Draupnir (the dripper) was the magical ring given to Odin by the dwarf Brok, who crafted it along with his brother Sindri. It possessed the ability to produce eight identical rings of equal value every nine nights. Subsequently, Odin places the ring on Baldr’s funeral pyre, and it is later returned to him through Hermod.
Draupnir is a symbol of Odin’s wealth and abundance. Its ability to reproduce represents the never-ending prosperity of the gods.
The Story of the Draupnir
One day, Loki maliciously cut the hair of Sif, Thor’s wife. However, when Thor discovered this, he seized Loki and would have crushed all his bones if Loki hadn’t sworn to have the sons of Ivaldi craft golden hair for Sif that would grow like her other hair. Loki then went to the dwelling of the dwarves, and they created the hair, Skidbladnir (the ship of Freyr), and Gungnir (Odin’s spear). Loki then wagered his head with the dwarf, named Brok, that his brother, Sindri, couldn’t create three treasures as good as the ones just mentioned.
The brothers headed to the forge. Sindri placed a pig’s skin on the forge and instructed Brok to operate the bellows without stopping until he signaled. Loki, disguised as a fly, landed on Brok’s hand and stung him. However, Brok continued operating the bellows, and what Sindri withdrew from the forge was a pig with golden bristles.
The dwarves Brokkr and Sindri are responsible for crafting Draupnir along with other treasures for the gods.
Next, Sindri placed gold in the forge. This time, Loki landed on Brok’s neck and stung him harder, but Brok persisted in operating the bellows. The result was the golden ring, Draupnir. For the third attempt, Sindri placed the iron in the forge and urged his brother to keep blowing, emphasizing that everything would be lost otherwise. At this point, the fly positioned itself between Brok’s eyes and stung his eyelids. Blood began to drip into his eyes, impairing his vision. Brok momentarily released the bellows to scare away the fly. What the blacksmith retrieved this time was a hammer. Sindre presented these treasures to his brother and instructed him to go to Asgard to claim the bet.
While Loki and Brok arrived, each with their treasures, the Aesir sat upon their thrones and deliberated, and Odin, Frey, and Thor were appointed judges to give the final decision. Then, Loki gave Odin the Gungnir spear, which should never lose its aim; to Thor, he gave Sif’s golden hair; and to Frey, he gave the Skidblandner ship, which always had a favorable wind as soon as its sails were unfolded, regardless of the captain’s destination; it could also be folded like a napkin and stored in the pocket if desired.
Draupnir appears to be the origin of Odin’s epithet, Reginn (“mighty”). Odin would then bestow these rings (or perhaps bracelets) upon Nordic kings as a gesture to gain their favor.
After this, Brok stepped forward and gave Odin the Draupnir ring, stating that every ninth night, eight rings of equal value would emerge from it. To Frey, he gave the golden boar Gullinbursti, telling him that it could run through the air and over the sea day and night, faster than any other horse, and that, no matter how long the night or how dark the other worlds, there would always be light where the boar was, so bright were its bristles.
To Thor, he gave the Mjölnir hammer, saying that it could strike an object no matter how large; it would never miss its target, and when thrown, there was no fear of losing it, as no matter how far it fell, it would always return to its master and, as desired, shrink small enough to be concealed in his bosom. But it had a flaw: its handle was a bit short. According to the gods’ decision, the hammer was the best of all treasures, especially for the protection it offered against the frost giants; consequently, they decided that the dwarf had won the bet, and the latter then wanted Loki’s head.