Draupnir

For other uses, seeDraupnir (disambiguation).

The third gift — an enormous hammer(1902) byElmer Boyd Smith.The ring Draupnir is visible among other creations by theSons of Ivaldi.

InNorse mythology,Draupnir(Old Norse:[ˈdrɔupnez̠],"the dripper") is a goldringpossessed by the godOdinwith the ability to multiply itself: Every ninth night, eight new rings 'drip' from Draupnir, each one of the same size and weight as the original.

Draupnir was forged by thedwarvenbrothersBrokkrandEitri(orSindri). Brokkr and Eitri made this ring as one of a set of three gifts which includedMjöllnirandGullinbursti.They made these gifts in accordance with a betLokimade saying that Brokkr and Eitri could not make better gifts than the three made by theSons of Ivaldi.In the end,Mjöllnir,Thor's hammer, won the contest for Brokkr and Eitri. Loki used aloopholeto get out of the wager for his head (the wager was for Loki's head only, but he argued that, to remove his head, they would have to injure his neck, which was not in the bargain) and Brokkr punished him by sealing his lips shut with wire.

The ring was placed by Odin on the funeral pyre of his sonBaldr:

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 theGylfaginning).

The ring was subsequently retrieved byHermóðr.It was offered as a gift byFreyr's servantSkírnirin the wooing ofGerðr,which is described in the poemSkírnismál.

In popular culture

The ring appears in the 2022 video gameGod of War Ragnarök,where it is used as a base for creating the new weapon ofKratos.The ability of replicating itself is instead used to create spears that can be thrown and explode on command.

References

• Orchard, Andy (1997).Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend.Cassell.ISBN0-304-34520-2