Draupnir
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Draupnir is a golden arm ring possessed by Odin, the highest god in Norse mythology. The ring was a source of endless wealth, since each ninth morning it had spawned eight more gold rings just like itself. Draupnir was forged by the dwarven brothers Brokk and Eitri (or Sindri). Its name means The Dropper in English. Brokk and Eitri made this ring as one of a set of three gifts which included Mjollnir and Gullinbursti. They made these gifts in accordance with a wager Loki made saying that Brokk and Eitri could not make better gifts than the three made by the Sons of Ivaldi. In the end Mjollnir, Thor's hammer, won the contest for Brokk and Eitri. Loki, refusing to honour the initial wager of his head, was punished by having Brokk seal his lips shut with wire.
The ring was placed by Odin on the funeral pyre of his son Baldr:
- Odin laid upon the pyre the gold ring called Draupnir; this quality attended it: that every ninth night there fell from it eight gold rings of equal weight. (from the Gylfaginning).
The ring was subsequently retrieved by Hermóðr. It was offered as a gift by Freyr's servant Skírnir in the wooing of Gerd, which is described in the poem Skírnismál.
Draupnir is also the name of a dwarf, mentioned in Völuspá.
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Norse mythology |
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