The Dwarves Make Treasures For The Gods

‘Why is gold called Sif’s hair?’

‘As a prank, Loki, son of Laufey, cut off all Sif’s hair. When Thor learned of this, he grabbed hold of Loki and would have broken every bone in his body had Loki not sworn to find a way to get the dark elves to make hair from gold for Sif, which would grow like any other hair. Then Loki went to those dwarves called the sons of Ivaldi, and they made the hair, Skidbladnir, and Odin’s spear, called Gungnir.

‘Loki then wagered his head with the dwarf named Brokk that Eitri, Brokk’s brother, could not make three treasures equally as good. When they entered the smithy, Eitri placed a pigskin in the forge. He told Brokk to work the bellows and not let up until Eitri had removed from the forge what he had put into it. But as soon as Eitri left the smithy and the other began to pump the air, a fly landed on Brokk’s hand and bit him. Brokk continued, nevertheless, to work the bellows as before, and kept on until the smith pulled the work from the forge. It was a boar with bristles of gold.

‘Next Eitri put gold in the forge. He asked the other to work the bellows and not to stop pumping until he returned. Then he left. The fly returned and settled on Brokk’s neck, and this time it bit twice as hard. Still Brokk continued to pump until the smith took from the forge a gold ring, the one called Draupnir.

‘Then the smith placed iron in the forge, telling the other to pump air with the bellows. He said that his work would be ruined if the bellows failed. This time the fly landed between Brokk’s eyes, biting his eyelids. Finally, with blood flowing into his eyes, he was unable to see. So, as quickly as he could, he took his hand from the bellows on the down stroke and swatted the fly away. At that moment the smith returned and said that everything in the forge had just barely escaped ruin. Then he took a hammer from the forge, and, entrusting all the treasures to his brother Brokk, he asked him to go to Asgard to settle the wager.

‘When Brokk and Loki arrived and displayed their treasures, the Æsir took their places on their thrones of fate. Odin, Thor and Frey were to be the judges, thus settling the matter. Loki gave to Odin the spear Gungnir; to Thor, the hair for Sif; and to Frey, Skidbladnir. He then described the characteristics of each of the treasures: the spear always pierced cleanly through, never stopping during the thrust; the hair would grow fast to the skin as soon as it came on to Sif’s head; and Skidbladnir would receive a fair wind whenever its sail was raised, no matter where it was going. It could also be folded up like a cloth and put into one’s pouch if so desired.

‘Brokk then brought out his treasures. He gave the ring to Odin, saying that every ninth night eight rings of equal weight would drip from it. To Frey he gave the boar, remarking that night or day it could race across the sky and over the sea better than any other mount. Furthermore, night would never be so murky nor the worlds of darkness so shadowy that the boar would not provide light wherever it went, so bright was the shining of its bristles. Then he gave the hammer to Thor, and said that with it Thor would be able to strike whatever came before him with as mighty a blow as he wished, because the hammer would never break. And if he decided to throw the hammer, it would never miss its mark, nor could it ever be thrown so far that it would not find its way back home to his hand. It was also so small that, if he wished, he could keep it inside his shirt. There was, however, one defect: the handle was rather short. It was their judgment that the hammer was the best of all the treasures, and that it provided the best protection against the frost giants. Therefore they decided that the dwarf had won the wager.

‘Loki then asked to be allowed to ransom his head, but the dwarf replied that there was no hope of that. “Catch me then,” said Loki. But when the dwarf tried to grab hold of him, Loki was already far away.

‘Loki had shoes that allowed him to race through the air and over the sea. The dwarf told Thor that he should catch Loki, and Thor did so. The dwarf wanted to cut off Loki’s head, but Loki said that the dwarf had a right to his head but not to the neck. The dwarf then took a narrow strip of leather and a knife. He intended to cut holes in Loki’s lips and to sew his mouth shut, but the knife would not cut. The dwarf said that it would be better if his brother Awl were there. No sooner had he mentioned it than the awl was there, and it punched holes through the lips.¹ He then stitched the lips together before ripping away the outer edges. The thong sewing shut Loki’s mouth is called Vartari.’