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Chapter XIV
Chapter XIV
Regin`s tale of his Brothers, and of the Gold called Andvari`s Hoard
"Thus the tale begins," said Regin. "Hreidmar was my father`s name, a
mighty man and a wealthy: and his first son was named Fafnir, his second
Otter, and I was the third, and the least of them all both for prowess and
good conditions, but I was cunning of work in iron, and silver, and gold,
whereof I could make matters that availed somewhat. Other skill my brother
Otter followed, and had another nature withal, for he was a great fisher, and
above other men herein; in that he had the likeness of an otter by day, and
dwelt ever in the river, and bare fish to bank in his mouth, and his prey
would he ever bring to our father, and that availed him much: for the most
part he kept him in his otter - gear, and then he would come home, and eat
alone, and slumbering, for on the dry land he might see naught. But Fafnir was
by far the greatest and grimmest, and would have all things about called his.
"Now," says Regin, "there was a dwarf called Andvari, who ever abode in
that force,^1 which was called Andvari`s force, in the likeness of a pike, and
got meat for himself, for many fish there were in the force; now Otter, my
brother, was ever wont to enter into the force, and bring fish aland, and lay
them one by one on the bank. And so it befell that Odin, Loki, and Hoenir, as
they went their ways, came to Andvari`s force, and Otter had taken a salmon,
and ate it slumbering upon the river bank; then Loki took a stone and cast it
at Otter, so that he gat his death thereby; the gods were well content with
their prey, and fell to flaying off the otter`s skin; and in the evening they
came to Hreidmar`s house, and showed him what they had taken: thereon he laid
hands on them, and doomed them to such ransom, as that they should fill the
otter skin with gold, and cover it over without with red gold; so they sent
Loki to gather gold together for them; he came to Ran,^2 and got her net, and
went therewith to Andvari`s force, and cast the net before the pike, and the
pike ran into the net and was taken. Then said Loki -
[Footnote 1: Waterfall.]
[Footnote 2: Ran is the goddess of the sea, wife of Aegir. The otter was held
sacred by Norsefolk and figures in the myth and legend of most races besides,
to this day its killing is held a great crime by the Parsees (Haug, Religion
of the Parsees, page 212). Compare penalty above with that for killing the
Welsh king`s cat (Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales. Ed., Aneurin Owen.
Longman, London, 1841, 2 vols., 8 vo.)]
"`What fish of all fishes,
Swims strong in the flood,
But hath learnt little wit to beware?
Thine head must thou buy,
From abiding in hell,
And find me the wan waters flame.`
He answered -
"`Andvari folk call me,
Call Oinn my father,
Over many a force have I fared;
For a Norn of ill - luck,
This life on me lay
Through wet ways ever to wade.`
"So Loki beheld the gold of Andvari, and when he had given up the gold,
he had but one ring left, and that also Loki took from him; then the dwarf
went into a hollow of the rocks, and cried out, that that gold - ring, yea and
all the gold withal, should be the bane of every man who should own it
thereafter.
"Now the gods rode with the treasure to Hreidmar, and fulfilled the otter
- skin, and set it on its feet, and they must cover it over utterly with gold:
but when this was done then Hreidmar came forth, and beheld yet one of the
muzzle hairs, and bade them cover that withal; then Odin drew the ring,
Andvari`s loom, from his hand, and covered up the hair therewith; then sang
Loki -
"`Gold enow, gold enow,
A great weregild, thou hast,
That my head in good hap I may hold;
But thou and thy son
Are naught fated to thrive,
The bane shall it be of you both.`
"Thereafter," says Regin, "Fafnir slew his father and murdered him, nor
got I aught of the treasure, and so evil he grew, that he fell to lying
abroad, and begrudged any share in the wealth of any man, and so became the
worst of all worms, and ever now lies brooding upon that treasure: but for me,
I went to the king and became his master-smith; and thus is the tale of how
I lost the heritage of my father, and the weregild for my brother."
So spake Regin; but since that time gold is called Ottergild, and for no
other cause than this.
But Sigurd answered, "Much hast thou lost, and exceeding evil have thy
kinsmen been! but now, make a sword by thy craft, such a sword as that none
can be made like unto it; so that I may do great deeds therewith, if my heart
avail thereto, and thou wouldst have me slay this mighty dragon."
Regin says, "Trust me well herein; and with that same sword shalt thou
slay Fafnir."
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