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In Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
, Otr (Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
: ; alternately: Ott, Oter, Ottar, Ottarr, Otter) is a dwarf
Dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves may refer to:
Common uses
*Dwarf (folklore), a supernatural being from Germanic folklore
* Dwarf, a human or animal with dwarfism
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a sh ...
. He is the son of the king Hreidmar and the brother of Fafnir and Regin
In Norse mythology, Reginn (; often anglicized as Regin or Regan) is a son of Hreiðmarr and the foster father of Sigurð. His brothers are Fáfnir and Ótr.
Attestations Völsunga saga
When Loki mistakenly kills Ótr, Hreiðmarr demands to ...
.
According to the Prose Edda
The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...
, Otr could change into any form and used to spend his days in the shape of an otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...
, greedily eating fish. In this form, he was slain by Loki
Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
, who wanted his pelt. Initially, Hreiðmarr demanded a life for a life, but with the argument that the murder had been an accident when no one involved knew that Otr was a dwarf, he settled for receiving a large weregild
Weregild (also spelled wergild, wergeld (in archaic/historical usage of English), weregeld, etc.), also known as man price ( blood money), was a precept in some historical legal codes whereby a monetary value was established for a person's life, ...
for Otr's death, namely to fill Otr's skin with yellow gold and to then cover it entirely with red gold. When the skin was covered, one whisker still protruded, forcing Loki to give up the ring Andvaranaut
In Norse mythology, ''Andvaranaut'' ( 12th c. Old Norse: ), meaning ''Andvari's Gem'' ("Andvari's precious possession"), is a magic ring, initially owned by Andvari, that could help with finding sources of gold.
The mischievous god Loki stole ...
to hide it. The ring had been stolen from, and cursed by, the dwarf Andvari
In Norse mythology, Andvari ( 12th c. Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate ...
. It is suggested that this story was meant to show the benefits of not only adhering to the letter of the law (repayment for manslaughter) but sticking to the spirit of the law as well (not demanding an exorbitant ransom). Greed for this cursed treasure ultimately caused the deaths of Hreiðmarr and his two surviving sons: Hreiðmarr was killed by Fáfnir, who transformed into a dragon
A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
, and the other two were slain by Sigurðr
Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred t ...
's sword Gramr.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otr Nibelung tradition Norse dwarves Shapeshifting Völsung cycle Fictional otters Anthropomorphic otters sv:Dvärg (mytologi)#Dvärgar med mindre roller