Alberich, by Arthur Rackham.

Alberich was a legendary sorcerer who originated in the mythology or epic sagas of the Frankish Merovingian Dynasty of the 5th to 8th century AD, and whose name means king of the elves (elbe "elves" reix, rex "king"). He was also known as king of the dwarves.^[1] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 385 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (600 × 933 pixel, file size: 127 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Alberich lords over the Nibelungs. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 385 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (600 × 933 pixel, file size: 127 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Alberich lords over the Nibelungs. ... An illustration from Alices Adventures in Wonderland Arthur Rackham (September 19, 1867 – September 6, 1939) was a prolific English book illustrator. ... Alberich can have several meanings in mythology and literature: Mythology Alberich is sorcerer and/or King of Elves, according to Eddic and Germanic mythology, 5th to 8th century AD Alberich is a dwarf in Nibelungenlied Fictional Characters Alberich is a dwarf or Andvari in Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard... John Dee and Edward Kelley evoking a spirit: Elizabethans who claimed magical knowledge A magician is a person skilled in the mysterious and hidden art of magic, which can be described as either the act of entertaining with tricks that are in apparent violation of natural law, such as those... This article is about the Frankish people and society. ... There are other articles with similar names; see Merovingian (disambiguation). ...

In the Nibelungenlied, an epic poem in Middle High German, he is a dwarf, who guards the treasure of the Nibelungen, but is overcome by Siegfried. The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. ... Men hur kommer man in i berget, frågade tomtepojken (But how do I get into the mountain? the young dwarf asked. ... German Nibelung and the corresponding Old Norse form Niflung (Niflungr) refers in most of the German texts and in all the Old Norse texts to the royal family or lineage of the Burgundians who settled at Worms. ... Sigurd sculpture in Bremen Sigurd (Old Norse: Sigurðr, German: Siegfried) was a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. ...

In Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, Alberich is a dwarf and chief of the Nibelungen, and guardian of the "Rhinegold treasure".^[2] Wagner's Alberich is a composite character, mostly based on Alberich from the Nibelungenlied, but also on Andvari from Norse mythology. Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as they were later called). ... Der Ring des Nibelungen, (The Ring of the Nibelung), is a cycle of four epic music dramas by the German composer Richard Wagner. ... German Nibelung and the corresponding Old Norse form Niflung (Niflungr) refers in most of the German texts and in all the Old Norse texts to the royal family or lineage of the Burgundians who settled at Worms. ... In Norse mythology, Andvari was a dwarf. ... Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled on Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ...

Derivative characters

Some scholars propose the following characters evolved in later centuries from the concept of Alberich as king of the elves and dwarves:

• Oberon - is the French translation of Alberich (used for the name of the "King of Fairies" in French and English texts).
• Elegast/Elbegast/Alegast - elf guest, elf spirit (Dutch, German, and Scandinavian texts, respectively)

v • d • e Norse mythology
List of Norse gods • Æsir • Vanir • Giants • Elves • Dwarves • Troll • Valkyries • Einherjar • Norns • Odin • Thor • Freyr • Freyja • Loki • Baldr • Týr • Yggdrasil • Ginnungagap • Ragnarök
Sources	Poetic Edda • Prose Edda • The Sagas • Volsung Cycle • Tyrfing Cycle • Rune stones • Old Norse language • Orthography • Later influence
Society	Viking Age • Skald • Kenning • Blót • Seid • Numbers
People, places and things

Oberon, also Auberon, King of the Fairies, is most well-known as a character in William Shakespeares play, A Midsummer Nights Dream, written in the mid-1590s. ... Elegast is the hero and noble robber in the poem Karel ende Elegast, a Medieval Dutch epic poem that has been translated into English as Charlemagne and Elbegast. ... Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled on Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ... Divided between the Æsir and the Vanir, and sometimes including the jötnar (giants), the dividing line between these groups is less than clear. ... In Old Norse, the Æsir (singular Ás, feminine Ásynja, feminine plural Ásynjur, Anglo-Saxon Ós, from Proto-Germanic *Ansuz) are the principal gods of the pantheon of Norse mythology. ... Vanir is the name of one of the two groups of gods in Norse mythology, the other and more well known being the Æsir. ... The giants Fafner and Fasolt seize Freyja in Arthur Rackhams illustration to Richard Wagners version of the Norse myths. ... For other uses, see Elf (disambiguation). ... In Norse mythology, the dwarves (Old Norse: dvergar, sing. ... Trolls with an abducted princess (John Bauer, 1915). ... The Valkyries Vigil, by the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Robert Hughes. ... In Norse religion the einherjar or einheriar were spirits of warriors who had died bravely in battle. ... The Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of Yggdrasil, the tree of the world. ... For other meanings of Odin, Woden or Wotan see Odin (disambiguation), Woden (disambiguation), Wotan (disambiguation). ... Thors battle against the giants, by Mårten Eskil Winge, 1872 Thor (Old Norse: Þór, also known as Tor) is the red-haired and bearded god of thunder and war in Norse Mythology and more generally Germanic mythology (Old English: Þunor, Old Dutch and Old High German: Donar, from... This 19th century representation of Freyr shows him with his boar Gullinbursti and his sword. ... In Norse Mythology and Germanic Mythology, Freyja (sometimes anglicized as Freya) is sister of Freyr and daughter of Njord (). She is usually seen as a Norse fertility goddess. ... It has been suggested that Loki and the dwarfs be merged into this article or section. ... Baldr. ... Týr, depicted here with both hands intact, is identified with Mars in this illustration from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript. ... This tree from the Viking Age Överhogdal tapestries is believed to show Yggdrasil with Viðópnir. ... In Norse mythology, Ginnungagap (seeming emptiness or gaping gap) was a vast chasm that existed before the ordering of the world. ... Oðinn is getting eaten by Fenrir with his spear Gungnir while Surtr brandishes his sword. ... Image File history File links Mjollnir_icon. ... Look up Poetic Edda in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Younger Edda, known also as the Prose Edda or Snorris Edda is an Icelandic manual of poetics which also contains many mythological stories. ... Excerpt Njåls saga in the Möðruvallabók (AM 132 folio 13r) circia 1350. ... The Volsung Cycle is the name of a series of Germanic legends based on the same matter as Niebelungenlied, and which were recorded in medieval Iceland. ... The Tyrfing Cycle is a collection of legends united by the magic sword Tyrfing. ... A rune stone in Lund Rune stones are stones with runic inscriptions dating from the early Middle Ages but are found to have been used most prominently during the Viking Age. ... Old Norse is the Germanic language spoken by the inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300. ... The orthography of the Old Norse language since the introduction of the Latin alphabet in Iceland is a thorny subject. ... Norse mythology provides a rich and diverse source which many later writers have borrowed from or built upon. ... Viking Age is the term denoting the years from about 800 to 1066 in Scandinavian History[1][2][3]. // The Vikings have been much maligned in European history, due in large part to their violent attacks on Christians in the first centuries of their excursions out of Scandinavia. ... The skald was a member of a group of courtly poets, whose poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry. ... In literature, a kenning is a compound poetic phrase, a figure of speech, substituted for the usual name of a person or thing. ... The Blót was the pagan Germanic sacrifice to Norse gods and Elves. ... Seid or seiðr is an Old Norse term for a type of sorcery or witchcraft which was practiced by the pre-Christian Norse. ... Numbers are significant in Norse mythology although not to the extent which they are in some traditions e. ... // Places Asgard Bifröst Bilskirnir Breidablik Elivagar Fyris Wolds Gandvik Ginnungagap Helgardh Hlidskjalf Hvergelmir Jötunheimr Leipter River Kormet Midgard Muspelheim Nastrond Nidavellir Niflheim Ormet Reidgotaland Slidr River Svartalfheim Utgard Valhalla Vanaheim Vimur Yggdrasil Events Fimbulwinter Ragnarök Artifacts Balmung Brisingamen Draupnir Dromi Eitr Mjolnir Skíðblaðnir Gram Gungnir...

References

1. ^ Guerber 1895:218 and 295.
2. ^ Bulfinch 1843:903.

• Bulfinch, Thomas. 1834. Bulfinch's Mythology. Reprinted by New York: Harper & Row, 1970, p. 354-356, 903. ISBN 0-690-57260-3.
• Guerber, Helene A.. 1895. Myths of Northern Lands - Index]. p. 218, [p. 295 index. File retrieved 7/15/2007.