Description: This illustrated title header is from a retelling of Old Norse
mythology, Asgard Stories: Tales
from Norse Mythology (1901), by Mary H.
Foster and Mabel H.
Cummings. The header is for
the chapter "The Hammer of Thor" and depicts a group of dwarves smithing in a
cave.
Source: Asgard Stories: Tales from Norse
Mythology
Folio or Page: 33
Medium: not known
Date: 1901
Dimensions (mm): 90 x 50
Provenance:
This illustration is from Asgard Stories:
Tales from Norse Mythology from the collection of P. A.
Baer.
Rights:
This illustration from Asgard Stories: Tales
from Norse Mythology is in the public domain.
Research notes, early print reviews, etc.:
S. Dunn Krahn notes that this illustration is similar to "Dwarves" by
Ludwig Pietsch in the 1882 edition of Nordisch-germanische Götter und Helden (162). It is also similar to
the dwarves' costume designs by Carl Emil Doepler 'The Elder' created for the
1876 production of Wagner's Ring Cycle.
Bibliography:
Editions
Foster,
Mary, and
Mabel
Cummings. Asgard
Stories: Tales from Norse Mythology. New
York: Silver, Burdett and Co,
1901.
Dunn-Krahn,
Sage (en.)
b. 13th July 1999
Occupation: Research Assistant
Artifacts
Mjöllnir (non.)
Mjollnir (en.)
Þórr's hammer that returns to his hand after he throws it.
Artist Not Known
Artist Not
Known
Artist not known for this illustration in Asgard
Stories
Dwarves and Elves
Brokkr (non.)
One of the Sons of Ivaldi and brother of the dwarf Eitri. Brokkr is
also known as Sindri. Loki made a bet with these brothers that they
could not make three treasures as good as the three treasures that the
Sons of Ivaldi made for the gods.
Eitri (non.)
The brother of the dwarf Brokkr. Eitri is also known as Sindri. Loki
made a bet with these brothers that they could not make three treasures
as good as the three treasures that the Sons of Ivaldi made for the
gods.
Sons of Ivaldi (non.)
Brokkr and Eitri, the sons of the dwarf Ivaldi, who are called upon to
recreate Sif's hair and created other as well that are known as the
Treasures of the Gods.other treasures for the Gods.
Myths
The Treasures of the Gods
The six treasures of the gods were made by two groups of dwarves at
the request of Loki after he cut off Sif's hair while she was sleeping.
Loki asks the dwarves to make the treasures in order to appease Sif’s
husband, Þórr. The Sons of Ivaldi make golden hair to replace Sif's hair
and also make the spear Gungnir and the ship "Skíðblaðnir. Loki bets the
dwarves Brokkr and Eitri that they can not produce treasures equal to
the ones made by the Sons of Ivaldi. Brokkr and Eitri create the boar
Gullinbursti, the ring Draupnir, and Þórr’s hammer Mjöllnir. The gods
judge Mjöllnir to be the greatest of the treasures. Loki loses the bet
and almost loses his head but keeps it because the bet did not involve
harming his neck.
Nouns
Edwardian (en.)The
Edwardian era began with the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910
(January 22, 1901 - 28 July, 1914). However, the era's end date is
sometimes extended to the beginning of World War 1 (28 July
1914).
dvergar (non.)
dwarves (en.)
Dwarves often appear in Norse mythology as skillful smiths and wise
beings. The objects that they made were often endowed with magical
aspects. The dwarves made the treasures of the gods, e.g., Þórr's
hammer.
Source Materials:
Asgard Stories (en.)
Children's book by Mabel Cummings and Mary Foster published in
1901.
Source Persons
Cummings,
Mabel (en.)
Nationality: English
b. 28 Mar 1872
d. 24 August 1962
Occupation: Childrens book writer.
Nationality: American
Mabel Homer Cummings lived in Brookline, Massachusetts, as well as
Boston and Cambridge. She was born on the 28th of March, 1872 in
Cambridge, and died on the 24th of August, 1962 in Brookline. She lived
with her sister, the horticulturalist and ornithologist Emma G.
Cummings. She was a school teacher and the headmistress and co-founder
of the high school Brimmer and May, where Cummings Hall is named after
her. She graduated from Smith College in 1895. She was almost certainly
a founding member of the College Club of Boston, the first women’s
college club in the United States, and bought the building at 76
Marlborough in 1893.
Foster,
Mary (en.)
Nationality: American
Occupation: Childrens book writer and schoolteacher.
b. 19 Dec 1848
d. 27 Oct 1914