Description: This scene is from the Victorian era poetry periodical Once a
Week. John
Everett
Millais's illustration for the
poem Master Olaf (From the
German) depicts Master Olaf, a smith In Heligoland,
who does not initially realize that knight, whose horse he is
re-shoeing, is Odinn.
Read the poem and see the original illustration here.
This illustration from Once a Week is
in the public domain.
Research notes, early print reviews, etc.:
This poem was based on a German folk tale regarding Wodan's Wild Hunt. Source:
Wägner, W, and F Tegetmeyer. Asgard and the Gods: Tales and
Traditions of Our Northern Ancestors: Told for Boys and Girls.
London: S. Sonnenschein, Le Bas & Lowrey, 1880. See pages 67-68.
Bibliography:
Primary Source:
Millais, John
Everett, Alison Chapman (ed.) and the DVPP team.
Master Olaf (From the German). Digital Victorian Periodical Poetry Project, Edition
0.98.8beta, University of Victoria,
Accessed 4th January 2024.
https://dvpp.uvic.ca/poems/onceaweek/1860/pom_279_master_olaf_from_the_german.html.
Óðinn (non.)
Odin (en.)
The chief god of the Æsir in The Prose Edda.
However, in Heimskringla he was a mortal who
tricks the King of Sweden into believing that he was a god.
Nouns
Victorian (en.)The
Victorian era began with the reign of Queen Victoria and ended with her
death (June 20, 1837 – January 22, 1901).
Source Materials:
Digital Victorian Periodical PoetryDVPP
Digital Victorian Periodical Poetry explores the poetry most read in
the long Victorian period: poems published in periodicals, magazines,
and newspapers dating from 1817 to 1901.
Once a Week (en.)
Launched by Bradbury and Evans, the publisher of Household Words,
after their split with Dickens, Once a
Week (1859-1880) was a weekly middle-class family magazine
that prominently featured illustrations.(Digital Victorian Periodical
Poetry website)
Source Persons
Millais, John
Everett (en.)
Nationality: British
Occupation: Painter and illustrator. One of the founders of the
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
b. 8 June 1829
d. 13 August 1896
