object
Andvaranaut
Andvaranautr
The cursed gold ring taken from the dwarf Andvari, used to cover the last whisker of the otter's skin, and later worn by Brynhildr and sent as a warning by Guðrún.
Andvaranaut is the ring the dwarf Andvari tried to hide from Loki, and on which he laid his curse Reginsmál, prose 2 Reginsmál 5. In Snorri's account Andvari said he could multiply his wealth from it Skáldskaparmál 39.
When the gods paid Hreiðmarr for his son, Odin kept the ring back for himself. One whisker of the otter's skin was still showing, and he had to give it up to cover it Reginsmál, prose 3 Skáldskaparmál 39. Loki made sure the curse went with it.
Its later path is told only in pieces. Snorri says that Sigurðr, after winning Brynhildr in Gunnarr's shape, gave her this ring the next morning as a "linen-fee" and took another ring of hers. In the queens' quarrel Guðrún names the ring on Brynhildr's hand and says it was not Gunnarr who won it on Gnitaheiðr Skáldskaparmál 41. After Sigurðr's death the brothers took "Fáfnir's heritage and Andvari's Yield" Skáldskaparmál 41. In the prose Dráp Niflunga, Guðrún, now Atli's wife, sends the ring with a wolf's hair tied in it to warn Högni Dráp Niflunga, prose 1. Atlakviða tells the same scene but does not name the ring Atlakviða 8. Andvari had promised death to two brothers Reginsmál 5, and both pairs of brothers who owned the gold died for it: Fáfnir and Reginn, then Gunnarr and Högni.
In the sources
Quoted from the hosted translations; each line is checked against the text when the site is built. Select a reference to read it in context.
Then Othin brought out the ring Andvaranaut and covered the hair.
the gold ring which thou bearest on thine hand and didst receive for linen-fee is called Andvari's Yield
as a token she sent to Hogni the ring Andvaranaut and tied a wolf's hair in it.
Where the sources disagree or fall silent
- How the ring could be on Brynhildr's hand (Snorri) and also be sent by Guðrún to Högni (Dráp Niflunga): no source explains how it passed from one to the other, though Snorri says Gunnarr and Högni took 'Andvari's Yield' after Sigurðr's death.
In modern culture
Not from the medieval sources.
The cursed ring that destroys its owners is the core of Wagner's Ring cycle, and readers have often compared it with Tolkien's One Ring. Tolkien himself rejected any close link with Wagner, and the comparison remains a matter of debate.
