Svartalfheim is the underground realm of tunnels and forges where the dwarves hammered out Mjolnir, Gungnir, and Freyja's necklace Brisingamen.
At a glance
- Old Norse
- Svartalfaheimr
- Meaning
- "Home of the black elves"
- Type
- One of the nine realms
- Inhabitants
- Dwarves (svartalfar / dvergar)
- Known for
- Forges that made Mjolnir, Gungnir, Brisingamen
- Connects
- Alfheim, the nine realms
- Sources
- Poetic Edda, Prose Edda
Svartalfheim is the underground realm of tunnels and forge-fire that the dwarves call home. Its craftsmen hammered out some of the gods' most prized possessions, from Thor's hammer to Freyja's necklace, working matter that traces back to the body of the first giant.
Home of the dwarves
Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda names Svartalfheim, home of the black elves, as the realm of the dvergar, the dwarves. Unlike the bright world of Alfheim above, Svartalfheim is a world of darkness and stone, reached by descending rather than ascending, its people small, skilled, and rarely willing to leave their tunnels for long. No single myth is set entirely within its borders, but its craftsmen reach into nearly every other realm through the objects they send out into the world.
Origin in Ymir's flesh
The Prose Edda's Gylfaginning gives the dwarves an origin unlike any other Norse race: they first bred as maggots in the rotting flesh of Ymir, the primordial giant whose body the gods later used to build the world itself. The gods gave these creatures human understanding and shape, but let them keep their dwelling underground, in earth and stone, which is why Svartalfheim's tunnels suit them so naturally.
Treasures of the forge
The dwarves' greatest fame comes from a single contest recorded in the Prose Edda's Skaldskaparmal, in which Loki wagered his own head that one pair of dwarven smiths could not outdo another.
| Treasure | Made for | Power |
|---|---|---|
| Mjolnir | Thor | A hammer that never misses and always returns |
| Gungnir | Odin | A spear that never fails to strike its mark |
| Draupnir | Odin | A ring that drips eight new gold rings every ninth night |
| Skidbladnir | Freyr | A ship that folds up small enough to fit in a pouch |
| Brisingamen | Freyja | A necklace of extraordinary beauty and power |