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Þórr Slays the Ox

Þórr Slays the Ox
  • Creator: W. G. Collingwood August 6, 1854 - 1932
  • Description: This scene is from prose prologue to the poem Hymiskiða in the Viking Society's reprint of Olive Bray's dual language edition of The Elder Edda (1908). W. G. Collingwood's depicts Þórr twisting the head off of an ox in order to use it for bait on a fishing trip with the giant Hymir.
  • Source: The Elder or Poetic Edda: Commonly Known As Sæmund's Edda
  • Folio or Page: 112
  • Medium: Wood Engraving
  • Date: 1908
  • Dimensions (mm): 120 x 90
  • Provenance:
    This illustration is from The Elder or Poetic Edda: Commonly Known As Sæmund's Edda from the collection of P. A. Baer.
  • Rights:
    This illustration from The Elder or Poetic Edda: Commonly Known As Sæmund's Edda is in the public domain.
  • Research notes, early print reviews, etc.:
    1. Excerpt from an early print book review (1908): "Each poem is prefaced by two designs by Professor Collingwood. These at their best leave little to be desired. Several of them e.g. Graybeard and Thor, are altogether admirable. Others are valuable both from the artistic and the antiquarian standpoint, as the artist has woven into them motives from Pre-Norman crosses or hogbacks illustrating Eddaic subjects...." pg. 494. Full text of the review. Folklore Vol. 19, No. 4 (Dec. 30, 1908), pp. 493-496.
    2. Excerpt from an early print book review (1909): "The text is accompanied by thirty-three excellent illustrations, which have the comparatively rare merit of really helping the reader to vizualize [sic]the action and of suggesting the atmosphere of the poems." pg 97. Full text of the review. The Journal of American Folklore Vol. 22, No. 83 (Jan. - Mar., 1909), pp. 96-98.
  • Bibliography:

    Editions

    Elder or Poetic Edda: Commonly Known As Sæmund's Edda. Translated by Olive Bray . London: Viking Club, 1908.

    Secondary Sources

    Major, Albany F. Review of The Elder or Poetic Edda: Commonly Known As Sæmund's Edda, translated by Olive Bray. Folklore, vol. 19, no. 4, 30 Dec. 1908: 493-496. Web. August 2,2021.
    Rankin, J. W.. Review of Elder or Poetic Edda: Commonly Known As Sæmund's Edda, translated by Olive Bray. The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 22, no. 83, Jan. - Mar. 1909: 96-98. Web. 26 July 2021.
  • Identity Number: EldEdd-1908-112-01
  • Download size: 3.2 MB
  • Source code of this document: [XML]
Bray, Olive   Collingwood, W. G.   Elder or Poetic Edda   Edwardian   Þórr, Thor   Megingjarðar   Þórr's Fishing Trip   Hymiskviða, Lay of Hymir  

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The MyNDIR Team

Dunn-Krahn, Sage (en.) b. 13th July 1999
Occupation: Research Assistant

Artifacts

Megingjarðar (non.) Þórr's belt that doubles his strength.

Giants and Giantesses

Hymir (non.) Hymir is the giant who went fishing with Þórr for Miðgarðsormr and cut the line when Þórr caught the serpent.

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 Fishing Trip This myth relates the story of Þórr's almost successful attempt to catch Miðgarðsormr on a fishing line. The giant Hymir does not cut Þórr's fishing line in the poem Hymiskiða. Hymir only cuts the line in Snorri's Edda.

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).

Source Materials:

Elder or Poetic Edda (en.)A dual language editon of the Poetic Edda with illustrations by W. G. Collingwood.
Hymiskviða (is.) Lay of Hymir (en.) One of the mythological poems, preserved in the Poetic Edda, that consists of three interlocking myths concerning Þórr, i.e., Þórr fetching a kettle for a feast; Þórr fishing for Miðgarðsormr; and the laming of Þórr´s goat.

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.