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 Óðinn
leaving Brünnhilde's
hall that is surrounded by a wall of flames, and Brünnhilde
sleeps within because she is under Wotan's enchantment. Wotan
originally decreed that Brünnhilde must marry the first man who
woke her, but she couldn't bear the thought of marrying someone
who might not be worthy of her. Consequently, Óðinn ordered
Loge to surround the
hall with flames which only a hero would be brave enough to find
a way through.
The text for the illustration states,
As he moves slowly
away, Wotan turns
and looks
sorrowfully back at
Brunnhilde.
Source: Volume I: The Rhinegold ; & The
Valkyrie
Folio or Page: [158]
Medium: watercolour
Date: 1939
Dimensions (mm): 179 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).
N.B.: The colour plates for pages 156, 158 and 160 refer to the text
respectively on pages 159 and 160.
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.
In Norse mythology, Loki is counted among the gods but he is a
giant by birth.
InThe Ring of the Nibelung, Richard Wagner
created Loge by combining the figure of Loki, who is counted to be among
the gods in the Prose Edda, with the giant
Logi,who is the personification of fire in the myth concerning Þórr´s
Journey to the Court of Útgarða-Loki.
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.
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).
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.
