Dúrnir (Old Norse: [ˈduːrnez̠]) was a dwarf who appears in the three Old Norse skaldic poems which suggests that he once was a well-known dwarf in Norse mythology.
The most notable poem is known as Ynglingatal:
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A more literal translation:
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He also appears in a list of Dwarves in the anonymous Dverga heiti:
The third poem is found in Laufás-Edda:
Snorri also includes Dúrnir in a list of giants in the Skáldskaparmál section of his Prose Edda (Faulkes translation, p. 157).
It is possible that the name Durnir is an emendationofDurinn, mentioned as the father of dwarves in Dvergatal. Both names mean door, or door-warden. The names Durinn and Durnir do not appear in the same texts. The Norwegian translation of Ynglinga Saga from 1900 uses the name of Durinn instead of Durnir.
