Norse Myth: Otter's Ransom Trivia Quiz

Answer: To get the salmon it had caught

The three gods who had set out to explore Midgard in the story of Idun's apples had once again journeyed out of Asgard to satisfy their curiosity.

Loki had killed the otter so as to get the salmon for a meal that night, as the day was coming to an end. As he boasted about his terrific shot, he realised that they had "two for the price of one", with the otter and the salmon.

Answer: The otter was his son

Odin told the farmer that there was enough food for him and his children. As well as the otter (whose name was Otter), Hreidmar had four other children: two further sons - Fafnir and Regin, and two daughters - Lyngheid and Lofnheid. The siblings of Otter were equally outraged by the death of their brother.

Answer: His spear

Odin's spear was called Grungnir. It was forged by the Sons of Ivaldi and was said to never miss its mark.

As well as the spear of Odin, the shoes of flight possessed by Loki worried the farmer and his sons, and these too were removed before the three gods were confronted and bound. Hreidmar was also a magician, and was able to use spells to weaken the gods before they were bound.

Answer: Freya's human lover

Ottar built an altar for Freya and made many offerings to her. Freya rewarded Ottar by taking him to the seeress, Hyndla, to find out about his lineage. As Hyndla told Freya, Ottar was "the son of Instein, and he was the son of Alf the Old; Alf sprang from Ulf, Ulf of Saefari, and Saefari's father was Svan the Red."

Ottar in this tale was disguised as a boar, which Freya rode.

Answer: Red gold

Hreidmar ordered his two daughters, Lyngheid and Lofnheid, to skin Otter and bring him the fur. He told the gods that they must fill the skin with red gold and then cover it fully with the yet more red gold. The gods, tightly bound, agreed to this ransom. If they failed to meet the farmer's demands, they would pay with their lives.

Answer: Ran, the Sea Goddess

Ran was married to Aegir, God of the Sea, and they dwelt in their great hall under the surface of the sea. Some tales in Norse mythology tell of Aegir and Ran hosting great feasts in their hall, which all the gods attended. One such tale is that which tells us of how Thor and Tyr obtained a giant cauldron from the giant Hymir after the gods had run out of mead whilst in the underwater hall of Aegir.

Ran was said to use her net to catch men who had travelled too far out to sea, but upon hearing that Odin and Honir were bound in Midgard, she gladly gave it to Loki.

Answer: A Dwarf

Using Ran's net, Loki caught an evil looking pike in a river which flowed in the dark cave which he was searching. He ordered the pike to transform, which it did, into the dwarf Andvari. He ordered Andvari to gather up all his gold, which he reluctantly did. Loki was determined to strip the dwarf of all his gold, and even took the single ring which Andvari tried to hide.

Loki, in no hurry, casually made his way back to Midgard to deliver the ransom.

Answer: They would be destroyed

The dwarf was unhappy about his gold being taken from him, but his curse only came after Loki took his ring, the last piece of gold he owned. Andvari revealed that with this ring, he would be able to make more gold, to which Loki replied, "I have no need for more".

Loki, hearing the curse, was filled with joy as he knew he was able to pass the curse onto the men who had kept him captive.

Odin took a liking to the ring which Loki had wrestled from Andvari, but had to give it up so as to cover a whisker of Otter, which was sticking out from the pile of red gold.

Answer: A Dragon

A Dragon in Norse Mythology was traditionally associated with greed, and this was certainly the driving factor behind Fafnir's actions. The gold he had been given for his brother's death caused him to kill his own father and drive out his other brother.

Regin became a great teacher, showing men how to craft fine objects, as well as tame wild animals and manage those they did tame.

Answer: Sigurd

Using the sword, Gram, Sigurd successfully killed the dragon, Fafnir, and drank some of his blood in the hope of gaining some wisdom.

Upon hearing that Regin was just as greedy as his brother and that he intended to kill him and take the gold, Sigurd cut Regin's head off.

By this time, Odin, Loki and Honir had collected Grungnir and Loki's shoes of the sky and were back in Asgard.