Prose Edda (Elder and Younger, respectively) presented Wagner with a wealth of resources in characters such as Odin (Wotan), Frigg (Fricka), and Freyja (Freia), as well as in events such as the theft of Andvari (Alberich) the dwarf s gold. What is fascinating is the dextrous fashion in which Wagner combines and reinterprets his sources to construct a vehicle that has historicalliteraryrelevance as well as an infusion of Wagner s own thought. In his book
it might even be argued that
The Ring is as valid and coherent a dramatic synthesis of the complex mythology of Northern Europe as we are ever likely to get.