Description: Trish Baer based this needle felting on an illustration by an unknown
artist in a retelling of Old Norse mythology, Asgard Stories: Tales from Norse Mythology (1901),
by Mary H.
Foster and Mabel H.
Cummings. The illustration is for the
chapter "Thor's Wonderful Journey," a retelling of the "Þórr´s Trip to the Court of
Útgarða-Loki" myth. The illustration depicts Þórr and Loki riding in Þórr's chariot
drawn by his two goats Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr. The
illustration is signed with the initials H.L.M., but these are not
necessarily the initials of the illustrator. See Research Notes below for
information relevant to the needle felting. See the original illustration
here.
Source: Trish Baer's needle felted rendering of Þórr´s Trip to the
Court of Útgarða-Loki
Folio or Page: Inspired by an unknown artist's
illustration on page 41 in Mabel H.
Cummings's 1901 edition of Asgard Stories: Tales from Norse Mythology.
Medium: Needle
felted with wool and silk on a piece of material from a woolen
blanket.
Date: 2021-08-31
Dimensions (mm): 180 x 300
Provenance:
This illustration is from Asgard Stories: Tales
from Norse Mythology from the collection of P. A. Baer.
Rights:
All Rights Reserved
Research notes, early print reviews, etc.:
Based on their clothing, I think that this illustration relates to the myth
concerning the Theft of Þórr´s Hammer rather than Þórr´s Trip to the Court of Útgarða-Loki. I choose to make
Þórr´s garments white because he was dressed as a bride when he and Loki set out for
Jötunheimr. It is unlikely that Viking brides wore white, but this illustration was
created during the Victorian era when white was appropriate for brides.
Bibliography:
Editions
Foster,
Mary, and
Mabel
Cummings. Asgard
Stories: Tales from Norse Mythology. New
York: Silver, Burdett and Co,
1901.
Baer,
Trish (en.)
b. 25th January 1952
Occupation: Adjunct Professor in Medieval Studies; Digital Scholarship
Fellow in the Electronic Texts and Culture Lab; editor and MyNDIR-IDG
(Insight Development Grant) Team Leader
Loki is counted among the gods but is a giant by birth.
Creatures: animals, birds, monsters etc.
Tanngnjóstr (non.)
Tanngnjostr (en.)
One of the two goats who pull Þórr's chariot...
Tanngrisnir (non.)
One of the two goats who pull Þórr's chariot.
Gods and Goddesses
Þórr (non.)
Thor (en.)
In the Prose Edda, Þórr is the son of Óðinn
and the giantess Jörð. However, in Heimskringla, he is a mortal.
Myths
Þórr´s Journey to the Court of Útgarða-LokiThor's Journey to the Court of Utgarda-Loki
This myth relates the story of Þórr's Trip to the Court of
Útgarða-Loki and the tricks that giants play on him and his companions
Loki and Þjálfi.
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).
needle felted (en.)
A 2D or 3D felted item produced with a barbed needle and unspun
fibre.
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
