The Norse myth that inspired “The Lord of the Rings” - Iseult Gillespie

Translator: Noelia Bernárdez Alonso Reviewer: Xusto Rodriguez

The supreme god, Óðinn, was exploring the nine realms with his travel companions

O deus supremo, Óðinn, exploraba os nove reinos

cos seus compañeiros de viaxe, Hœnir e Loki, que tiña fama de falcatrueiro.

Hœnir, and the notoriously mischievous Loki.

After a long journey, the three reached a waterfall in Niðavellir,

Tras unha longa xornada, chegaron a unha fervenza en Niðavellir,

the subterranean land of the dwarves, and stopped for water.

a terra subterránea dos ananos, e pararon a beber auga.

Óðinn and Hœnir were eager to meet Hreiðmarr, the king of the dwarves,

Óðinn e Hœnir estaban ansiosos por coñecer a Hreiðmarr, o rei dos ananos,

but Loki was bored and hungry.

pero Loki estaba aborrecido e famento.

Spotting an otter nearby, Loki tossed a stone at its head,

Detectou unha lontra preto, guindoulle unha pedra á cabeza

killing the animal.

e matou o animal.

He kept its pelt and slouched after the others.

Colleu a pel e seguiu os outros.

When they greeted Hreiðmarr, the king paled,

Cando saudaron a Hreiðmarr, o rei tornouse pálido,

for the pelt belonged to none other than his shapeshifting son.

pois a pel pertencía nin máis nin menos que ao seu fillo metamorfo.

Hreiðmarr summoned his two surviving sons, Fáfnir and Regin,

Hreiðmarr convocou os dous fillos que lle quedaban, Fáfnir e Regin,

and bound the gods.

e atou os deuses.

He decided he would let them go in exchange for gold, as was the custom,

Decidiu que os deixaría marchar a cambio de ouro, como era costume,

but only if they could fill the otter pelt with the finest gold

mais só se eran quen de encher a pel de lontra co ouro máis puro

until not even a hair was visible.

até que non se vise nin un só pelo.

Because of how the otter skin stretched,

Como a pel da lontra estiraba,

this meant procuring a nearly impossible amount—

para conseguilo terían que atopar unha cantidade case infinita,

but Loki had an idea.

mais Loki tivo unha idea.

The dwarves were master craftspeople.

Os ananos eran mestres artesáns.

One of them, Andvari, was said to forge marvelous creations.

Dun deles, Andvari, dicíase que forxaba creacións marabillosas.

Andvari often took the form of a fish and, one day,

Andvari adoitaba converterse en peixe.

E un día somerxeuse a máis profundidade ca nunca.

he dove deeper than ever before—

so deep he reached the land of the water nymphs,

Tanto se somerxeu, que chegou á terra das ninfas acuáticas,

who guarded mounds of gold.

que custodiaban montes de ouro.

At first, Andvari merely wanted to see their treasures for himself.

Ao principio, Andvari só quería ver os tesouros por si mesmo,

But when the nymphs laughed at his awkward appearance,

mais, cando as ninfas se riron do seu estraño aspecto,

Andvari grew infuriated and seized their gold.

montou en cólera e apoderouse do ouro.

With it, he crafted himself a special ring.

Con el, fabricou un anel especial.

As long as he wore it, Andvari’s wealth would grow and grow.

Sempre que o levase posto, a riqueza de Andvari seguiría crecendo.

Loki saw Andvari’s riches as the perfect solution to their problem.

Loki viu na fortuna de Andvari a solución perfecta ao seu problema.

He returned to the waterfall, conjured a huge net,

Volveu á fervenza, fixo aparecer unha enorme rede

and extracted a wriggling fish.

e pescou un peixe, que saltaba e se contorsionaba.

As Andvari squirmed, Loki jeered that he’d kill him

Mentres Andvari se retorcía, Loki burlouse del e ameazouno con matalo

unless he handed over his treasure.

se non lle entregaba o seu tesouro.

Andvari directed Loki to his lair.

Andvari guiou a Loki até a súa gorida.

Satisfied with the heaps of gold he saw there,

Satisfeito coas moreas de ouro que viu alí,

Loki freed Andvari—

Loki liberou a Andvari,

but a sudden glint off of one of the dwarf’s fingers

mais un escintileo repentino nun dos dedos do anano

alerted Loki that he’d missed the most powerful treasure of all.

alertouno de que esquecera o tesouro máis poderoso de todos.

Despite Andvari’s pleas, Loki tore the ring away.

Malia as súplicas de Andvari, Loki arrebatoulle o anel.

Seething, Andvari cursed the ring,

Cheo de ira, Andvari maldiciu o anel

declaring that it would be the doom of all its subsequent owners.

e proclamou que sería a perdición de todos aqueles que o posuísen.

Back at the palace,

Xa de volta no palacio,

Andvari’s gold appeared to completely cover the otter skin.

parecía que o ouro de Andvari cubría por completo a pel da lontra.

But as Hreiðmarr inspected the pelt,

Porén, ao examinar a pel, Hreiðmarr

he saw a single, bare whisker peeking out.

comprobou que aínda asomaba un único pelo do bigote.

So, the gods relinquished the ring.

Ante esa situación, os deuses renunciaron ao anel.

As Hreiðmarr slipped it onto his finger,

Cando Hreiðmarr puxo o anel no dedo,

Regin shuddered at the greed in his father’s eyes,

Regin estremeceuse ante a avaricia que viu nos ollos do seu pai,

while his brother, Fáfnir, looked on in envy.

mentres o seu irmán, Fáfnir, observaba con envexa.

Later, when Fáfnir demanded that the king share the wealth,

Máis tarde, Fáfnir esixiulle ao rei que compartise os tesouros,

Hreiðmarr refused.

mais Hreiðmarr negouse.

So, Fáfnir killed his father,

Entón, Fáfnir matou o seu pai,

pried the coveted ring from his finger, and fled the palace with the treasure.

sacoulle o anel do dedo e fuxiu do palacio co tesouro.

He came to rest in a cave where he curled around his new possessions.

Parou a descansar nunha cova, onde se arrecunchou coas súas novas posesións.

The ring warped him inside and out, and over time,

O anel corrompeuno por dentro e por fóra e, co tempo,

Fáfnir morphed into a gruesome dragon.

Fáfnir transformouse nun espantoso dragón.

Meanwhile, Fáfnir’s betrayal and guarded treasure bore into Regin’s mind.

Mentres, a traizón de Fáfnir e o tesouro que custodiaba atormentaban a Regin.

He finally enlisted the help of his loyal foster son, a warrior named Sigurd,

Recrutou o seu fiel fillo adoptivo, un guerreiro de nome Sigurd,

to slay the monster his brother had become.

para que matase o monstro en que se convertera o seu irmán.

Sigurd did as instructed.

Sigurd fixo o que lle ordenaron.

Afterwards, Regin asked Sigurd to roast the beast’s heart so he could consume it.

Despois, Regin pediulle a Sigurd que asase o corazón da besta para poder comelo.

Sigurd obeyed and tasted the heart’s blood before serving him.

Sigurd obedeceu e probou o sangue do corazón antes de llo servir.

But as soon as the liquid met Sigurd’s tongue,

Porén, no momento no que o líquido tocou a lingua de Sigurd,

he understood the chatter of the surrounding birds.

comezou a entender os trilos dos paxaros dos arredores.

They were singing of but one thing: Regin was going to kill him.

Cantaban sobre unha única cousa: Regin ía matalo.

So, Sigurd slayed Regin and seized the wealth for himself.

Daquela, Sigurd matou a Regin e quedou coas riquezas.

This was only the beginning.

Porén, isto foi só o comezo.

Over the coming years, the ring would tear families apart, doom lovers,

Co paso dos anos, o anel destruiría familias, maldiciría parellas

and empower, then ultimately destroy, any who had it in their possession.

e daríalle poder, para despois destruílo, a calquera que o tivese nas súas mans.

Andvari’s curse set a vicious cycle in motion that would consume many lives—

A maldición de Andvari puxo en marcha unha espiral que consumiría moitas vidas

and inspire some of the most influential works of the 19th and 20th centuries.

e inspiraría algunhas das obras máis influentes dos séculos XIX e XX.