Description: This illustration is from a retelling of Norse mythology in the
first edition of Annie
Keary's The Heroes of Asgard and the Giants of Jotunheim:
Or, the Week and Its Story (1857) illustrated by
Charles
Altamont
Dolye. In Keary’s retelling of
the Mead of Poetry
myth, Óðinn witnesses the
dwarves murdering Kvasir,
draining his blood and mixing it with honey to make mead, and
then giving the mead to the giant Suttungr. Dole depicts the Norse god Hermóðr as a winged fairy
bringing the dwarves to face Óðinn’s judgement for their wicked
deed.
Source: The Heroes of Asgard and the Giants of Jötunheim,
Or, The Week and Its Story
Folio or Page: 31
Medium: not known
Date: 1857
Dimensions (mm): 80 x 127
Provenance:
This illustration is from The
Heroes of Asgard in the collection of the National and
University Library of Iceland. Catalogue record: The heroes of
Asgard and the giants of Jötunheim : Or, The week and its story
Keary, Amie, 1825-1879 höfundur ; Keary, Eliza. London : David
Bogue, 1857Í hillu Lbs-Hbs Íslandssafn Almenn rit (Í 823 Kea)
Lánstími: Lestrarsalslán
Rights:
This illustration from The Heroes of Asgard
and the Giants of Jötunheim, Or, The Week and Its Story is in
the public domain.
Research notes, early print reviews, etc.:
The title page for the The Heroes of
Asgard and the Giants of Jötunheim, Or, The Week and Its Story does
not name an illustrator nor do the Contents pages indicate that the book
contains illustrations. Ken Baitsholts notes that the illustrator is credited as
Charles Altamont Doyle in the Publishers' Circular for 1857, i.e., David Bogue.
P. A. Baer notes that David Bogue's Annual Catalogue is
included in the The Heroes of Asgard's back matter and
that the entry for The Heroes of Asgard and the Giants of
Jotunheim cites C. Doyle as the book's illustrator in the listings
for "Juvenille Works" (24).
Early Print review of the first edition of The Heroes of Asgard: "The Scandinavian mythology
converted into a tale told for the edification of children, after the manner of
books that have taught the Greek and Roman mythology. But no genius can invest
the gods of Asgard with the charms of the gods of Oympus. They have none of the
grace or dignity. But the authoress has made the best of an unattractive theme."
Web. 27 July 2021. (The Critic 130) Full text of the review (ProQuest subscription required).
Early Print review of the first edition of The Heroes of Asgard: "The
fables of the Northern mythology are here reduced to a form adapted to the
intelligence of children. They have been cleverly set to an accompaniment of
occasional dialogue, lightening and relieving the narrative of giants' wars and
of heroic prowess achieved by dwellers in the immortal city. The book is a good
specimen of learning made easy by being made pleasant." (The Athenaeum 470) Web.
27 July 2021. Web. 27 July 2021. (470) Full text of the Review (ProQuest subscription required).
Bibliography:
Editions
Keary,
Annie, and
Liza
Keary. The Heroes of Asgard
and the Giants of Jotunheim: Or, the Week and Its Story.
London: Fleet Street: David
Bogue, 1857. Print.
―. The
Heroes of Asgard: Tales from Scandinavian Mythology.
London: Macmillan and Co.
Limited, 1908.
Secondary Sources
Cleasby, Richard
and
Vigfússon
Guðbrandur
. An Icelandic-English Dictionary.
Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1957.
Doyle,
Charles Altamont. The Doyle Diary: The Last Great Conan Doyle Mystery : with a
Holmesian Investigation into the Strange and Curious Case of Charles
Altamont Doyle. New York:
Paddington Press, 1978.
Print.
Review of The Heroes of Asgard, by Annie Keary and Liza
Keary.
The Athenaeum, 11 Apr. 1857:
470. Web. 27 July 2021.
Review of The Heroes of Asgard, by Annie Keary, and Liza
Keary. The Critic, 16 Mar.
1857: 130. Web July 27,
2021.
Kvasir (non.)
In the Prose Edda, the gods create Kvasir from the spittle collected
in pot as a token of peace at the end of the wars between the Æsir and
the Vanir. In Skáldskaparmál, the dwarves, Fjalarr and Galarr, murder
Kvasir and collect his blood and mix it with honey to make the Mead of
Poetry. In Heimskringla, Kvasir is a Vanir who is held hostage by the
Æsir during their wars with the Vanir.
Giants and Giantesses
Suttungr (non.)
Suttung (en.)
The giant who hid the mead of poetry in a mountain named Hnitbjörg and
set his daughter Gunnlöð to guard it.
Gods and Goddesses
Frigg (non.)
Frigg (en.)
The wife of Óðinn and the mother of Baldr.
Hermóðr (non.)
Hermod (en.)
The god who rode Sleipnir to Hel to try and obtain the release of
Baldr.
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.
Myths
Mead of Poetry Myth
This myth begins at the end of the war between the two groups of gods
known as the Æsir and the Vanir. These two groups seal their peace by
exchanging hostages and also by spitting into a bowl. The spittle is
made into a wise being named Kvasir. Kvasir is eventually murdered by
the dwarves Fjalarr and Gjalarr who mix his blood with honey to make
mead. The mead makes anyone who drinks it into a poet. The two dwarves
later murder the giant Surttungr and his wife and then are forced to
give the mead to Surttungr's son as compensation. Surttungr hides the
mead in the mountain Hnitbjorg with his daughter Gunnlöð to guard it.
Óðinn finds a way to get into the mountain and steals the mead.
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:
Heroes of Asgard (1857
ed.) (en.)The first edition of The Heroes of
Asgard was published in 1857 and was illustrated by Charles
Altamont Doyle.
Source Persons
Doyle, Charles
Altamont (en.)
b. March 25, 1832
d. October 19, 1893
Nationality: English
Occupation: civil servant, illustrator and water colourist
Keary,
Annie (en.)
b. 3rd March 1825
d. 3rd March 1879
Nationality: English
Occupation: Novelist, poet, and childrens book writer.
Anna Maria Keary, known as Annie Keary, was an English novelist, poet,
and children's writer. Her sister Eliza Keary collaborated with her in
writing “The Heroes of Asgard” that was first published in 1857 and many
times thereafter.
