Who Were Dark Elves in Norse Myth?

Elves have become one of the most favorite angles in many mythologies. They were respected and loved for their shiny appearance. In Norse mythology, though elves were not the most beautiful creatures they possessed one of the most notable beauties that everyone should envy. But the same thing seemed to fail on the black elves. 

In fact, dark elves were the dwarves in Norse mythology. Though they were created in lines and words, they were created to serve important roles in the myth. Nearly all the weapons in the Norse Gods' weapon collection. Dwarves built their homes deep in the land of Svartalfheim. They were known as the svartalfar which meant the black elves. They lived in the cave or under a very wet and dirty place. So the very thought of the dwarves in Norse mythology just made me feel the general context was quite vague and dark. 

The dwarf blacksmith

The origin of the dwarves had many things that I didn't really like it. In the Creation of the World, dwarves were depicted to be born from the worms of Ymir's dead body. Specifically, when Ymir was killed by the brothers of Odin, the worms crawled out from his corpse and became the dark elves also known as the dwarves.

The thing that many of us must remember is the great contribution of the dwarves to the whole myth. But what were their presents? 

Mjolnir was created by the dwarves

The dwarves created many treasures to gift Norse gods. Even if you know little about Norse mythology, you must know about the Mjolnir hammer and Thor God of Thunder and Lightning. The Mjolnir hammer of Thor was made by these black elves. It was the most powerful in the cosmos though it had only one week point: short handle. But the short handle of Mjolnir hammer of Thor wasn't because of the dwarves. It was the fault of Loki who tried to play some trick on the Mjolnir hammer. The second famous weapon that black elves created was Gungnir the Spear of Odin. This Viking supreme god was gifted with Gungnir spear which never missed its target. The dwarves also created the magical chain that could bind Fenrir the Wolf, the ship of Freyr that could travel through the air, the beautiful hair of Sif Thor's Wife, etc. 

Norse dwarves in their forge

As far as we know, the Aesir god tribe was mainly associated with their weapons while the power of the Vanir god tribe was more related to magic. This is to illustrate the power and importance of the black elves.