Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

, ''Andvaranaut'' ( 12th c.

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: ), meaning ''Andvari's Gem'' ("Andvari's precious possession"), is a magic ring, initially owned by Andvari, that could help with finding sources of gold. The mischievous god

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

stole Andvari's treasure and the ring. In revenge, Andvari cursed the ring to bring misfortune and destruction to whoever possessed it. Loki quickly gave the cursed Andvaranaut to Hreidmar, King of the Dwarves, as reparation for having inadvertently killed Hreidmar's son,

Ótr In Norse mythology, Otr (Old Norse: ; alternately: Ott, Oter, Ottar, Ottarr, Otter) is a Norse dwarves, dwarf. He is the son of the king Hreidmar and the brother of Fafnir and Regin. According to the Prose Edda, Otr could Shapeshifting#Norse, cha ...

. Ótr's brother, Fafnir, then murdered Hreidmar and took the ring, turning into a

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

to guard it.

Sigurd Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred t ...

(Siegfried) later killed Fafnir and gave Andvaranaut to

Brynhildr Brunhild, also known as Brunhilda or Brynhild ( , , or ), is a female character from Germanic heroic legend. She may have her origins in the Visigothic princess and queen Brunhilda of Austrasia. In the Norse tradition, Brunhild is a shiel ...

(Brünnehilde). Queen Grimhild of the

Nibelung The term Nibelung ( German) or Niflungr (Old Norse) is a personal or clan name with several competing and contradictory uses in Germanic heroic legend. It has an unclear etymology, but is often connected to the root ''Nebel'', meaning mist. The ...

s then manipulated Sigurd and Brynhildr into marrying her children, bringing Andvaranaut's curse into her family.

Literary references

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

used Andvaranaut as inspiration for the title of his musical drama ''

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...

''. J.R.R. Tolkien may have been inspired by Andvaranaut when designing the

One Ring The One Ring, also called the Ruling Ring and Isildur's Bane, is a central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' (1954–55). It first appeared in the earlier story '' The Hobbit'' (1937) as a magic ring that grants the ...

, both by making the One Ring cursed and by making one of its aspects to allow the wearer to find the other

Rings of Power The Rings of Power are magical artefacts in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, most prominently in his high fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. The One Ring first appeared as a plot device, a magic ring in Tolkien's children's fantasy nov ...

, knowing the location of the wearer of each of the Rings of Power, so that the wearer of the One Ring could control these Ringbearers.

References

{{Völsung Nibelung tradition Artifacts in Norse mythology Mythological clothing Völsung cycle Individual rings Magic rings Loki

Literary references

See also

References