Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern per ...

, Brokkr (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

: , "the one who works with metal fragments;

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...

Brokk) is a

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

, and the brother of Eitri or Sindri. According to ''

Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''. The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, ...

'',

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi ...

had

Sif In Norse mythology, Sif (Old Norse: ) is a golden-haired goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century ...

's hair,

Freyr Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, and weather. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden an ...

's ship Skíðblaðnir and

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, ...

's spear

Gungnir In Norse mythology, Gungnir (, "the rocking") is the spear of the god Odin. Attestations ''Poetic Edda'' In the Poetic Edda poem ''Völuspá'', the Æsir-Vanir War is described as officially starting when Odin throws a spear over the heads of ...

fashioned by the Sons of Ivaldi.

boasted greatly of all the things that the Sons of Ivaldi could create. He also boasted that the other dwarves could not create anything beautiful or useful. Brokkr, who was in

Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...

at the time, declared that his brother Eitri could make things far more beautiful and useful than the Sons of Ivaldi. Brokkr bet his head with that of

that his brother Eitri could make things with better craftsmanship than Skíðblaðnir or

. While Eitri used magic in a forge that was extremely hot, Brokkr worked the bellows so that the fire would not cool down nor get too hot for the magic. While making the boar Gullinbursti, a gadfly, often thought to be

himself, came and bit Brokkr on the hand. Brokkr was not disturbed though and kept blowing into the fire. While making the golden arm ring Draupnir the gadfly came again and bit Brokkr, this time in the neck but Brokkr kept on blowing. Finally, while making the hammer

Mjölnir Mjölnir (from Old Norse Mjǫllnir) is the hammer of the thunder god Thor in Norse mythology, used both as a devastating weapon and as a divine instrument to provide blessings. The hammer is attested in numerous sources, including the 11th cen ...

the gadfly bit Brokkr on the eye this time. This temporarily caused Brokkr to stop blowing. That brief stoppage of blowing into the fire caused

's handle to become shorter than it should have been. Because of this,

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, ...

had to wear the iron gauntlets

Járngreipr In Norse mythology, Járngreipr (Old Norse: , "iron grippers") or Járnglófar (, "iron gauntlets"Simek (2007:178).) are the iron gloves of the god Thor. According to the ''Prose Edda'', along with the hammer Mjölnir and the belt Megingjörð, J ...

to handle it. Eitri succeeded in making the golden ring Draupnir, the golden-bristled boar Gullinbursti and the hammer Mjölnir. These objects were judged by the

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

to be superior and Brokkr won the bet. However, Loki did not allow him to take his head as doing so would have damaged his neck which was not included in the bet. In lieu of this, Brokkr sewed Loki's lips so that Loki would not brag until the thread came out.

References

Norse dwarves Blacksmiths {{norse-myth-stub