A Careless Killing
Odin, Loki, and Hœnir were wandering the world when they came upon a river where an otter lay on the bank, eating a salmon with its eyes closed. Loki threw a stone and killed it with a single cast, pleased to have taken both an otter and a fish at once.
But the otter was no ordinary beast. It was Otr, son of the farmer Hreidmar, who often took that shape to fish. When the gods sought lodging at Hreidmar's house and showed off their catch, Hreidmar and his sons Fáfnir and Regin seized them, for they had slain a member of the family.
Hreidmar named the ransom: the gods must fill the otter's flayed skin with gold and then cover its outside entirely, so that not a hair could be seen. To gather so much gold, Loki was sent to the world of the dwarfs.
Key Events of the Tale
The Death of Otr
Loki kills the otter with a stone, not knowing it is Hreidmar's son in animal form. The gods are taken captive and told the price of their freedom.
The Catching of Andvari
Loki borrows a net and travels to a waterfall where the dwarf Andvari, in the shape of a pike, guards a hoard of gold. Loki snares him and demands every last piece of his treasure.
The Hidden Ring
Andvari surrenders his gold but tries to keep back a single ring, Andvaranaut, which can breed more gold. Loki spies it and takes it too, leaving the dwarf with nothing.
Andvari's Curse
In his fury, Andvari lays a curse upon the ring and all the gold: it will destroy every owner who possesses it, bringing death and ruin down the generations.
Paying the Ransom
The gods fill and cover the otter skin, but one whisker still shows. Odin uses the very ring Andvaranaut to hide it. The ransom is paid, and the curse passes to Hreidmar's house.
The Curse Takes Hold
The gold's doom began at once. Greed for the treasure drove Fáfnir to murder his own father Hreidmar and drive off his brother Regin. Fáfnir then took the hoard to a lonely heath and turned himself into a monstrous dragon to guard it. Regin, robbed of his share, would later raise the hero Sigurd to slay the dragon and win the cursed gold, carrying Andvari's doom on into the saga of the Völsungs.
Sources and Related Tales
The tale is told in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda and in the Poetic Edda poem Reginsmál, and it opens the great legend of the Völsungs. Andvari's cursed ring later inspired treasures in many other tales.
Andvari
The dwarf whose stolen ring carries a curse through the generations.
Sigurd and Fáfnir
The next chapter, in which a hero slays the dragon and claims the cursed gold.
Loki
The god whose careless throw and greedy theft set the whole doom in motion.
Odin
Who uses the cursed ring to cover the last hair of the otter skin.
Quick Facts
Key Participants
Loki
Killer of the otter and thief of the dwarf's gold.
Andvari
The pike-shaped dwarf who curses his stolen hoard.
Hreidmar's Sons
Fáfnir and Regin, whose greed turns the curse to bloodshed.
The Cursed Hoard
Andvaranaut, a ring that breeds gold yet dooms its bearer.
Enough gold to fill and bury an otter's skin whole.
Themes & Symbolism
Greed and Ruin: The gold destroys every hand it touches, from dwarf to god to hero.
The Weight of a Debt: A single careless killing binds gods and mortals in a chain of vengeance.
Fate Set in Motion: The ransom launches the tragedy of the Völsungs that follows.