Andvaranaut in the context of "Fáfnir"

The Völsunga saga (often referred to in English as the Volsunga Saga or Saga of the Völsungs) is a legendary saga, a late 13th-century prose rendition in Old Norse of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan (including the story of Sigurd and Brunhild and the destruction of the Burgundians). It is one of the most famous legendary sagas and an example of a "heroic saga" that deals with Germanic heroic legend.

The saga covers topics including the quarrel between Sigi and Skaði, a huge family tree of great kings and powerful conquerors, the quest led by Sigmund and Sinfjǫtli to save princess Signý from the evil king Siggeir, and, most famously, Sigurd killing the serpent/dragon Fáfnir and obtaining the cursed ring Andvaranaut that Fáfnir guarded.

In Germanic heroic legend and folklore, Fáfnir, was a dwarf or other type of humanoid, who had shifted into the hamr of a Germanic dragon (a worm, "serpent", in period nomenclature), in order to protect a treasure, and then was slain by a member of the Völsung family, typically Sigurð.

In Nordic mythology, he is the son of Hreiðmarr, and brother of Regin and Ótr. He is attested throughout the Völsung Cycle, where, Fáfnir commits patricide out of greed, taking the ring and hoard of the dwarf Andvari, and shapeshifting into a dragon. Fáfnir's brother Regin later assisted Sigurð in obtaining the sword Gram, by which Fáfnir is killed. Fáfnir has been identified with an unnamed dragon killed by a Völsung in other Germanic works, including Beowulf, the Nibelunglied and a number of skaldic poems. Fáfnir and his killing by Sigurð are further represented in numerous medieval carvings from the British Isles and Scandinavia, and a single axe head in a Scandinavian style found in Russia. The story of Fáfnir has continued to have influence in the modern period, such as in the works of J.R.R Tolkien, who drew inspiration from the tale of Fáfnir in his portrayals of Smaug and Gollum.

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 novel, The Hobbit. Tolkien later gave it a backstory and much greater power: he added nineteen other Great Rings which also conferred powers such as invisibility, and which the One Ring could control. These were the Three Rings of the Elves, the Seven Rings for the Dwarves, and the Nine for Men. He stated that there were in addition many lesser rings with minor powers. A key story element in The Lord of the Rings is the addictive power of the One Ring, made secretly by the Dark Lord Sauron; the Nine Rings enslave their bearers as the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths), Sauron's most deadly servants.

Proposed sources of inspiration for the Rings of Power range from Germanic legend with the ring Andvaranaut and eventually Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, to fairy tales such as Snow White, which features both a magic ring and seven dwarfs. One experience that may have been pivotal was Tolkien's professional work on a Latin inscription at the temple of Nodens; he was a god-hero linked to the Irish hero Nuada Airgetlám, whose epithet is "Silver-Hand", or in Elvish "Celebrimbor", the name of the Elven-smith who made the Rings of Power. The inscription contained a curse upon a ring, and the site was called Dwarf's Hill.

In Norse mythology, Hreiðmarr (Old Norse: [ˈhrɛiðˌmɑrː]; anglicized as Hreidmar) is a dwarf. He is featured in the Völsunga saga and in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda.

Hreiðmarr was the father of Regin, Fafnir, Ótr, Lyngheiðr and Lofnheiðr. He owned a house of glittering gold and flashing gems built by Regin and guarded by Fafnir. After Otr was accidentally killed by Loki, the Æsir repaid Hreiðmarr with Andvari's gold and the ring Andvaranaut, a magical ring that could create gold. However, Andvari had cursed the ring to bring misfortune and destruction to whoever else possessed it. Hreiðmarr ignored Loki's warnings about the curse and kept the ring, only to have Fafnir and Regin later kill him for it. Fafnir decided he wanted Andvaranaut for himself, so he turned into a dragon and drove Regin away. Fafnir guarded the treasure until Sigurd, on Regin's instigation, arrived and delivered a fatal blow to the dragon. Regin was then also killed by Sigurd while attempting to murder him for the ring, thus leaving all of Hreiðmarr's family dead.

In Norse mythology, Otr (Old Norse: [ˈotz̠]; alternately: Ott, Oter, Ottar, Ottarr, Otter) is a dwarf. He is the son of the king Hreidmar and the brother of Fafnir and Regin.

According to the Prose Edda, Otr could change into any form and used to spend his days in the shape of an otter, greedily eating fish. In this form, he was slain by Loki, who wanted his pelt. Initially, Hreiðmarr demanded a life for a life, but with the argument that the murder had been an accident when no one involved knew that Otr was a dwarf, he settled for receiving a large weregild for Otr's death, namely to fill Otr's skin with yellow gold and to then cover it entirely with red gold. When the skin was covered, one whisker still protruded, forcing Loki to give up the ring Andvaranaut to hide it. The ring had been stolen from, and cursed by, the dwarf Andvari. It is suggested that this story was meant to show the benefits of not only adhering to the letter of the law (repayment for manslaughter) but sticking to the spirit of the law as well (not demanding an exorbitant ransom). Greed for this cursed treasure ultimately caused the deaths of Hreiðmarr and his two surviving sons: Hreiðmarr was killed by Fáfnir, who transformed into a dragon, and the other two were slain by Sigurðr's sword Gramr.

In Norse mythology, Andvari (12th c. Old Norse: [ˈɑndˌwɑre]; "careful one") is a dwarf who lives underneath a waterfall and has the power to change himself into a pike (gedda) at will.

Andvari had a magical ring Andvaranaut, which helped him become wealthy. Using a net provided by Rán, Loki catches him as a pike and forces him to give up his gold and Andvaranaut. Andvari cursed the stolen gold which would destroy anyone who possessed it. After the deaths of Brynhild and Sigurd, Gunnar left Andvari's gold in a cave. Years later, Andvari discovered the cave and his lost gold, although his ring was lost forever.