Description: This scene is from the 1902 edtion of Hamilton
Wright
Mabie's retelling of the poem
Grímnismál in Norse Stories:
Retold from the Eddas (1882. George
Hand
Wright's depicts King
Geirröðr´s son Agnarr offering a
drinking horn to Grímnir, i.e., Óðinn in disguise,
who the King has been tricked into torturing.
Source: Norse Stories: Retold from the Eddas
Folio or Page: 96
Medium: colour halftone reproduction
Date: 1902
Dimensions (mm): 95 x 150
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.
Mythological Persons
Agnarr (non.)
The son of King Geirröðr who takes pity on the mysterious guest that
Frigg has tricked the king into torturing. Agnarr takes a drinking horn
to the guest who turns out to be Óðinn in disguise. Agnarr becomes king
when his father accidentally falls on his own sword.
Geirröðr (non.)
The king in the poem Grímnismál who was the younger son of King
Hraudung and the brother of Agnarr. After their fishing boat was washed
to an island during a storm, the brothers were rescued and given shelter
by an old couple who are actually Óðinn and Frigg. When the brothers set
out on their journey home, Geirröðr follows that whispered advice of the
old man and sets Agnarr adrift. After Geirröðr becomes king, Frigg
tricks him into torturing a mysterious guest who turns out to be Óðinn
in disguise. Geirröðr has a son named Agnarr who takes pity on the
guest. Geirröðr dies by accidentally falling on his sword and Agnarr
becomes king with Óðinn's blessing.
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).
Source Materials:
Grímnismál (non.)Grímnir's Sayings (en.)One of the
mythological poems in the Poetic Edda. ThLay of Gre poem is a monologue
spoken by Grímnir, who is actually Óðinn in disguise, to a ten year old
boy named Agnarr, whose fathe King Geirröðrr is torturing Grímnir.
Grímnir gives his blessing to Agnarr for bringing him a drink and then
recounts mythological knowledge to him that the boy should possess in
his future role as king. Grímnir concludes by revealing that he is Óðinn
and by withdrawing his favour from King Geirröðrr. Geirröðrr
subsequently dies when he accidentally falls on his own sword.
Grimnismál is preserved in the late thirteenth-century Codex Regius
manuscript, a.k.a. GKS 2365 4º, and in the AM 748 1 4to
fragment.
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
