Otter’s Ransom: The Rhinegold And Sigurd The Dragon Slayer

‘Why is gold called Otter’s ransom?’¹

‘It is said that once when the Æsir, Odin, Loki and Hoenir, were travelling to find out about the wide world, they came to a river and walked along its bank until they arrived at a waterfall. Beside it was an otter who had caught a salmon in the falls and was dozing as he ate it. Loki picked up a stone and, throwing it at the otter, struck its head. Loki was pleased with his catch, having with one blow caught both an otter and a salmon.

‘The gods, taking both the salmon and the otter with them, continued on until they came to a house and went in. The farmer living there was named Hreidmar; he was a powerful man and very skilled in magic. The Æsir asked to stay there for the night. They said that they had with them enough food and showed the master of the house their catch. But when Hreidmar saw the otter he called his sons, Fafnir and Regin, to tell them that their brother Otter had been killed, and who was responsible.

‘The father and sons now attacked the Æsir, seizing and binding them. They told the Æsir about Otter, saying that he was Hreidmar’s son. The Æsir offered to ransom their lives with as much wealth as Hreidmar himself would demand, and these terms, bound by oaths, became the basis of their agreement. Then the otter was flayed. Hreidmar took the otter skin, shaped like a bag, and commanded them to fill the skin with red gold and also to cover the outside completely. This would be the terms of the reconciliation between them.

‘Odin then sent Loki into Svartalfaheim, and there he found the dwarf called Andvari. He was a fish in water, and Loki caught him, demanding as ransom all the gold that the dwarf had in his home of stone. Then they entered into the rock, and the dwarf brought forward all his gold. It was a huge treasure. But the dwarf hid in his hand a little gold ring. Loki saw him do this and told him to hand over the ring. The dwarf begged Loki not to take the ring. He confided that if the ring remained in his possession, he would be able to make more wealth for himself. Loki said that not one coin² was to remain with Andvari and, taking the ring from the dwarf, he left. The dwarf called after him, saying that the ring would be the death of whoever possessed it. Loki replied that was fine with him. He said that this foretelling would hold, because he would bring these words of warning to the ears of those who would get the ring.

‘Loki then returned to Hreidmar’s and showed Odin the gold. When Odin saw the ring, he found it beautiful and removed it from the treasure, paying Hreidmar the rest of the gold. Then Hreidmar stuffed the otter skin with as much of the treasure as he could and set it upright when it was full. Odin then came forward and started to cover the skin with the gold, as he was required to do. He then told Hreidmar to come and see whether the skin was completely covered. Hreidmar looked carefully. When he saw that one whisker stuck out, he asked that it be covered; otherwise, their agreement would be broken. Odin then brought out the ring and with it he covered the whisker, saying that they were now free from the otter’s ransom.

‘When Odin had taken his spear and Loki his shoes, so that they no longer had anything to fear, Loki recounted Andvari’s words, saying that the ring and the gold would be the death of anyone who owned it. And so it happened ever afterwards.

‘Now it has been told why gold is called Otter’s ransom, the forced payment of the Æsir or the metal of strife.’

The Curse on the Gold Begins to Work

‘What more is there to tell about the gold?’

‘Hreidmar took the gold as compensation for his son, but Fafnir and Regin asked for part of it as payment for their brother. Hreidmar, however, would not grant them a single gold coin, and the tragic response of these brothers was that they killed their father for that gold. Then Regin asked Fafnir to divide the gold equally between them. Fafnir replied that there was little hope of his sharing the gold with his brother after he had killed his own father for it. He told Regin to leave, otherwise he would follow the same path as Hreidmar. Fafnir had by then taken Hreidmar’s helmet and placed it on his head.

It was called the Ægis-Helm [the Helm of Dread], and it brought fear to all living things when they saw it. Also he took the sword called Hrotti, whereas Regin had the sword called Refil. Regin now fled, and Fafnir went up on to Gnita-Heath. There he made for himself a lair, and, changing himself into the likeness of a serpent, he lay down on the gold.

Sigurd the Volsung

‘Regin then went to King Hjalprek in Thjod and became his smith. He took Sigurd, the son of Sigmund, who was the son of Volsung, as his foster son. Sigurd’s mother was Hjordis, the daughter of Eylimi. Sigurd was the finest of all warrior kings because of his family, his strength and his courage. Regin told him where Fafnir lay on the gold and urged him to seek the treasure.

‘Regin then forged the sword called Gram. It was so sharp that when Sigurd lowered it into running water it sliced through a tuft of wool carried by the current against the sword’s edge. Next Sigurd used the sword to cut Regin’s anvil in two, starting from its top down to the log on which it rested.

‘Sigurd and Regin next travelled together to Gnita-Heath. Sigurd dug a pit in the path used by Fafnir and lowered himself into it. As Fafnir crawled to the water he passed over the pit, and at that instant Sigurd thrust his sword through him. That was his death. Regin then came forward and said that Sigurd had killed his brother. As settlement between him and Sigurd, he asked Sigurd to take Fafnir’s heart and roast it on the fire. Regin then lay down, drank Fafnir’s blood and went to sleep.

‘Sigurd roasted the heart, and when he thought it was cooked, he touched it with his finger to find out if it was still raw. The boiling juice from the heart ran on to his finger, scalding it, and he stuck his finger into his mouth. When the heart’s blood ran on to his tongue, he suddenly understood the speech of birds. He heard nuthatches speaking as they sat in the trees. One of them said:

“There sits Sigurd spattered with blood, as Fafnir’s heart he roasts, on the fire. Wise would seem the breaker of rings, if he would eat the gleaming heart.”

‘Another said:

“There lies Regin, making his plans, intending to betray the boy who trusts him. Moved by anger, he gathers evil thoughts; the forger of trouble wants vengeance for his brother.”

‘Then Sigurd went up to Regin and killed him. Afterwards, he mounted his horse Grani and rode until he came to Fafnir’s lair. There Sigurd gathered up the gold and put it into sacks. These he placed on Grani’s back, and then climbed up himself and rode on his way.

‘Now the story has been told why gold is called the lair or the home of Fafnir, the metal of Gnita-Heath, or Grani’s burden.

The Valkyrie Brynhild and the Gjukungs

‘Sigurd rode until he came to a house up on a mountain. Inside a woman was sleeping; she wore a helmet and a mail coat. He drew his sword and cut the mail coat from her. She then awakened and said that her name was Hild but that she was called Brynhild and was a valkyrie.

‘Sigurd rode away until he came to a king named Gjuki and his wife named Grimhild. Their children were Gunnar, Hogni, Gudrun and Gudny. Gothorm was Gjuki’s stepson. After staying there for a long time, Sigurd married Gjuki’s daughter, Gudrun. With Gunnar and Hogni, Sigurd swore oaths of brotherhood.

‘Next Sigurd and the sons of Gjuki travelled together to ask Atli [Attila the Hun], the son of Budli, to give his sister Brynhild as a wife to Gunnar. She was living on the mountain called Hindafell, and around her hall burned a wavering flame. She had taken an oath to marry only that man who dared ride through the wavering flame. Sigurd and the Gjukungs, also called the Niflungs,³ rode up the mountain with Gunnar intending to ride through the wavering flame. Gunnar’s horse, named Goti, would not jump into the fire. Then Sigurd and Gunnar exchanged their shapes and their names because Grani refused to be ridden by any man other than Sigurd. Springing on to Grani’s back, Sigurd rode through the wavering flame.

‘That evening Sigurd wed Brynhild. But when they got into the bed, he drew the sword Gram from its sheath and placed it between them. In the morning, after he got up and had dressed, he gave to Brynhild, as the linen fee,⁴ the gold ring that Loki had taken from Andvari. In return, he took from her another ring as a remembrance. Sigurd then jumped on to his horse and rode to his companions. He and Gunnar then returned to their own shapes. Together with Brynhild, they returned to Gjuki. Sigurd had two children with Gudrun, Sigmund and Svanhild.

Brynhild and Gudrun Quarrel

‘It happened once that Brynhild and Gudrun went down to the water to wash their hair. When they reached the river, Brynhild waded out from the shore. She said that she did not want water on her head which had already rinsed through Gudrun’s hair, because hers was the more courageous husband. Then Gudrun followed her out into the river, saying that it was her privilege to wash her hair higher up in the river, because she was married to a man braver than Gunnar or anyone else in the world, and it was he who had killed Fafnir and Regin and taken both their inheritances.

‘Brynhild replied: “Greater was the feat when Gunnar rode through the wavering flame while Sigurd would not dare.”

‘Then Gudrun laughed and said, “Do you think it was Gunnar who rode through the wavering flame? This I know: the one who came into your bed was the one who gave me this gold ring. Further, the gold ring you have on your hand, which you received as the morning gift, is called Andvaranaut [Andvari’s Gift], and I do not believe that Gunnar was the one who won it at Gnita-Heath.”

‘Brynhild then grew silent and returned home.

‘From then on she urged Gunnar and Hogni to kill Sigurd. But because they had sworn oaths to Sigurd, they urged their brother Gothorm to kill Sigurd, which he did by thrusting a sword through Sigurd while he slept. When Sigurd felt the wound, he threw his sword Gram at Gothorm, slicing the man in half at the middle. Sigurd died there together with his three-year-old son Sigmund, whom they also killed. Brynhild then thrust a sword into herself, and she was burned with Sigurd. As for Gunnar and Hogni, they took Fafnir’s wealth and the ring Andvari’s Gift and ruled over the lands.

The Rhinegold, King Atli’s Greed and Queen Gudrun’s Vengeance

‘Brynhild’s brother King Atli, the son of Budli, then married Gudrun, Sigurd’s former wife, and together they had children. King Atli invited Gunnar and Hogni to come for a visit, and they accepted the invitation. Before setting out from home they hid the gold, Fafnir’s inheritance, in the Rhine. That gold has never been found.

‘King Atli was waiting for them with his men, and he fought with Gunnar and Hogni, seizing them in the end. King Atli had Hogni’s heart cut out while he was alive, and that was his death. Atli had Gunnar thrown into the snake pit, but Gunnar secretly was given a harp. Because his hands were bound he played it with his toes; all the snakes fell asleep, except for one adder. This one glided towards him and struck just below his breastbone so that she buried her head into his flesh, grabbing hold of his liver until he died.

‘Gunnar and Hogni are called Niflungs and Gjukungs, and for this reason the gold is called the treasure or the inheritance of the Niflungs.

‘Shortly after that Gudrun killed her two sons, and she had goblets made from their skulls, using gold and silver. Then a funeral feast was held for the Niflungs at which Gudrun had King Atli served mead in these cups, mixed with the blood of the boys. She also had their hearts roasted and given to the king to eat. She then confronted Atli and, with foul words, told him what she had done. There was no lack of strong mead at the feast and most people fell asleep where they were sitting. Later in the night, Gudrun, accompanied by Hogni’s son, approached the king as he slept and struck him his death blow. Then they spread fire in the hall, and the people inside burned to death.

Gudrun’s Third Marriage

‘After that Gudrun went down to the shore and jumped into the sea, wanting to drown herself. But she was carried across the fjord and came to the land ruled by King Jonak. When he saw her, he took her as his own and married her. They had three sons:⁵ Sorli, Hamdir and Erp. Their hair was black as a raven’s, as was the hair of Gunnar and Hogni and of the other Niflungs.

‘Svanhild, the daughter of Sigurd in his youth, was raised there and became the most beautiful of women. King Jormunrek the Powerful,⁶ learning of her beauty, sent his son Randver to ask for her hand on his behalf. After Randver’s arrival at Jonak’s, Svanhild was entrusted to his keeping, as he was the one who was to take her to Jormunrek. Then Bikki⁷ [the king’s adviser] spoke. He suggested that it would be better if Randver took Svanhild for himself, because the two were young, whereas Jormunrek was an old man. The idea appealed to the young people, but the next thing Bikki did was to tell the king what had happened.

King Jormunrek’s Tragedy

‘King Jormunrek had his son seized and led to the gallows. Randver grabbed hold of his hawk and plucked out its feathers, asking that it be sent to his father. Then Randver was hanged. When King Jormunrek saw the hawk, he realized that, like it, now featherless and unable to fly, his kingdom also was disabled as he was old and had no son.

‘Later King Jormunrek was returning from a hunt with his retainers. Riding from the forest, he saw Queen Svanhild sitting outside, washing her hair. He and his men rode her down, trampling her to death under the feet of their horses.

‘When Gudrun learned about this, she incited her sons to seek vengeance for Svanhild. As they prepared their trip, she gave them mail coats and helmets so strong that iron would not pierce them. Her advice to her sons was that when they reached King Jormunrek they should attack him at night while he slept. Sorli and Hamdir should cut off his arms and legs, and Erp the head. As they travelled, the brothers asked Erp what assistance they could expect from him, should they actually get to King Jormunrek. He answered that he would help them just as the hand helps the foot. They said that the foot was not supported at all by the hand.

‘Their mother had taunted the sons as they set out, and that made them so angry with her that they wanted to do whatever would hurt her the most. So they killed Erp, because she loved him the most. A little while later, as Sorli was walking, one of his legs slipped under him, and he supported himself with his hand. Then he said: “The hand now has helped the foot. It would have been better if Erp had lived!”

‘It was night when they reached King Jormunrek’s sleeping quarters. He awoke as they struck off his hands and legs, and he called out to his men, commanding them to rise.

‘Then Hamdir said: “The head would now have been off, if Erp had lived!”

‘The king’s men rose and attacked the brothers, but they could not harm them with weapons. Finally Jormunrek called to his men, telling them to stone them. They did so and Sorli and Hamdir both fell. Now the house of Gjuki and all his descendants were dead.

‘From his youth, Sigurd was survived by a daughter named Aslaug.⁸ She had been born at the home of Heimir in Hlymdales, and from her great families are descended.

‘It is said that Sigmund, the son of Volsung, was so tough that he could drink poison and not be harmed. Also that his son Sinfjotli, as well as Sigurd,⁹ had skin so hard that poison caused them no harm even if it came on to their bare flesh.’