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In our last installment we continued telling the tale of “Otter’s Ransom.” This is the story Regin the dwarf smith tells young Sigurd, about how Regin’s brother Fafnir killed their father and made off with the hoard of gold that had belonged to the dwarf Andvari. It is a fabulous treasure, but before giving it up Andvari places a curse upon it. We discussed Claude Lecouteaux’s translation of the name Andvari as “guardian of the breath,” deriving the name from Old Norse andi/önd meaning “breath, wind, or spirit,” a term used by medieval clerics writing in Old Norse to translate Latin anima, “breath,” “wind,” “vital principle,” or “soul.” (more…)