Meaning and history
Alberich is a name derived from the Old German elements alb, meaning “elf,” and rih, meaning “ruler” or “king.” It was borne by two 10th-century Lombard dukes of Spoleto and by a 12th-century French saint who helped found the Cistercian Order. In medieval German literature, Alberich is also a sorcerer dwarf who guards the Nibelungen treasure in the Nibelungenlied and appears in Ortnit as a helper to the hero.