The Norse myth that inspired “The Lord of the Rings” - Iseult Gillespie episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 14, 2026 · 8 MIN

The Norse myth that inspired “The Lord of the Rings” - Iseult Gillespie

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Download a free audiobook version of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring“ and support TED-Ed's nonprofit mission: https://www.audible.com/ted-ed--The dwarves were master craftspeople. One dwarf, Andvari, forged marvelous creations. He often took the form of a fish and, one day, he swam to the land of the water nymphs, who guarded mounds of gold. When the nymphs laughed at his appearance, Andvari grew infuriated and seized their gold. With it, he crafted himself a special ring. Iseult Gillespie shares the Norse myth of the cursed ring.Lesson by Iseult Gillespie, directed by BASA.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-norse-myth-that-inspired-the-lord-of-the-rings-iseult-gillespieDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-norse-myth-that-inspired-the-lord-of-the-rings-iseult-gillespie#digdeeperCheck out our full book recommendation: https://shop.ed.ted.com/collections/ted-ed-book-recommendations/products/kalevalaAnimator's website: https://www.basaestudio.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Xiao Yu, Melissa Suarez, SpartacusDMR, Brian A. Dunn, Francisco Amaya, Daisuke Goto, Matt Switzler, Leonardo Monrroy, Maryam, Bethany Connor, Jeremy Shimanek, Mark Byers, Avinash Amarnath, Xuebicoco, Rare Media, Rayo, Po Foon Kwong, NinjaBoffin, Jesse Jurman, Scott Markley, Elija Peterson, Ovidiu Mrd, paul g mohney, Aravind Battaje, Steven Razey, Nathan Giusti, Helen Lee, Anthony Arcis Benedict, Karthik Balsubramanian, John Hong, Annastasshia Ames, Sean, Amy Lopez, Vinh-Thuy Nguyen, Liz Candee, Ugur Doga Sezgin, Anthony Arcis, Karmi Nguyen, John C. Vesey, Yelena Baykova, Harshita Jagdish Sahijwani, Nick Johnson, Carlos H. Costa, Robert Patrick, Jennifer Kurkoski, Ryan B Harvey, Abhishek Bansal, Akinola Emmanuel, Jose Arcadio Valdes Franco and Sebastiaan Vleugels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The Norse myth that inspired “The Lord of the Rings” - Iseult Gillespie

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