Description: Trish Baer based this needle felting on W.G. Collingwood's
illustration in Olive
Bray's translation of the Poetic
Edda that was published in a dual language edition in 1908 as
The Elder or Poetic Edda: Commonly Known As Sæmund's
Edda. This scene is from the poem Þrymskviða. The illustration
depicts Loki flying in
Freyja´s feather
cloak to Jötunheimr in order to discover the whereabouts of Þórr´s missing hammer. See
Research Notes below for information relevant to the needle felting. See
Collingwood's original illustration here.
Source: Trish Baer's needle felted rendering of Loki's Flight to
Jötunheimr
Folio or Page: Inspired by W. G. Collingwood's illustration
on page 126 in Olive Bray's 1908 edition of The
Elder or Poetic Edda: Commonly Known As Sæmund's Edda
Medium: Needle
felted with wool and silk on a piece of material from a woolen
blanket.
Date: 2021-04-14
Dimensions (mm): 171.45 x 317.5
Provenance:
This needle felting piece is from
from the Collection of P. A. Baer.
Rights:
All Rights Reserved
Research notes, early print reviews, etc.:
According to the primary sources, Freyja's feather cloak was made of falcon
feathers. Consequently, I used shades of brown and gold to needle felt the cloak.
The
wings of the feather cloak sometimes appear to be white in pen and ink illustrations,
but this is inappropriate because white wings associate Loki with Christian
angels.
Bibliography:
Source for the Illustration
Elder or Poetic Edda: Commonly Known As Sæmund's
Edda.
Translated by
Olive
Bray
. London: Viking
Club, 1908.
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.
Gods and Goddesses
Freyja (non.)
A fertility goddess and one of the Vanir. She is the daughter of
Njörðr and the twin sister of Freyr.
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.
Nouns
needle felted (en.)
A 2D or 3D felted item produced with a barbed needle and unspun
fibre.
Source Materials:
Elder or
Poetic Edda (en.)A dual language editon of the Poetic Edda with
illustrations by W. G. Collingwood.
Þrymskviða (is.)
Lay of Thrymr (en.)
One of the mythological poems preserved in the Poetic Edda that
relates the story of the theft of Þórr´s hammer by the giant Þrymr. The
giant says that he will only return it if he is permitted to marry
Freyja. Þórr is persuaded by the gods to dress in Freyja´s clothes and
to travel to Þrymr´s court for the wedding.
Source Persons
Bray,
Olive (en.)
b. June 17, 1878
d. November 15, 1909
Nationality: English
Occupation: scholar, translator and editior
Residence: 17 The Boltons Kensington, London, England
Bray was one of the daughters of the high court judge Sir Reginald
More Bray (1842-1923) and the novelist Emily Octavia Bray, of Shere
Manor near Guildford. Little is known about Olive. She joined the Viking
Society for Northern Research in 1902 and was a Vice-President in 1909.
At the time of her death, she was living in the family home at 17 The
Boltons Kensington. Her grave is in the Shere churchyard.
Collingwood,
W.
G. (en.)
b. 6th August 1854
d. 1st October 1932
Nationality: English
Collingwood was an author, artist, and a professor at University
College Reading.
