This scene is from the second opera, The
Valkyrie, in Volume I of Margaret Armour’s
translation of Richard
Wagner's Der Ring des
Nibelungen. Wagner based his work largely on Old
Norse sources preserved in Iceland and, to a lesser extent, on
the German heroic poem Nibelunglied.
Arthur Rackham's
watercolour depicts the Valkyries riding to the mountaintop to
wait for Brünnhilde
before returning to Walhalla.
The text for the illustration states,
The ride of the Valkyries
Source: Volume I: The Rhinegold ; & The
Valkyrie
Folio or Page: [148]
Medium: watercolour
Date: 1939
Dimensions (mm): 176 x 125
Provenance:
This illustration is from Special
Collections in the McPherson
Library at the University of Victoria, Victoria,
British Columbia, Canada. Call number: ML410 W195A7
Rights:
This illustration from The Rhinegold
is in the public domain.
Research notes, early print reviews, etc.:
Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen is
commonly referred to in English as The Ring Cycle.
The individual operas are 1) Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold), 2) Die
Walküre / Die Valküre (The Valkyrie), 3) Siegfried and 4)
Götterdämmerung (The Twilight
of the Gods).
Árni Björnsson notes in Wagner and the Volsungs: Icelandic
Sources of Der Ring des Nibelungen that
"the names and conduct of the gods are largely consistent with the
descriptions given in the Prose Edda of Óðinn, Frigg, Freyja, Freyr, Þórr
and Loki (SnE G20-35). The names have, however, existed in various different
forms in Germanic dialects, and Wagner creates their characters with
considerable freedom" (134).
Árni Björnsson notes in Wagner and the Volsungs: Icelandic
Sources of Der Ring des Nibelungen that according to Wotan, in
Der Ring des Nibelungen, the valkyries "were
the fruit of his union with Erda" (168).
Bibliography:
Primary Source
Wagner,
Richard. Der Ring des
Nibelungen
Leipzig: von J. J. Weber,
1863.
Editions and Translations
Wagner,
Richard. The Rhine Gold & The Valkyrie
Translated by
Margaret
Armour,
London: William Heinemann
Ltd.
1939.
Secondary Sources
Björnsson,
Árni. Wagner and the Volsungs : Icelandic Sources of Der Ring des
Nibelungen. London: Viking
Society for Northern Research, 2003.
The valkyrie in Völsunga Saga that Sigurðr
promised to marry, but then tricked her into marrying Gunnarr. When
Brynhildr discovered that he had deceived her, she killed Sigurðr
and then herself.
Richard Wagner based Brünnhilde in The Ring
Cycle on Brynhildr. In the Poetic
Edda, Brynhildr is Óðinn's adoptive daughter, but Wagner
made her Wotan's daughter.
Óðinn´s hall where men who die in battle are taken to by the
Valkyries.
Richard Wagner based Walhalla in The Ring
Cycle on Valhöll.
Nouns
Edwardian (en.)The
Edwardian era began with the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910
(January 22, 1901 - July 28, 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).
Supernatural female warriors who are closely associated with Óðinn
and decide the fate of warriors. They convey those who die in battle
to Valhöll to join the group known as einherjar who will fight on
the side of the Gods in the Battle of Ragnarök.
Árni Björnsson
notes in Wagner and the Volsungs: Icelandic Sources
of Der Ring des Nibelungen that
"the idea of the valkyries derives from the Eddas and other early
poetry. The German word Walküre is a nineteenth-century Germanistion
of the Icelandic valkyrja ('chooser of the slain') (155).
Source Materials:
Der Ring des Nibelungen (ger.)
The Ring Cycle (en.)
A group of four German operas composed by Richard Wagner that is
collectively known as Der Ring des
Nibelungen and in English as The Ring Cycle.
The individual operas are 1) Das Rheingold (The
Rhinegold), 2) Die Walküre / Die Valküre (The
Valkyrie), 3) Siegfried and 4) Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods). Wagner based his
work largely on Old Norse sources preserved in Iceland and to a lesser
extent on the German heroic poem Nibelunglied.
Die
Walküre (ger.)The Valkyrie (en.)The
second of four German operas composed by Richard Wagner that is
collectively known as Der Ring des
Nibelungen and in English as The Ring Cycle.
The individual operas are 1) Das Rheingold (The
Rhinegold), 2) Die Walküre / Die Valküre (The
Valkyrie), 3) Siegfried and 4) Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods) Wagner based his
work largely on Old Norse sources preserved in Iceland and to a lesser
extent on the German heroic poem Nibelunglied.
Source Persons
Armour,
Margaret (en.)
b. September 10, 1860
d. October 13, 1943
Nationality: Scottish
Occupation: poet, novelist, and translator
In 1910, Armour translated the four operas comprising Richard Wagner's
Der Ring des Nibelungen into
English. Her translation was published in two volumes. 1) Volume One:
Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), and Die Walküre / Die Valküre (The
Valkyrie) was published in 1910, and Volume Two: Siegfried and
Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods) was published in 1911. The
volumes were illustrated by Arthur Rackham with a total of sixty-four
watercolours, as well as black and white vignettes and
tailpieces.
Rackham,
Arthur (en.)
b. 1867
d. 1939
Nationality: English
Occupation: illustrator
Residence: London
One of the most prominent illustrators during the Golden Age of
British Book Illustration (c. 1880 - 1930). His illustrations of Norse
mythology frequently appeared in "Little Folks" which were collected and
published in the Land of Enchantment. Rackham
also created 64 watercolours for the English translation of Richard
Wagner's Der Ring des
Nibelungen, The Ring of the Niblung. The
Rhinegold and the Valkyrie bound with Siegfried and the Twilight of
the Gods.
Wagner,
Richard (ger.)
b. 16 September 1800
d. 4 December 1886
Nationality: German
Occupation: Author, Teacher and Philologist
Residence: Leipzig, Germany
German composer, theatre director, and conductor who wrote both the
music and the libretto for Der Ring des
Nibelungen opera.
