Ring Legends of Tolkien

by David Day

  Obedient to the spell, Sigurd soon asks for Gudrun’s hand and their marriage is blessed by all who live in the Rhinelands. Many seasons pass, the royal couple are happy, and the power and glory of the Nibelungs grows and grows. Yet tales of a strange and beautiful maiden held captive in a ring of fire on a mountain reach the court. These tales mean nothing to Sigurd, but Gunnar wishes to win this maiden and make her his queen. His mother, Grimhild, is wary of this adventure and asks Sigurd to go with his blood-brother. Sigurd does this gladly, but Grimhild also gives to Sigurd a potion. By the potion’s power Sigurd may change his appearance to that of Gunnar.

  Gunnar and Sigurd ride away and at last come to Hindfell and the mountain with the tower ringed in fire. Gunnar sets his spurs to his horse, but the beast turns away at each attempt, and the flames rear higher and more fiercely at every failure. Even though Sigurd lets him mount Grani, Gunnar gets nowhere.

  Gunnar despairs at ever winning his queen, so he begs Sigurd to try in his place. Sigurd uses Grimhild’s potion and changes his appearance to that of Gunnar. He then mounts Grani and charges straight into the ring of fire. Sigurd’s boots catch fire and Grani’s mane and tail are alight. Horse and rider seem to hang in that inferno forever, deafened and blinded by its heat, but finally they pass through the flames.

  Next is the barrier of the wall of shields, but as before, Sigurd shears through the iron wall with his sword. Behind this wall in the tower sits the beauty that is Brynhild all in white upon a crested throne, like a proud swan borne up on a foaming wave.

  “What man are you?” asks Brynhild of the one standing before her. Memories of her past are gone from her mind, yet something deep within her tells her that something is wrong.

  “My name is Gunnar the Nibelung,” says the rider, “and I claim you as my queen.” Passing through the ring of fire was the price of Brynhild’s hand, and she cannot refuse such a hero. Nor is there any reason for her to do so, for the man before her is handsome enough, and – by virtue of his deed – is brave beyond the measure of other mortals.

  So Brynhild embraces him and places her gold Ring of Andvari upon his hand to pledge her eternal love. Then within the tower she takes him to bed and lays with him for three nights, although these nights are strange to her. For each night the hero places his long sword on the bed between them. He must do this, he says, for he will not make love to his new queen until they both return to the great halls of the Nibelungs. In this way, the disguised Sigurd conspires, so he might not betray Gunnar and dishonour his bride.

  When the marriage of Brynhild and Gunnar takes place in the hall of the Nibelungs, it is the true Gunnar who weds Brynhild and takes her to bed. In the land of the Nibelungs all seems content. But one day while bathing in a stream the two young queens set to quarrelling. Brynhild boasts that Gunnar is a greater man than Sigurd by virtue of his feat of passing through the ring of fire.

  Gudrun will have none of this, for Sigurd has foolishly told his wife the true tale of that adventure. So, the young queen cruelly reveals that truth to Brynhild, and, as proof, shows her the gold ring upon her hand. By this Brynhild is crushed, for this was the Ring of Andvari that she thought she had given to Gunnar that day on the mountain, but in fact Sigurd had taken it and given it to his own wife.

  BRYNHILD’S REVENGE

  Now all the secrets are out, and poison runs in Brynhild’s heart when she learns of how she has been deceived. Outraged, she can only think of vengeance. Brynhild turns to Gunnar and his brothers Hogni and Guttorm. She taunts and threatens her husband.

  “All the people now laugh and say I have married a coward,” mocks Brynhild. “And my disgrace is your disgrace, for they say not only did another man win your wife for you, but also took your place in the wedding bed. And no use is there to deny this, for the Ring of Andvari – which Sigurd gave your sister – is proof that this is so.”

  “Sigurd shall die, then. Or I shall,” swears Gunnar. But he has neither the heart nor the courage to act himself and slay his friend. Instead, he and Hogni inflame the heart of their youngest brother, Guttorm, with promises and Grimhild’s potions, to slay Sigurd.

  That night Guttorm creeps into the chamber where Sigurd lies sleeping in Gudrun’s arms. Young Guttorm thrusts his sword down with such force that it pierces the man and the bedstead too. Waking to death, Sigurd still finds strength enough to snatch up Gram and hurl it after his killer. The terrible sword in flight severs the youth in half as he reaches the door. Guttorm’s legs fall forward, but his torso drops back into the room.

  When Brynhild hears Gudrun’s scream she laughs aloud, but there is no joy in her terrible revenge. For that night, Brynhild takes Sigurd’s sword and slays herself. True to her Valkyrie passion, she resolves that, if she cannot be wed to Sigurd in life, she will be wed to him in death. Once again, Sigurd and Brynhild lie side by side – with Odin’s bright sword between them – as the fierce flames of their funeral pyre slowly devour them.

  GUDRUN AND ATLI

  So ends the life of Sigurd the Dragonslayer, but this is not the end of the tale of the Ring of Andvari, nor of the Dwarf’s treasure. For the ring remains on Gudrun’s hand and the treasure is taken by her brothers Gunnar and Hogni, and hidden by them in a secret cavern beneath the River Rhine.

  Gudrun is filled with horror at Sigurd’s death at the hands of her brothers, but she does not grieve long before her mother Grimhild comes to comfort her.

  Once again, the old witch has prepared a potion, which secretly she gives to Gudrun to make her forget her grief, and the evil her brothers have done. Instead, the potion fills her with love and loyalty to her brothers in all matters. Still, Gunnar and Hogni wish to have Gudrun gone. They also wish to increase the power and glory of the Nibelungs, and believe they might do so by an alliance with the mighty Atli, the King of the Huns. And so, the brothers send Gudrun to Atli. Gudrun likes it not, but obeys and weds the king of the Huns and is his queen.

  Now Atli the Hun is a powerful man, but one who is filled with greed. He has heard much of the huge treasure that Sigurd the Dragonslayer once won, and that the Nibelungs have taken this hoard by a foul murder. Each time Gudrun walks before Atli, her gold ring glints and Atli finds that he can think of nothing else but that golden treasure.

  THE SLAUGHTER OF THE NIBELUNGS

  Time passes and Gudrun gives the Hun king two young sons, but all the while Atli plans an intrigue and finally he acts. King Atli invites Gunnar and Hogni and all the Nibelung nobles to a great feast in his mead hall. But when the Nibelungs come to the feast hall, they soon discover that a huge army of Huns has surrounded them. The great feast hall becomes a slaughterhouse. Although the Nibelungs slay ten for every one they lose, finally they are overwhelmed and all are murdered, save the brothers Gunnar and Hogni. These two are bound with chains and held captive.

  The Hun king has Gunnar brought before him in chains and promises to spare his life if he will give up the golden treasure that was taken from Sigurd the Völsung. But Gunnar says that he and Hogni have hidden the treasure in a secret cavern beneath the Rhine, and have sworn blood oaths that neither will reveal it while the other lives. At once, Atli gives an order, and within the hour a soldier returns. In his hand is Hogni’s heart, which has been torn from his living breast.

  Gunnar greets this loathsome act with cruel laughter. There had been no oath, he explains. Gunnar had been fearful that Hogni might surrender the treasure to save his life. But now that his brother is slain, only Gunnar knows the secret, and he will never surrender it. In rage, Atli has Gunnar bound and cast in a pit where serpents filled with venom finally still that warrior’s stubborn heart.

  The Hun king’s wife, Queen Gudrun, is filled with grief at the death of her brothers and the obliteration of the Nibelungs. Although Andvari’s treasure is lost, Andvari’s ring still carries the dwarf’s curse while it remains on Gudrun’s hand. And Gudrun – as the last of the Nibelungs – resolves to have bloody retribution for Atli’s treachery.


  GUDRUN’S REVENGE

  Though the battle with the Nibelungs cost Atli dearly and profited him little, the Hun king calls for a victory feast in his great hall. Secretly, Gudrun makes her preparations. She murders her own two children, Atli’s sons. From their skulls, she makes two cups. Their innocent blood she mixes with the wine; and their hearts and entrails she spits and roasts as his meat. All this she serves up to Atli at the feast.

  Then, late that night, Gudrun takes a knife and cuts the Hun king’s throat while he sleeps. She then creeps away, bars all the doors from without, and sets the Hun king’s great hall to the torch. This is the greatest pyre that has ever been seen in the land of the Huns, for all Atli’s soldiers and vassals perish in their sleep in that fire.

  Before that inferno, Gudrun stands and stares with mounting madness, the flames bringing back many terrible memories. She flees the Hunlands and wanders until she comes to a high cliff overlooking the sea. She looks one more time at the glinting gold Ring of Andvari on her hand, then, with a sigh, she fills her apron with stones and leaps into the sea.

  PART

  FIVE

  ARTHURIAN LEGENDS

  In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien’s heroes Aragorn and Gandalf are most commonly linked in the popular imagination with the tales of King Arthur and Merlin the Magician. This is in part because King Arthur is without doubt Britain’s most famous legendary hero. The stature of Arthur through many popular retellings has made him the very embodiment of British virtues and strengths.

  English-language readers of The Lord of the Rings frequently register the undeniable connection between Arthur and Aragorn, and Merlin and Gandalf. However, what is often not clear to many is that the Arthurian romances are themselves largely based on earlier Teutonic myths and legends.

  THE ARCHETYPAL HERO

  Although the archetypal figures of hero and wizard are clearly similar in pagan saga, medieval legend and modern fantasy, the context for all three is very different. The creation of a medieval King Arthur and a court based roughly on Christian moral principles naturally resulted in considerable reshaping of many of the fiercer aspects of the early pagan hero tradition. The saga hero Sigurd is a wild beast of a warrior, who clearly would not even get a dinner invitation to Arthur’s courtly Round Table.

  Curiously, although Tolkien’s world is a pagan, pre-religious one, his hero requires quite as much reshaping as Arthur because of his concept of absolute good and evil. Although Tolkien’s Aragorn is a pagan hero, he is often even more upright and moral than the medieval Christian King Arthur.

  Merlin the Magician, King Arthur’s mentor, adviser and chief strategist

  The comparison of the three heroes – Arthur, Sigurd and Aragorn – demonstrates the power of archetypes in dictating aspects of character in the heroes of legend and myth. If we look at the lives of each of these three, we see certain life patterns that are identical.

  Arthur, Sigurd and Aragorn are all orphaned sons and rightful heirs to kings slain in battle. All are deprived of their inherited kingdoms and are in danger of assassination. All are the last of their dynasty, and their noble lineage will end if they are slain. All are raised secretly in foster homes under the protection of a foreign noble who is a distant relative. Arthur is raised in the castle of Sir Ector; Sigurd in the hall of King Hjalprek; and Aragorn in the house of Master Elrond Half-elven. During their fostering – in childhood and as youths – all three achieve feats of strength and skill that mark them for future greatness.

  All three heroes fall in love with beautiful maidens, but all must overcome several seemingly impossible obstacles before they may marry: Arthur to Guinevere, Sigurd to Brynhild, Aragorn to Arwen. Each of these lovers is to some degree a tragic heroine: Guinevere becomes a nun and dies in a convent; Brynhild loses her supernatural Valkyrie power and commits suicide; and Arwen sacrifices her Elven immortality and dies a human death.

  FALSE OATHS, FALSE RINGS

  In The Lord of the Rings, the One Ring is evil; in the Völsunga Saga, the Ring of Andvari is cursed. In the Arthurian tradition, the gold ring is good so long as the oath sworn on it is true. However, whatever the origin of the rings, false oaths sworn on them do not go unpunished.

  Three Kings: Aragorn, Arthur and Sigurd the VÖlsung

  The Völsung and Nibelung downfalls result directly from Sigurd’s unwitting violation of the oath he swore to Brynhild when he gave her the Ring of Andvari as a pledge of eternal love. When Sigurd unknowingly breaks that oath, disaster consumes them all. Similarly, the breaking of the sacred oath sworn on the marriage ring of Arthur and Guinevere – through the queen’s adultery with Sir Lancelot – results in the break-up of the Round Table. The iron ring of the knights is broken. Chaos and anarchy are let loose, and the kingdom destroyed. Both traditions read the curse of the ring in the same way: the house built on a lie cannot survive.

  Vilya, the “Ring of Air”, adorned with a great sapphire-blue stone

  The Lord of the Rings follows a similar theme of deceit and false oaths. This is especially the case when Sauron, a master of disguise, goes among the Elven-smiths of Eregion with many false promises about creating rings of virtue and enchantment. So completely does Sauron deceive the Elves that, unknowingly, they help him forge the Rings of Power. Using all the false promises and lies invented by sorcerers since the dawn of time, Sauron forges the One Ring with which he seeks to fetter and enslave the world. When the One Ring is destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, the illusion of Sauron’s power vanishes. Sauron’s “house” in the form of the Dark Tower is built on the monstrous lies of the One Ring and cannot survive. The foundations crumble.

  THE HERO’S SWORD

  Beyond the ring quest motif itself, there are many other points of comparison between the saga, the romance and the fantasy. Tolkien’s hero Aragorn in many ways resembles both Arthur and Sigurd, and in some ways, only one or the other.

  The heritage of the sword of the warrior king is, naturally enough, critical to all three heroes. Arthur proves his right to the sword in a famous contest: he alone is able to pull the sword from the stone. This is an act that duplicates the contest in the Völsunga Saga, when Sigurd’s father, Sigmund, can draw the sword Odin has driven into the great oak tree known as the Branstock. However, neither Sigurd nor Aragorn are presented with such contests. They are both given their swords as heirlooms; their problem is that both swords are broken, and neither may use the swords and reclaim their kingdoms until they are re-forged. In Sigurd’s case, the sword was broken by the wizard Odin in his father Sigmund’s last battle, while Aragorn’s sword was broken by his ancestor Elendil in his last battle with the necromancer Sauron.

  Like the heirloom swords of Sigurd and Aragorn, Arthur’s sword is supposedly unbreakable; but, through special circumstances, all three are broken. Sigmund’s and Aragorn’s swords break in battles with supernatural opponents, while King Arthur’s sword breaks when he makes an unrighteous attack on Sir Pellinore. It seems the Christian king’s sword is endowed with a moral conscience. Sir Pellinore is on the point of killing Arthur when Merlin appears and puts Pellinore into a deep swoon. Thus, Arthur’s weapon is broken, but he is not slain as Sigmund was when his weapon broke. Arthur is saved by the wizard Merlin; he undergoes a spiritual resurrection. The penitent and reformed Arthur is reborn, as – in a sense – Sigmund is resurrected in his son Sigurd, and Elendil is resurrected in his descendant Aragorn.

  Once Sigurd re-forges his sword, Gram, he sets out at once to reclaim his heritage. He does this by avenging his father’s death and reclaiming his kingdom by conquest, slaying the dragon Fáfnir and winning the monster’s treasure and golden ring. Sigurd then goes on to win his beloved Valkyrie princess Brynhild. To some degree, although the ring quest is different (the aim being destruction rather than winning), Aragorn’s life mirrors Sigurd’s. Once Aragorn’s sword Andúril is re-forged, he sets off to reclaim his heritage. He avenges his father’s death, reclaims his kingdom by conquest, and,
after the destruction of the One Ring, wins his beloved Elven princess Arwen.

  THE HERO’S MENTOR

  Perhaps the most telling connection between the three heroes is displayed in the similarity of their mentors: Merlin, Odin and Gandalf. All to some degree fit the archetypal form of the wizard. All are non-human beings gifted with supernatural powers and prophetic skills. All are counsellors of future kings in peace and war, yet have no interest in worldly power themselves. In a sense, they are all vehicles of fate who guide the hero. All are similar in appearance: old yet vital wanderers of great learning with long white beards. They all carry a wizard’s staff and wear a broad-brimmed hat and long robes.

  In many aspects of his personality, Gandalf is rather more like Merlin than Odin. Odin was, of course, an immortal god who went among the mortals of Midgard as an ancient traveller. Originally, Merlin was in all likelihood an old Celtic god, who similarly visited mortals in this wizard form, although later traditions claimed he was the offspring of a mortal and an elf or demon. Gandalf in origin is a Maia who is chosen as one of five Istari, or Wizards, who come to Middle-earth to live among the mortals.