pit]], whereas Eggerich helps Dietrich and [[Hildebrand]] escape. In the [[Heldenbuch#The "Heldenbuch-Prosa"|Heldenbuch-Prosa]], a dwarf takes Dietrich out of this world after the death of all the other heroes, a role given to Laurin in some different versions of Dietrich's end.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}