Thank you for you gracious reply. Usually when I point to something being Germanic, I get 'flamed'!

A yes, the Duergar are sometimes called 'Brown men of the moor' by local story tellers.

Another interesting fact about Simonside is that is was once Simundessete. The name 'Simund' is most likely from Sigemund. The most famous Sigemund (not including Sigmund Freud!) is a hero featured in the Volsunga Saga (as Sigmund) and the Nibelunglied (as Siegmund) and in Beowulf. I think the place is named after the same Sigemund as a local folkloric hero 'Simon' is a dragon-slayer as Sigemund is in Beowulf. In German/Teutonic and Norse mythology it is his son, Siegfried/Sigurd who is famous for killing a dragon.

I think 'The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh' could also be connected to the stories of the Waelsungs.