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. This scene is from the
myth concerning Þórr´s Journey to the Court of Útgarða-Loki. Doyle
depicts the giant Skrymir confronting Þórr and his traveling
companions, i.e., Loki, Röskva, and Þjalfi.
Source: The Heroes of Asgard and the Giants of Jötunheim,
Or, The Week and Its Story
Folio or Page: 74
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.
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.
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.
Loki is counted among the gods but is a giant by birth.
Giants and Giantesses
Skrýmir (non.) Skrymir (en.)
The giant who rules the castle called Útgarðr in Jötunheimr. He is
also known as Útgarðaloki. In the Prose Edda,
Snorri calls him Skrýmir when relating the myth concerning Þórr's
journey to Útgarðr. He is also called Skrýmir in the poem Lokasenna but is called Fjallir in Hárbarðljóð.
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 Journey to the Court of Útgarða-Loki
This myth relates the story of Þórr's Þórr´s Trip to the Court of
Útgarða-Loki and the tricks that giants play on him and his companions
Loki and Þjálfi.
Mythological Persons
Röskva (non.) Roskva (en.)
In the Prose Edda, Röskva and her brother
Þjálfi are the children of a farmer that Þórr stays with on one of his
journeys. Þjálfi is responsible for the laming of one of Þórr´ goats and
as a result the two siblings become Þórr´s servants in order to appease
his anger.
Þjálfi (non.) Thjalfi (en.)
In the Prose Edda, Þjálfi and his sister
Röskva are the children of a farmer that Þórr stays with on one of his
journeys. Þjálfi is responsible for the laming of one of Þórr´s goats
and as a result the two siblings become Þórr´s servants in order to
appease his anger.
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, 1938
Nationality: English
Occupation: civil servant, illustrator and watercolourist
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.
