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Wagner told the story of the ring in his famous operatic cycle Der
Ring des Nibelungen, which charts the progression of the ring from
Andvari to the end, showing the endless stream of misfortunes that
befalls those who hold the beautiful ring.
Andvaranaut
A sorcelled ring of Norse mythology, andvaranaut seeks out gold and
was the possession of Andvari, until Loki stole it. Andvari hexed the
ring and into gave bad luck and pain to all who beheld it. Loki gave
the ring, which he regretted stealing by now, to King Hreidmar of the
dwarves, as reparation for the murder of Otter, Hreidmar's son,
accidentally. When Fafnir killed Hreidmar, he took the ring.
Andvari
In Norse mythology, Andvari is a dwarf who can assume the shape of a
fish if he is pursued. He lives underneath a waterfall and collects
great wealth with the help of his ring Andvaranaut. He was caught by
Loki with a net provided by the goddess Ran and forced the yield all
the gold he possessed. The dwarf tried to withhold his ring so that he
could rebuild his wealth. Loki made him give up the ring as well and
the dwarf cursed the stolen gold which would from then on bring
disaster to all who owned it. The gold was used by the gods to pay a
blood-debt to pay Hreidmar, the father of Fafnir (who later become a
dragon while hoarding the gold), because they had killed his son
Otter. This myth formed in later times the prelude to the Nibelungsaga.
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