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Regin Fafnirsbruder
Regin
Mime (Reginn) by Arthur Rackham.
Characters From Norse Mythology
Species: Dwarf
Religion: Norse polytheism
Cause of Death: Decapitation
Occupation: Builder, farmer, gold- and silver smith, sailor
Parents: Hreiðmarr (father)
Children: Siegfried (foster son)
Relatives: Fafnir (brother)
Turtledove Appearances:
"The Catcher in the Rhine"
Fantasy Pastiche
Type of Appearance: Direct

Regin Fanirsbruder was a dwarf in Norse and Germanic myth. He was the foster father of Sigurd (Norse, Siegfried in German) and the brother of Fafnir. Fafnir and Regin killed their father, Hreidmar for the cursed gold he had received from the gods. Fafnir, however, turned into a dragon because he wanted to keep all of the gold and drove Regin away from the gold. Regin lived among men, teaching them how to sow, reap, work metals, sail seas, tame horses, yoke beasts of burden, build houses, spin, weave, and sew.

Throughout the stories, Regin manipulated Sigurd/Siegfried for his own ends, including convincing his foster son to kill Fafnir. Finally, Sigurd/Siegfried, learning that Regin is planning to murder him, decapitates Regin.

Regin Fafnirsbruder in "The Catcher in the Rhine"[]

Regin Fafnirsbruder learned certain magics, including how to transport people through time. Travelling to the 20th century, Regin found a young American tourist, whose name sounded like Hagen Kriemheld, in the German town of Isenstein. The young man, unfamiliar with Norse and German mythology, did not understand why Regin insisted on calling him by an incorrect name. Against the young man's will, Regin transported him back into the past, and sent him to waken Brunhild, a Valkyrie who slumbered under a curse. It was Regin's hope to disrupt Brunhild's relationship with Siegfried. When Brunhild realized what Regin intended, she attempted to kill him, but he teleported away. He left without taking the American back to his own time.[1]

References[]

  1. See, e.g., Atlantis and Other Places, pgs. 126-139, HC.
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