Page:Norse mythology or, the religion of our forefathers, containing all the myths of the Eddas, systematized and interpreted with an introduction, vocabulary and index.djvu/450



[Compare Anglo-Sax. brego, princeps.] The god of poetry. A son of Odin. He is the best of skalds. Brage.

[Literally broad-blink, from breiðr, broad, and blika (Germ. blicken; Eng. to blink), to gleam, twinkle]. Balder's dwelling. Breidablik.

Freyja's necklace or ornament. Brisingamen.

[This word is generally explained as meaning the bearing, i. e. father; but we think that it is the same as the Anglo-Saxon býre, son, descendant, offspring. We do not see how it can be conceived as an active participle of the verb bera, to bring forth. See p. 195, where we have followed Keyser.] The father of Bor. He was produced by the cow's licking the stones covered with rime. Bure.

Frey'a attendant; Beyla's husband. Bygver.

[The flame of the dwelling]. The brother of Loke. Byleipt.

D

[Day]. Son of Delling. Dag.

A hart that gnaws the branches of Ygdrasil. Daain.

[deglinger (dagr, day), dayspring]. The father of Day. Delling.

female mythic being may be called Dís. Dis.
 * plural . Attendant spirit or guardian angel. Any

[drjúpa; Eng. drip; Germ. traufen; Dan. dryppe]. Odin's ring. It was put on Belder'r funeral-pile. Skirner offered it to Gerd. Draupner.

One of the fetters by which the Fenris-wolf was fettered. Drome.

, } Harts that gnaw the branches of Ygdrasil. Duneyr; .} Durathror. The dwarf, second in degree. Durin.

A dwarf. Dvalin.

[Anglo-Sax. dweorg; Eng. dwarf; Germ. zwerg; Swed. dwerg]. A dwarf. In modern Icelandic lore dwarfs disappear, but remain in local names, as Dverga-steinn (compare the Dwarfie Stone in Scott's Pirate), and in several words and phrases. From the belief that dwarfs lived in rocks an echo is called dwerg-mál (dwarf-talk), and dwerg-mála means to echo. The dwarfs were skilled in metal-working.