Fáfnirs

Fáfnirs, often anglicized as Fafnir, refers to the dragon of Norse mythology who guards a treasure hoard, usually identified with Andvari’s cursed gold. In the major Old Norse sources, Fáfnir is a dwarf who, to protect the gold, transforms into a dragon. The hoard is associated with a curse that brings doom to those who would possess it.

The tale appears in the Völsunga saga as well as in references within the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda. The guardian dragon is slain by the hero Sigurd (Siegfried) with the sword Gram, after being advised by Regin. As Sigurd drinks Fáfnir’s blood, he gains the ability to understand the speech of birds, a gift that helps him discern Regin’s plots and the fate surrounding the treasure.

Legacy and influence: The Fáfnir narrative has shaped later literature and art, with the motif of a greed-driven dragon guarding a cursed hoard becoming a symbolic frame for power and doom. The legend influenced later dragon lore in Europe and inspired musical and literary adaptations, including Wagner’s Ring cycle (where a dragon-guardian figure and a treasure motif recur) and the broader tradition that fed into modern fantasy, including Tolkien’s dragon imagery.

Variants: Across sources, details such as lineage and the exact nature of the treasure differ. Yet the core elements—greed transforming into a dragon, the guarded hoard, Sigurd’s slaying, and the peril surrounding the gold—remain consistent in the tradition surrounding Fáfnirs.