A dwarf is a type of supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Accounts of dwarfs vary significantly throughout history; however, they are commonly, but not exclusively, presented as living in mountains or stones and being skilled craftspeople. In early literary sources, only males are explicitly referred to as dwarfs. However, they are described as having sisters and daughters, while male and female dwarfs feature in later saga literature and folklore. Dwarfs are sometimes described as short; however, scholars have noted that this is neither explicit nor relevant to their roles in the earliest sources.
Two dwarfs as depicted in a 19th-century edition of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá (1895) by Lorenz Frølich
Siegfried wrestling Alberich, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld
Face of the Heysham hogback stone depicting four figures with upraised arms, which have been interpreted as the dwarfs Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri holding up the sky
The Ribe skull fragment, dating to the 8th century CE, bearing a protective charm against either one or two dwarfs
An elf is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic Poetic Edda and Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda.
Ängsälvor (Swedish "Meadow Elves") by Nils Blommér (1850)
Title page of Daemonologie by James VI and I, which tried to explain traditional Scottish beliefs in terms of Christian scholarship
Alden Valley, Lancashire, possibly a place once associated with elves
Glasgow Botanic Gardens. Kibble Palace. William Goscombe John, The Elf, 1899.
