Norse & Germanic
Mjölnir
Mjölnir
Smashes anything, and returns to its owner's hand when thrown.
WeaponFirst recorded 1220
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Photograph: A Roman gold snake ring of the first century CE. A serpent winds several times around the finger, with head and tail projecting above and below.
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3,000 × 3,000 PX3000×3000
ArchiveNorse & Germanic · Jewel
Andvaranaut
Andvaranaut
Makes gold multiply but destroys everyone who owns it in turn.
- Owner
- The dwarf Andvari, later Sigurd
- Maker
- The dwarf Andvari
- First record
- Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda1220
- Gallery
- Norse & Germanic
Notes on the photograph 3
Story
Loki accidentally killed the son of Hreidmar, who had taken the form of an otter, and as compensation had to pay enough gold to cover the otter's skin. Loki caught the dwarf Andvari, hiding in the form of a fish, and took all his gold.
Andvari begged to keep just one small gold ring, because it made gold multiply again. When Loki took the ring as well, Andvari cursed it, saying whoever held the ring and the gold would die.
The curse came true. Hreidmar was killed by his son Fafnir, Fafnir became a dragon guarding the gold and was killed by Sigurd, and Sigurd too lost his life in betrayal.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows Gold snake ring(Roman, 1st century CE), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
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