Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri

File:HeyshamHogbackFaces 1.jpg

Face of the Heysham hogback depicting four figures with upraised arms, which have been interpreted as Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri holding up the skyTemplate:Sfn

In Nordic mythology, Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri (); are four dwarfs who hold up the sky after it was made by the gods from the skull of the jötunn Ymir. They are referred to both in Gylfaginning in the Prose Edda and in kennings. They have been further linked to ("dwarfs"), supports for the main beam of some halls, that are likely named due to the roof being seen as a reflection of the sky in Old Nordic religion.

Names and etymology

Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri have been variously translated as "The one in the East, West, North and South" and "East, West, North and South".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The names derive from Template:Langx, , and , meaning east, west, south and north respectively.Template:Sfn

Attestations

Gylfaginning

The longest description of the dwarfs is given in Gylfaginning from the Prose Edda, when after the death of Ymir, Odin (in his guise as Þriði) describes the creation of the sky:

Old Norse textTemplate:Sfn	Brodeur translationTemplate:Sfn
	They took his [Ymir's] skull also, and made of it the heaven, and set it up over the earth with four corners; and under each corner they set a dwarf: the names of these are East, West, North, and South.

Kennings

In the skald Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld's Óláfsdrápa Tryggvasonar, the kenning ("Burden of the relations of Norðris") is used to refer to the sky.Template:Sfn In Skáldskaparmál, Snorri Sturluson says that one can refer to the sky or the heaven with kennings such as Template:Langx ("Toil or burden of the dwarfs") and ("Helm of Vestri and Austri, Suðri, Norðri").Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn An example of this is quoted from the work of Arnórr jarlaskáld.Template:SfnTemplate:Refn

Völuspá

The four dwarfs are listed in the section of Völuspá, Dvergatal.Template:Sfn

Archaeological record

Heysham hogback

Scholars have proposed that Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri are depicted holding up the sky on a hogback stone in Heysham in Lancashire, although this interpretation remains debated.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Although it has been argued that the dwarfs are depicted out of proportion and in a bestial manner, it has been noted that they closely resemble the human on the other side of the stone and it was unlikely that the carver intended to depict them as looking differently to humans.Template:Sfn It has been suggested that the role of the dwarfs in holding up the heavens would imply they were thought to be very tall; however, it has been noted that the sky could have been conceived of as being close to the earth at the horizon. Judgements on their size cannot be supported either way by the hogback stone as the size of the hogback stone imposed physical limitations on the size of depictions.Template:Sfn

Interpretation and discussion

Connection with hall "dwarfs"

It has been noted that the beams that support the roof of the house are known as ("dwarfs") in Old Norse. This has been connected by some scholars to Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri, suggesting that, as in other cases, the home acts like a microcosm, in which the roof is equated with the sky.Template:Sfn

It has been noted that the small wooden blocks that held up the main beam of the roof (Template:Langx) were known as ("dwarfs"). This is first recorded in the 12th century Íslensk hómilíubók but likely reflects earlier naming practices, and is also seen in Denmark and Norway in later times.Template:Sfn The term is widely believed by scholars to originate in the traditions of Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri, whose roles parallel the holding up of the main roof beam.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn This supports the idea that North Germanic heathens saw the hall as representative of the wider world, with the roof equating to the heavens. It is further to be noted that the term for the main roof beam is the same in its singular form as , a member of the Æsir (though they differ in plural form).Template:SfnTemplate:Refn

It has been argued that this mirroring of the world by the hall is further built up by the design of the hall and the imagery contained within it, such as in the use of pillars that reflect the central tree Yggdrasil. This phenomenon has been seen more widely in other cultural spaces, such as Christian churches, Navajo hogans and Cree tents.Template:Sfn

See also

• Anemoi, wind gods in Greek mythology assigned to the cardinal directions
• Atlas, a titan who holds up the sky in Greek mythology
• Four Heavenly Kings, beings in Buddhist tradition that watch over the cardinal directions
• Four Holy Beasts, beings in Chinese tradition assigned to the cardinal directions
• Royal stars, guardians of the corners of the sky in Persian tradition

Bibliography

Secondary

• Template:Cite thesis