Völsunga saga
Wagner created the story of the "Ring" by fusing elements from many German and Scandinavian myths and folk-tales. The Old Norse "Edda" supplied much of the material for "Das Rheingold", while "Die Walküre" was largely based on the "Völsunga saga". "Siegfried" contains elements from the Eddur, the "Völsunga saga" and "Thidrekssaga". The final "Götterdämmerung" draws from the 12th-century German poem, the "Nibelungenlied", which appears to have been the original inspiration for the "Ring".