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

Translator: Srii yun Reviewer: Reno Kanti Riananda

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

Sang dewa agung, Óðinn, sedang menjelajahi sembilan alam bersama rekannya

Hœnir, and the notoriously mischievous Loki.

Hœnir, dan Loki si pembuat onar.

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

Setelah perjalanan jauh, ketiganya tiba di air terjun di Niðavellir,

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

negeri kurcaci di bawah tanah, dan berhenti untuk minum.

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

Óðinn and Hœnir sangat ingin menemui Hreiðmarr, si raja kurcaci,

but Loki was bored and hungry.

tetapi Loki merasa bosan dan lapar.

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

Melihat seekor berang-berang,

Loki melempari batu ke kepalanya,

killing the animal.

membunuh hewan itu.

He kept its pelt and slouched after the others.

Dia menyimpan kulitnya, lalu beristirahat bersama yang lain.

When they greeted Hreiðmarr, the king paled,

Saat beramah-tamah dengan Hreiðmarr, wajah sang raja memucat,

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

karena kulit tadi berasal tak lain dari putranya yang berubah wujud.

Hreiðmarr summoned his two surviving sons, Fáfnir and Regin,

Hreiðmarr memanggil kedua putranya yang masih hidup, Fáfnir dan Regin,

and bound the gods.

dan mengikat para dewa.

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

Dia akan melepaskan mereka dengan emas sebagai gantinya, sesuatu yang lazim,

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

hanya jika mereka bisa menutupi kulit berang-berang dengan emas murni

until not even a hair was visible.

hingga tak sehelai rambut pun yang terlihat.

Because of how the otter skin stretched,

Karena kulitnya dapat merenggang sedemikian rupa,

this meant procuring a nearly impossible amount—

artinya diperlukan jumlah emas yang nyaris mustahil—

but Loki had an idea.

tetapi Loki punya ide.

The dwarves were master craftspeople.

Para kurcaci adalah pengrajin ahli.

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

Salah satunya, Andvari, disebut-sebut menghasilkan karya yang luar biasa.

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

Andvari kerap berubah wujud menjadi ikan.

Suatu hari, dia menyelam lebih dalam dari biasanya—

he dove deeper than ever before—

so deep he reached the land of the water nymphs,

sangat dalam hingga dia mencapai negeri peri air,

who guarded mounds of gold.

para penjaga timbunan emas.

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

Awalnya, Andvari hanya ingin melihat-lihat.

But when the nymphs laughed at his awkward appearance,

Namun saat para peri menertawakan penampilannya yang aneh,

Andvari grew infuriated and seized their gold.

Andvari murka dan merampas emas mereka.

With it, he crafted himself a special ring.

Dengan emas tersebut, dia membuat sebuah cincin istimewa.

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

Selama dia memakainya, kekayaan Andvari akan terus bertambah.

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

Loki berpendapat harta Andvari adalah solusi terbaik untuk masalah mereka.

He returned to the waterfall, conjured a huge net,

Dia kembali ke air terjun, menyulap jaring raksasa,

and extracted a wriggling fish.

dan menangkap seekor ikan.

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

Saat Andvari menggelepar, Loki mengancam akan membunuhnya,

unless he handed over his treasure.

kecuali dia menyerahkan hartanya.

Andvari directed Loki to his lair.

Andvari mengarahkan Loki menuju ke kediamannya.

Satisfied with the heaps of gold he saw there,

Puas dengan timbunan emas yang dia temukan di sana,

Loki freed Andvari—

Loki membebaskan Andvari—

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

tetapi sesuatu yang berkilau di antara jari kurcaci itu

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

menyadarkan Loki bahwa ia melewatkan harta yang paling berharga.

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

Meskipun Andvari memohon, Loki tetap merampas cincin itu.

Seething, Andvari cursed the ring,

Murka, Andvari mengutuk cincin,

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

menyatakan benda itu akan menjadi bencana bagi pemilik setelahnya.

Back at the palace,

Kembali ke istana,

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

emas Andvari tampak menutupi seluruh kulit berang-berang.

But as Hreiðmarr inspected the pelt,

Namun saat Hreiðmarr meneliti kulit itu,

he saw a single, bare whisker peeking out.

dia menemukan sehelai kumis utuh yang mencuat.

So, the gods relinquished the ring.

Jadi, para dewa menyerahkan cincin tersebut.

As Hreiðmarr slipped it onto his finger,

Saat Hreiðmarr menyelipkan cincin di jarinya,

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

Regin bergidik ngeri melihat keserakahan di mata ayahnya,

while his brother, Fáfnir, looked on in envy.

sementara saudaranya, Fáfnir, menatap penuh dengki.

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

Kemudian, ketika Fáfnir meminta raja untuk membagikan hartanya,

Hreiðmarr refused.

Hreiðmarr menolak.

So, Fáfnir killed his father,

Jadi, Fáfnir membunuh ayahnya,

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

melepas cincin dari jari ayahnya, dan kabur dari istana membawa harta.

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

Dia berhenti di sebuah gua di mana dia menjaga harta barunya.

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

Cincin itu memengaruhinya, dan seiring waktu,

Fáfnir morphed into a gruesome dragon.

Fáfnir berubah menjadi naga yang mengerikan.

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

Sementara itu, pembelotan Fáfnir dan timbunan harta bergelayut di benak Regin.

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

Akhirnya dia meminta bantuan anak angkatnya yang setia,

seorang prajurit bernama Sigurd,

to slay the monster his brother had become.

untuk membunuh saudaranya yang telah berubah menjadi makhluk buas.

Sigurd did as instructed.

Sigurd melakukannya sesuai perintah.

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

Setelah itu, Regin meminta Sigurd memanggang jantung mahkluk itu

jadi dia dapat memakannya.

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

Sigurd mematuhi dan mencicipi darah jantung sebelum disajikan.

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

Namun, begitu cairan itu mengenai lidah Sigurd,

he understood the chatter of the surrounding birds.

dia memahami kicauan burung-burung di sekitarnya.

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

Mereka menyanyikan satu hal: Regin akan membunuhnya.

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

Jadi, Sigurd membunuh Regin dan merampas harta untuk dirinya sendiri.

This was only the beginning.

Ini hanyalah permulaannya.

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

Selama bertahun-tahun, cincin itu akan memecah belah keluarga,

merusak hubungan percintaan,

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

dan menguasai, lalu membunuh siapa saja yang memilikinya.

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

Kutukan Andvari memicu lingkaran setan yang memakan banyak korban—

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

dan menginspirasi beberapa karya yang paling berpengaruh

pada abad ke-19 dan ke-20.