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

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The dwarves were master craftspeople. One dwarf, Andvari, forged marvelous creations. He often took the form of a fish and, one day, he swam to the land of the water nymphs, who guarded mounds of gold. When the nymphs laughed at his appearance, Andvari grew infuriated and seized their gold. With it, he crafted himself a special ring. Iseult Gillespie shares the Norse myth of the cursed ring.

Lesson by Iseult Gillespie, directed by BASA.

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[TEDEd]

If you're not ready to leave this world of cursed rings, epic adventures, and the fight of hope against doom, we highly recommend J. R. R. Tolkien's “The Fellowship of the Ring.” You can download a free audiobook version here: audible.com/ted-ed

[derpthing]

Most if not all Norse myth could be summarized with "Loki was bored"

[anony]

Loki in every myth he's in: "Im bored, lemme make more lore."

[kyliviie]

Norse myth: "Goddamit Loki"
Greek myth: "Goddamit Zeus"

[pigletimnota]

*"But Loki had an idea"*
Literally all of Norse mythology

[biswasbudhathoki]

Loki:'takes the ring'
Andvari:I will curse the ring not the person who stole it

[MrFright]

Story "...his two surviving sons, Fafnir and Regin."
Me: "I thought Fafnir was a dragon?"
Story: "And then Fafnir did a Gollum, turning into a dragon."
Me: "Ah! Makes perfect sense, too."

[Entropic_Alloy]

"This will surely doom us all!" said Odin
"lol, " said Loki, "lmao"

[bsgfan]

Andvari: “I curse the ring to doom all who own it!”

Loki: “Okay, have it back. You’re the owner again.”

Andvari: “Wait…”

[adarshkumar]

Loki: the God of getting himself into trouble

[kirbymarchbarcena]

Loki isn't called the god of mischief for nothing. However, without him, we wouldn't have great stories like this

[athanasiospapazoglou]

Moral of the Story: Never shapeshift into animals, if there is the possibility of beeing hunted yourself

[beeman]

It's well worth having a quick look at or glimpse of The Ring of Gyges, a morality story told within Plato's Republic about a ring that makes the person who wears it invisible, and then that person proceeds to engage in all man of immoral actions. The story is told to illustrate the dilemma: why be moral if there is no chance of being punished for committing bad deeds? To which Plato provides his own response. There are online sources that differ in suggesting Tolkien may or may not have been aware of the Greek story when writing The Hobbit and LOTR, but it's still fascinating to think of separate 'magic ring' stories existing in both ancient Greek and Norse/Germanic myth/literature.

[amethystsavage]

“At first Andvari wanted to see the nix’s treasure, but when the nymphs laughed at his awkward appearance, Andvari became furious…”

In their defense, he decided to be a fish with eyebrows instead of eyes

[subbyplayz]

Loki: After all, why not? Why shouldn't I keep it?

[VallisYT]

Another good example that even the greatest artists are standing on the shoulders of giants

[RobertVarulfur]

There's another story about yet another magic ring which I always felt must have had some inspiration.

Once there were two brothers, caught out in a storm who took refuge in a cave. Unfortunately for them, this cave happened to be the home of the one eyed giant, a shepherd named Tartalo who had a particular fondness for human flesh.

When Tartalo returned to shelter from the storm himself, he was overjoyed to discover his kitchen had been restocked, as it were. He made quick work of the eldest brother, famished as he was from making sure his sheep were safe from the storm that raged outside. Worried his breakfast might slip away in the night, the giant sealed his cave back up and settled into the comfortable sleep of a full stomach.

Now Jack, the youngest brother, was clever and quickly devised a plan for escape. He knew he could slay the giant, but then would perish, trapped behind a bolder no human could shift alone. Instead he pulled a burning stick from the fire and ramed it into Tartalo's only eye. The giant roared in pain, but try as he might, he could not find the small human in his cave.

The next morning, the storm having run its course, Tartalo opened the cave to let his sheep out, and though he tried to make sure Jack did not slip past, Jack rode out clinging to the belly of a sheep.

Now Jack could have snuck away, but Jack loved to make sure people knew he had outsmarted him. "Giant, you have killed my brother, though we simply needed a place to stay for that you lost your sight and I, Jack, shall not be your next meal!"

Tartalo grumbled but called out, "Jack, you have outwitted me, though accepting merely my eyesight for the life of your brother seems a poor price. Here, I shall give you my ring, may it bring you what you deserve."

Tartalo pulled off a golden ring and tossed it in the general direction of Jack's voice. Jack thought the giant spoke fairly and so quickly grabbed the ring.

"Giant this ring is huge, perhaps it might fit on my leg, but certainly not on my finger."

"Place it around your finger, for it is a magic ring and will fit."

Jack did as he was told and sure enough the ring rapidly shrank until it was snuggly wrapped around his finger. Jack was about to bid his farewell when the ring began shouting "Here I am, here I am".

Tartalo, blind but with great hearing, grabbed his club, a tree he had shaped, and swung where the sound came from. Jack threw himself to the side, only barely missing being swatted like a fly.

Still the ring called out to its master. Jack frantically tried to remove it, but it was too tight! He rolled again as the giant followed the sound of the ring.

Finally, with no other choice, Jack pulled a dagger from his side and cut his own finger off. He tossed the ring, still clenched about the severed finger, into the lake.

"Here I am. Here I am, " the ring called out as it sank. The giant jumped after the ring, but being unable to swim, quickly drown.

[stupidape]

"All that is gold doesn't glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong doesn't wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be the blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king." ~ Bilbo Baggins, LOTR

Currently reading The Two Towers.

[sayantikarouth]

Loki in every adaptation has a great sense of humour, a and is literally the reason why Norse myths and stories exists

[prll]

Really cool of Ted to finally start pronouncing the norse names with a more nordic pronunciation! All respect to them for doing that, i had felt like that was missing from earlier videos :))