Rhinemaidens
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The Rhinemaidens (German: Rheintöchter) are among the protagonists in the four-part Der Ring des Nibelungen by the composer Richard Wagner.
The Rhinemaidens Wellgunde, Woglinde, and Floßhilde (Flosshilde) belong to a group of characters living in a part of nature free from human influence. Erda and the Norns are also considered a part of this 'hidden' world.
They are first seen in the first work of the cycle, Das Rheingold, as guardians of the Rheingold, a treasure of gold hidden in the Rhein river. The dwarf Alberich, a Nibelung, is eager to win their favour, but they somewhat cruelly dismiss his flattery. They tell him that only one who is unable to love can win the Rheingold. Thus, Alberich curses love and steals the Rheingold. From the stolen gold he forges a ring of power.
Further on in the cycle, the Rhinemaidens are seen trying to regain the ring and transform it back into the harmless Rheingold. But no one, not even the supreme god Wotan, who uses the ring to pay the giants Fasolt and Fafner for building Valhalla, nor the hero Siegfried, when the maidens appear to him in the third act of Götterdämmerung, will return the ring to them. Eventually Brünnhilde returns it to them at the end of the cycle, when the fires of her funeral pyre cleanse the ring of its curse.
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This article was translated from the German Wikipedia on December 7th, 2005, with extra information incorporated.
