Dwarf

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{{folklore}}
[[File:The Dwarfs at Work.jpg|left|thumb|175px|Heigh-Ho!]]
A '''dwarf''' is a [[myth]]ological creature. Dwarves are [[human]]oid, but shorter and uglier. They are frequently depicted with extremely large and bushy beards. In some stories, either dwarves have no [[woman|women]] at all, or dwarf-women just happen to look exactly like the men (complete with beards), with all of their [[Breast|feminine]] [[Cunt|features]] hidden under twelve layers of armour. Dwarves are usually depicted as very skilled craftsmen, known for their cunning inventions and fine metalwork.<ref group=note>For instance, a dwarf created [[Thor]]'s hammer, Mjolnir.</ref> They are also miners, constantly looking for precious materials.<ref group=note>This can be seen in even the Disney version of Snow White, which along with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien were predated by [[Norse mythology|Norse]] and other [[German]]ic mythology.</ref> Dwarves sometimes use [[magic]], but usually don't cast flashy magical spells; instead, they create magical weapons, armour, and charms.

==Mythology and fantasy literature==

In [[Norse mythology]], four dwarves hold up the four corners of the sky. Dwarves overlap somewhat with the 
drow
 "black elves" that in the Prose Edda are listed as the inhabitants one of the Nine Worlds, Svartalfheim.

Dwarves are also a staple in modern [[fantasy]] [[literature]], due in large part to the influence of J.R.R. Tolkien, who began his literary depictions of dwarves by directly ripping off Norse mythology — going so far as to take almost all of the dwarf names in ''The Hobbit'' straight out of a long list in the Eddaic poem ''Voluspa''. In modern fantasy media, they are almost always portrayed as [[Scotland|Scottish]], [[Scandinavia|Nordic]] or [[Russia]]n as well as both tough and brawny in usually stark contrast with the slender and nimble but fragile [[elf|elves]], having also often [[beer]]s of [[Fun:The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy|Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster]] levels and a more or less strong disliking of the former.

In the popular trading card game ''Magic: the Gathering'' (MTG) and related spin-off material, dwarves appear in a variety of manners from the stereotypical, deformed miner type<ref>[https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=151106 Duergar Mine-Captain]. Magic the Gathering.</ref> to sexy, intelligent machinist man.<ref>[https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=497810 Reyav, Master Smith]. Magic the Gathering.</ref> Of note is the fact that dwarves in MTG are not solely depicted as white men; they presumably do not have '''only''' Scottish accents either.

Crossing over into a realistic depiction of dwarfism in a fantastical world would be Tyrion Lannister of the ''Game of Thrones'' series (''A Song of Fire and Ice'' to bookworms). Tyrion is called a dwarf in the sense of being part mythological creature,{{fact}} but is really a Human who is rumor-milled by the masses who do not know him. Tyrion also seems to carry a reputation for an extraordinary amount of sexual conquests.

==Dwarfism==
[[File:Pygmies+Dwarfs_Demotivational.gif|right|thumb|300px|Note: this is not how dwarfism works.]]
In real life, '''dwarfism''' is a catch-all for a number of health conditions resulting in extremely short stature. Historically, people with some of these health conditions were called "dwar'''f'''s" (distinct from the dwar'''ve'''s of modern fantasy), but nowadays the polite term is "little people." And no, contrary to claims made by [[young earth creationism|young earth creationist]] Jim Pinkoski, the existence of very short people nowadays does not prove that [[Adam]] was 15 feet tall.<ref>[http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/08/09/if-you-doubt-this-is-possible/ Blogpost from August 2006]</ref> Human height is affected by conditions experienced during childhood, with people generally getting ''taller'' in recent generations due to factors such as better nutrition.<ref>[https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2106743119 An integrative skeletal and paleogenomic analysis of stature]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150513-will-humans-keep-getting-taller Will humans keep getting taller?]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Elf]]
*[[Fun:Fairies|Fairies]]

==External links==
*[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2709754/ “Nobody tosses a dwarf!” The relation between the empirical and normative reexamined]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|1|80%}}

[[Category:Folklore]]
[[Category:Norse mythology]]
{{stub|mythology}}

Categories: Folklore, Norse mythology