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 as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

, Brokkr (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: , "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, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

Brokk) is a

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

, and the brother of

Eitri In the Old Norse religion, Eitri (Old Norse: ; or Sindri) is a dwarf and the brother of Brokkr. According to ''Skáldskaparmál'', when Loki had Sif's hair, Freyr's ship Skidbladnir and Odin's spear Gungnir fashioned by the Sons of Ivaldi, ...

or Sindri. According to ''

Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'Poetic Diction' or 'The Language of Poetry'; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda'', compiled by Snorri Sturluson. It consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bra ...

'',

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

had

Sif In Norse mythology, Sif 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 by Snorri Sturl ...

's hair,

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

's ship

Skíðblaðnir ''Skíðblaðnir'' (Old Norse: , 'assembled from thin pieces of wood'Simek (2007:289).), sometimes anglicized as ''Skidbladnir'' or ''Skithblathnir'', is the best of ships in Norse mythology. It is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in th ...

and

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

's spear

Gungnir In Norse mythology, Gungnir (, "the rocking") is the spear of the god Odin. It is known for always hitting the target of the attacker regardless of the attacker's skill. Attestations ''Poetic Edda'' In the Poetic Edda poem ''Völuspá'', the ...

fashioned by the Sons of Ivaldi. Loki 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''; "Garden of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in several Old Norse sagas and mythological texts, including the Eddas, however it has also been suggested to be refe ...

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 Loki that his brother Eitri could make things with better craftsmanship than Skíðblaðnir or Gungnir. 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 Gullinbursti (Old Norse), meaning "Gold Mane" or "Golden Bristles") is a boar in Norse mythology. When Loki had Sif's hair, Freyr's ship Skíðblaðnir, and Odin's spear Gungnir fashioned by the Sons of Ivaldi, he bet his own head with Brokkr ...

, a gadfly, often thought to be Loki 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 In Norse mythology, Draupnir (Old Norse: , "the dripper"Orchard (1997:34).) is a gold ring possessed by the god Odin with the ability to multiply itself: Every ninth night, eight new rings 'drip' from Draupnir, each one of the same size and wei ...

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 t ...

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 ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

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 considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

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