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

譯者: Camila Lin 審譯者: Amanda Zhu

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

至高無上的神奧丁正和他的旅伴 海尼爾以及狡猾的洛基

Hœnir, and the notoriously mischievous Loki.

一同在九大國度中遊歷。

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

在一段漫長的旅途後， 他們抵達尼德威阿爾的一處瀑布，

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

這裡是矮人的地底王國， 他們為水源而停下腳步。

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

奧丁與海尼爾想見矮人之王赫瑞德瑪，

but Loki was bored and hungry.

但洛基又無聊又肚子餓，

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

他瞥見附近的一隻水獺後， 用一塊石頭砸中牠的腦袋，

killing the animal.

殺死了牠。

He kept its pelt and slouched after the others.

洛基帶著他剝下的海獺毛皮， 懶散地跟在兩個旅伴後頭。

When they greeted Hreiðmarr, the king paled,

在他們面會赫瑞德瑪時， 這位國王的臉色發白，

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

因為那塊毛皮的主人， 正是他能夠變身的兒子。

Hreiðmarr summoned his two surviving sons, Fáfnir and Regin,

赫瑞德瑪召來他另外兩個兒子， 法夫納與雷金，

and bound the gods.

並將這些神綁了起來。

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

國王決定照規矩行事， 讓他們能以黃金交換自由，

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

但他們必須用最上等的黃金 覆蓋這只海獺的毛皮，

until not even a hair was visible.

直到連一根毛髮也看不見。

Because of how the otter skin stretched,

因為海獺皮延展的方式，

this meant procuring a nearly impossible amount—

要取得他們需要的黃金數量 幾乎不可能。

but Loki had an idea.

但洛基有個主意。

The dwarves were master craftspeople.

矮人族是工匠大師。

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

安德瓦利是其中一員， 而且以鍛造絕妙之物聞名。

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

安德瓦利常常化為魚形，而這一天，

he dove deeper than ever before—

他潛進了前所未有的深度，

so deep he reached the land of the water nymphs,

進入了水精靈的國度，

who guarded mounds of gold.

她們守衛著堆積如山的黃金。

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

一開始，安德瓦利只想 親眼看看她們的寶物，

But when the nymphs laughed at his awkward appearance,

但精靈們嘲笑他其貌不揚，

Andvari grew infuriated and seized their gold.

安德瓦利在盛怒之下， 奪走了她們的黃金。

With it, he crafted himself a special ring.

他用這些黃金為自己打造了 一個特別的戒指，

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

他只要戴著這枚戒指， 財富就會不停增加。

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

洛基認為，安德瓦利的財富 是解決他們的這道難題的完美之道。

He returned to the waterfall, conjured a huge net,

他回到瀑布旁，變出一張巨網，

and extracted a wriggling fish.

抓到了一條扭動的魚。

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

在安德瓦利掙扎時， 洛基大聲嘲諷，喝令他交出財寶，

unless he handed over his treasure.

否則就殺了他。

Andvari directed Loki to his lair.

安德瓦利帶著洛基回家，

Satisfied with the heaps of gold he saw there,

洛基很滿意眼前的黃金，

Loki freed Andvari—

便放了安德瓦利，

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

但瞥見矮人手指上的閃光後，

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

洛基意識到，他錯過了 其中最強力的寶物。

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

儘管安德瓦利哀求不已， 洛基仍拔走了那枚戒指。

Seething, Andvari cursed the ring,

安德瓦利有怒難言，詛咒了那枚戒指，

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

宣告它會為持有者帶來毀滅。

Back at the palace,

回到宮殿後，

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

安德瓦利的黃金完美地覆蓋海獺皮，

But as Hreiðmarr inspected the pelt,

但在赫瑞德瑪檢查毛皮時，

he saw a single, bare whisker peeking out.

他看見了一根鬍鬚露出來。

So, the gods relinquished the ring.

這三個神只好交出那枚戒指。

As Hreiðmarr slipped it onto his finger,

當赫瑞德瑪將它套入手指，

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

雷金因父親貪婪的目光而戰慄，

while his brother, Fáfnir, looked on in envy.

而他的兄弟法夫納則羨慕不已。

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

之後，在法夫納要求父王分享財產時，

Hreiðmarr refused.

赫瑞德瑪拒絕了。

So, Fáfnir killed his father,

所以，法夫納就殺了父親，

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

從他的手上撬下夢寐以求的戒指， 帶著寶物逃離了王宮。

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

他在某個洞穴中休息， 蜷縮在自己剛得到的財富上。

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

戒指扭曲了他的身心，隨著時間過去，

Fáfnir morphed into a gruesome dragon.

法夫納變成了一隻可怕的龍。

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

此時，雷金想起法夫納的背叛 以及他守衛著的寶藏。

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

他最終得到了他忠心的養子， 名為齊格魯德的戰士的幫助，

to slay the monster his brother had become.

要殺掉了他兄弟變成的怪物。

Sigurd did as instructed.

齊格魯德照著命令做了。

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

之後，雷金要齊格魯德 烤龍的心給他吃，

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

齊格魯德依言行事， 在端上龍心前嚐了一口龍血，

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

但在血入喉的那瞬間，

he understood the chatter of the surrounding birds.

齊格魯德聽懂了附近鳥雀的話語。

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

牠們的歌只說一件事： 雷金將要殺了他。

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

所以，齊格魯德殺了雷金， 並將財富據為己有。

This was only the beginning.

這只是故事的開頭。

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

在之後的幾年中，這枚戒指 將撕裂家庭，毀滅戀人，

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

為持有者帶來力量， 也帶來最終的毀滅。

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

安德瓦利的詛咒啟動了邪惡的循環， 反覆奪去許多生命，

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

並啟發文人在 19、20 世紀 創作出最具影響力的文學作品。