Study › Runes & Norse › The Norse in Modern Culture
The Norse myths have never stopped being retold. Tolkien took his dwarves' names from the Völuspá, Wagner built his Ring from the Volsung legend, and Marvel made Thor a hero.
Tolkien and the Völuspá
The Norse myths have never stopped being retold. J. R. R. Tolkien, a professor of Old English, took the names of the dwarves in The Hobbit — Thorin, Dwalin, Fili, Kili, Bombur and the rest — straight from a list of dwarf names in the Völuspá. The same list gave him the name Gandalf, 'wand-elf', and Thorin's title Oakenshield.
Wagner and Marvel
In the 19th century Richard Wagner built his great opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelung from the Völsung legends of Sigurd, the dragon and the cursed ring. In 1962 Thor became a Marvel comic hero, and later a film star, carrying his hammer to audiences who had never heard of the Eddas.
Bluetooth
Even the technology of daily life carries a Norse name. Bluetooth is named after the Danish king Harald Bluetooth, who united the Danish tribes in the 10th century — and its logo is made from his initials written in runes, ᚼ and ᛒ, joined together.
Read Tolkien's runes, Sigurd and the dragon Fafnir and the Bluetooth rune.
Questions
Where did Tolkien get the dwarf names?
From the list of dwarf names in the Völuspá, Gandalf included.
Is the Bluetooth logo made of runes?
Yes, the initials of Harald Bluetooth in runes.