Description: This scene is from the 1902 edition of Hamilton
Wright
Mabie's retelling of the
Deluding of Gylfi in Norse
Stories: Retold from the Eddas (1882). George
Hand
Wright's illustration depicts
the Swedish King
Gylfi who is in disguise as Gangleri and is
presumably in the presence of Óðinn.
Source: Norse Stories: Retold from the Eddas
Folio or Page: 20
Medium: colour halftone reproduction
Date: 1902
Dimensions (mm): 95 x 160
Provenance:
This illustration is from Norse
Stories: Retold from the Eddas from the collection of
P.A. Baer.
Rights:
This illustration from Norse Stories: Retold
from the Eddas is in the public domain.
Research notes, early print reviews, etc.:
Early print review: "Norse Stories has for years past been considered
the best collection of Norse myths for school use. The events in the life of the
gods are all told, but one misses the glorious fierce movement, the simple
dramatic action of these human gods" (Thorne-Thomsen 330).Full text of the review.
Bibliography:
Primary Sources
Mabie, Hamilton
Wright. Norse Stories, Retold from the Eddas.
London: Grant Richards,
1902.
Secondary Sources
Thorne-Thomsen,
Gudrun
. Review of Norse Stories Retold from the
Eddas, by Hamilton
Wright
Mabie. The Elementary
School Teacher, vol. 3, no. 5, 1
Jan. 1903: 330. Web. August 2,
2021.
Dunn-Krahn,
Sage (en.)
b. 13th July 1999
Occupation: Research Assistant
Gods and Goddesses
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.
Historical Persons, i.e. from Heimskringla, Saxo, sagas etc.
Gylfi (non.)
A king in Ynglinga Saga, the first saga in
Heimskringla, who promises
Gefjon a ploughshare of land. He plays a much larger role in Snorri's
Edda where he decides to try and discover
if Óðinn and his followers are men or gods.
Myths
Gylfaginning (non.)
Deluding of Gylfi (en.)
Part of the story that Snorri uses to frame one of the three sections
of his Prose Edda. It is not a myth, but is an
essential part of Snorri's attempt to use euhemerization as an
explanation for the origin of the belief in pagan gods.
Mythological Persons
Gangleri (non.)
This is the name that King Gylfi used when he went to question Óðinn,
and the men who came with him from Asia, to see if they were gods or
sorcerers. It is also one of the many names of Óðinn that are known as
Óðins heiti.
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).
Victorian (en.)The
Victorian era began with the reign of Queen Victoria and ended with her
death (June 20, 1837 – January 22, 1901).
Prose Edda (is.)
Snorri Sturluson's thirteenth-century prose work concerning Old Norse
mythology and poetics.
Source Persons
Mabie, Hamilton
Wright (en.)
b. 13th December 1846
d. 31st December 1916
Nationality: American
Occupation: author
Mabie was an author, essayist, critic, editor and lecturer.
Wright, George
Hand (en.)
b. 6th August 1872
d. 14th March 1951
Nationality: American
Occupation: illustrator, printmaker and painter
