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

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Korom

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

Vrhovni bog Odin je istraživao devet carstava sa svojim saputnicima,

Hœnir, and the notoriously mischievous Loki.

Henirom i notornim vragolanom Lokijem.

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

Nakon dugog puta, trojka je stigla do vodopada u Nidaveliru,

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

podzemnom carstvu patuljaka, i zaustavili su se da piju vode.

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

Odin i Henir su jedva čekali da upoznaju Hrejdmara, kralja patuljaka,

but Loki was bored and hungry.

ali Lokiju je bilo dosadno i bio je gladan.

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

Spazivši vidru u blizini, Loki je pogodio kamenom u glavu,

killing the animal.

ubivši životinju.

He kept its pelt and slouched after the others.

Sačuvao je njen kožuh i tromo nastavio za ostalima.

When they greeted Hreiðmarr, the king paled,

Kada su se pozdravili sa Hrejdmarom, kralj je prebledeo

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

jer je kožuh pripadao njegovom sinu koji je menjao obličja.

Hreiðmarr summoned his two surviving sons, Fáfnir and Regin,

Hrejdmir je okupio svoja dva preživela sina, Fafnira i Regina,

and bound the gods.

i vezao je bogove.

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

Odlučio je da će da ih pusti u zamenu za zlato, kao što je i bio običaj,

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

ali samo ako uspeju da prekriju vidrin kožuh najfinijim zlatom

until not even a hair was visible.

tako da se nijedna dlaka ne vidi.

Because of how the otter skin stretched,

Zbog rastegljivosti vidrine kože,

this meant procuring a nearly impossible amount—

ovo je značilo nabavku skoro nemoguće količine zlata -

but Loki had an idea.

ali Loki je imao ideju.

The dwarves were master craftspeople.

Patuljci su bili majstori zanatlije.

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

Jedan od njih, Andvari, bio je čuven po kovanju veličanstvenih tvorevina.

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

Andvari je često uzimao obličje ribe i jednog dana

he dove deeper than ever before—

je zaronio dublje nego ikad pre -

so deep he reached the land of the water nymphs,

toliko duboko da je stigao u zemlju vodenih nimfi,

who guarded mounds of gold.

koje su čvale hrpe zlata.

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

Prvobitno je Andvari samo želeo da se lično uveri u njihovo blago.

But when the nymphs laughed at his awkward appearance,

Međutim, kad su nimfe ismejale njegov neobični izgled,

Andvari grew infuriated and seized their gold.

Andvari je pobesneo i oteo im zlato.

With it, he crafted himself a special ring.

Njime je skovao sebi naročit prsten.

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

Dokle god ga je nosio, Andvarijevo bogatstvo je raslo i raslo.

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

Loki je video Andvarijevo bogatstvo kao savršeno rešenje za njihov problem.

He returned to the waterfall, conjured a huge net,

Vratio se do vodopada, stvorio ogromnu mrežu

and extracted a wriggling fish.

i izvukao ribu koja se koprcala.

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

Dok se Andvari migoljio, Loki se rugao da će ga ubiti

unless he handed over his treasure.

ukoliko ne preda svoje blago.

Andvari directed Loki to his lair.

Andvari je uputio Lokija u svoju jazbinu.

Satisfied with the heaps of gold he saw there,

Zadovoljan hrpama zlata koje je tamo video,

Loki freed Andvari—

Loki je oslobodio Andvarija -

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

ali nagli odsjaj sa jednog patuljkovog prsta

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

osvestio je Lokija da je propustio najveće blago od svih.

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

Uprkos Andvarijevom preklinjanju, Loki mu je strgnuo prsten.

Seething, Andvari cursed the ring,

Kipeći od besa, Andvari je prokleo prsten,

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

obznanjujući da će biti prokletstvo svim budućim vlasnicima.

Back at the palace,

Nazad u zamku,

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

činilo se kako Andvarijevo zlato potpuno prekriva vidrinu kožu.

But as Hreiðmarr inspected the pelt,

Međutim, dok je Hrejdmar ispitivao kožuh,

he saw a single, bare whisker peeking out.

zapazio je jedan goli brk kako viri.

So, the gods relinquished the ring.

Stoga su se bogovi odrekli prstena.

As Hreiðmarr slipped it onto his finger,

Dok ga je Hrejdmar stavljao na prst,

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

Regin je zadrhtao od pohlepe u očevim očima,

while his brother, Fáfnir, looked on in envy.

dok je njegov brat Fafnir sa zavišću posmatrao.

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

Kasnije, kada je Fafnir zahtevao od kralja da podeli bogatstvo,

Hreiðmarr refused.

Hrejdmar je odbio.

So, Fáfnir killed his father,

Pa je Fafnir ubio oca,

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

strgnuo je žuđeni prsten sa njegovog prsta i pobegao iz zamka sa blagom.

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

Ušao je u pećinu gde se sklupčao oko novostečenog imetka da se odmori.

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

Prsten ga je izobličio spolja i iznutra, i kroz vreme,

Fáfnir morphed into a gruesome dragon.

Fafnir se preobrazio u odvratnog zmaja.

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

U međuvremenu, Fafnirova izdaja i čuvano blago su doprli i do Reginovog uma.

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

Naposletku je angažovao odanog usvojenog sina, ratnika po imenu Sigurd,

to slay the monster his brother had become.

da pogubi čudovište u koje se njegov brat pretvorio.

Sigurd did as instructed.

Sigurd je ispunio naređenje.

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

Kasnije je Regin zatražio Sigurdu da ispekne srce zveri kako bi ga pojeo.

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

Sigurd se povinovao i okusio krv iz srca pre nego što ga je servirao.

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

Međutim, čim je tečnost dotakla Sigurdov jezik,

he understood the chatter of the surrounding birds.

počeo je da razume cvrkut okolnih ptica.

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

Pevale su samo jedno: Regin će ga ubiti.

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

Pa je Sigurd pogubio Regina i zgrabio blago za sebe.

This was only the beginning.

Ovo je bio tek početak.

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

Tokom narednih godina, prsten će da razbije porodice, upropasti ljubavnike,

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

kao i da daje moć i naposletku uništi svakoga ko ga bude posedovao.

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

Andvarijeva kletva je pokrenula začarani krug koji će da proguta mnoge živote -

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

i inspiriše neka od najuticajnijih dela XIX i XX veka.