Norsery Rhymes from A to Z Happy Thorsday - Buinn, the Prepared. Well here we are another Thor’s Day and another 20 min sketch of a Norse (and Germanic) mythological characters. This week it’s Buinn (Búinn), the Prepared Dwarven (Dverg / Dvergr / Dwarf).
His name means 'to be prepared’, or ‘to be ready’, ‘to get ready', or ‘to go’. It can be translated as being prepared in general. Or ready for departure on a journey. Or to be prepared for anything. Or alternately ‘The one who is always ready’ I like the idea of there being a dwarf who is always prepared for anything. Whether it’s pick up and go, or some emergency. Which is why it’s this last meaning I’ve chosen to sketch today.
Buinn’s meaning has also been applied as tied to funeral rites. Such as in the old norse Haug-Búinn, a burial mound dwelling spirit or dverg who protected burial sites and the bodies of those within. Where the Buinn meaning “to be prepared for burial” likely comes from. Several other dverg have been attributed with this kind of imagery over time. Such as Dainn whose is associated with the cutting of the runes, his name literally means ‘died”. This is likely given how their names can be used as symbolic ties to death, living in the dark and underground. For Buinn this likely stems from the originating word búa, source for both búinn and the old English word for bound, Boun. As it can mean both set for travel, and wrapped up in cloth. So Buinn in this case would likely not himself be bound, but a protector or teacher of funeral bindings. Which is a possible way to interpret other death related Dverg connotations, that they are keepers of the death rites. I’ll tackle illustrating this version next time.
