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Thorr's Hunt for his Hammer

Thorr's Hunt for his Hammer
  • Creator: John Everett Millais 8 June 1829-13 August 1896
  • Description: John Everett Millais' illustration for the poem The Hunt for the Hammer in the Victorian era poetry periodical Once a Week. The poem is G.W.D.'s translation of the Eddic poem Þrymskviða. Millais depicts Loki confronting the giant Þrymr in Jötunheimr in order to discover the whereabouts of Þórr´s missing hammer. Loki's wings represent Freyja's feather cloak. Read the poem and see the original illustration in Digital Victorian Periodical Poetry.
  • Source: Once a Week
  • Folio or Page: 126
  • Medium: Not known
  • Date: 1861
  • Dimensions (mm): 125 x 176
  • Provenance:
    This digitial image is from the Digital Victorian Periodical Poetry Project.
  • Rights:
    This illustration from Once a Week is in the public domain.
  • Bibliography:

    Primary Sources:

    Millais, John Everett. Thorr’s Hunt for his Hammer. Once a Week, Series 1 4:83, 26 January 1861.

    Secondary Sources:

    Millais, John Everett. Thorr’s Hunt for his Hammer. Digital Victorian Periodical Poetry Project, Alison Chapman (ed.) and the DVPP team. Edition 0.98.8beta, University of Victoria, 18th March 2024.
  • Identity Number: DVPP-OncWk-1861-00534-126
  • Download size: 1.2 MB
  • Source code of this document: [XML]
Digital Victorian Periodical Poetry, DVPP   Once a Week   Millais, John Everett   Victorian   Þrymskviða, Lay of Thrymr   Theft of Þórr's Hammer   Loki, Loge   Freyja, Freia   Þjazi, Thjazi   fjaðrhamr, feather cloak  

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Linked items

Anomalies

Loki (non.) Loge (ger.)
In Norse mythology, Loki is counted among the gods but he is a giant by birth.
InThe Ring of the Nibelung, Richard Wagner created Loge by combining the figure of Loki, who is counted to be among the gods in the Prose Edda, with the giant Logi,who is the presonification of fire in the myth concerning Þórr´s Journey to the Court of Útgarða-Loki.

Artifacts

fjaðrhamr (non.) feather cloak (en.) Freyja lends her feather cloak to Loki on several occassions to enable him to fly.

Giants and Giantesses

Þjazi (non.) Thjazi (en.) The giant who persuaded Loki to abduct the goddess Íðunn.
Þrymr (non.) Thrymir (en.) The giant who stole Þórr´s hammer and said that he would only return it in exchange for marrying Freyja.

Gods and Goddesses

Freyja (non.) Freia (ger.)
A fertility goddess and one of the Vanir. She is the daughter of Njörðr and the twin sister of Freyr.
Richard Wagner based Freia in The Ring Cycle on the Old Norse goddesses Freyja and Iðunn.

Myths

Theft of Þórr's Hammer This myth concerns the theft of Þórr´s hammer, Mjöllnir, by the giant Þrymir. The gods send Loki to talk to Þrymir and giant says that he will only return the hammer in exchange for marrying Freyja. Heimdallr suggests that Þórr should impersonate Freyja, and the gods persuade Þórr to go to Þrymir dressed as a bride. Þórr seizes Mjöllnir when it is brought to the wedding feast to consecrate the marriage and then kills Þrymir along with the rest of the giants.

Mythological Places

Jötunheimr (non.) Realm of the giants.

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 Poetry DVPP 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)
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

Millais, John Everett (en.) b. June 8, 1829
d. August 13, 1896
Nationality: English
Occupation: Illustrator