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Siegfried Tastes Fafner's Blood

Siegfried Tastes Fafner's Blood
  • Creator: Arthur Rackham September 19, 1867-September 6, 1939
  • Description:
    This scene is from Siegfried in Volume II 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 Siegfried trying to soothe the burning sensation of Fafner’s blood on his hand by placing his hand in his mouth. After tasting Fafner’s blood, Siegfried is able to understand the speech of birds.
    The text for the illustration states,
    • "The hot blood burns like fire!"
  • Source: Volume II: Siegfried
  • Folio or Page: [58]
  • Medium: watercolour
  • Date: 1939
  • Dimensions (mm): 170 x 125
  • Provenance:
    This illustration is from Special Collections in the MacPherson Library at the University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Call number: ML410 W195A7
  • Rights:
    This illustration from Siegfried 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).
    Björnsson remarks that “Wagner does not mention Siegfried digging holes to hide in, indeed this would not have been consistent with his concept of the fearless hero, who must of course face his enemy head-on” (198). He further notes that “The slaying of the dragon is recounted in the eddic poem Fáfnismál and in the Prose Edda (SnE S40), but the most detailed account is in Völsunga saga ch. 18” (199).
    Björnsson also notes that “The account of the dragon’s blood on the tongue, and understanding of the speech of birds, occurs in the Prose Edda (SnE S40), Völsunga saga chs 19 – 20, and in the…prose passage in the eddic poem Fáfnismál (between stanzas 31 and 32)” (202).
  • Bibliography:

    Primary Source

    Wagner, Richard. Der Ring des Nibelungen Leipzig: von J. J. Weber, 1863.

    Editions and Translations

    Wagner, Richard. Sigfried & The Twilight of the Gods. Translated by Margaret Armour, London: William Heinemann Ltd. 1911.
    ―. 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.
  • Identity Number: RngNbLng-V02-058-Plt
  • Download size: 141 MB
  • Source code of this document: [XML]
Der Ring des Nibelungen, The Ring Cycle   Siegfried (opera)   Victorian   Edwardian   Wagner, Richard   Armour, Margaret   Rackham, Arthur   Sigurðr Fáfnisbani, Sigurd the Dragon Slayer, Siegfried   Fafner   Nothung  

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Linked items

Artifacts

Nothung (Ger.) Siegmund's broken sword that his son, Siegurd, reforges when Mime refuses to reforge it in Die Walküre / Die Valküre (The Valkyrie), the second opera in Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. In the Icelandic sources, Volsung's Saga and the Eddas, the sword is called Gram and it is reforged by Regin for Sifried.

Giants and Giantesses

Fafner (ger.) one of the giants in Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, who built the fortress Walhalla for the gods and were promised that they would have the goddess Freia as payment. Wotan persuades to the giants to give back Freia in exchange for the Rhinegold. Fafner and Fasolt argue about how to divide the gold between them. Fafner kills Fasolt and later changes himself into a dragon in order to guard the gold. Fafner is eventually killed by the hero Sigfried.

Mythological Persons

Sigurðr Fáfnisbani (non.) Sigurd the Dragon Slayer (en.) Siegfried (ger.)
The legendary hero in Völsunga Saga who killed the dragon Fáfnir, rode through the flame wall to awaken Brynhildr. He promised to marry her but due to sorcery married Guðrún and tricked Brynhildr into marrying Gunnarr.
Richard Wagner based his hero Siegfried in The Ring Cycle on Sigurðr.

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.
Siegfried (opera) (ger.): The third 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 (1863), known in English as The Ring of the Niblung, and sometimes as The Ring Cycle. Rackham's illustrations first appeared in Volume 1 of Margaret Armour's English translation, The Rhinegold and The Valkyrie, was published (1910), and in Volume 2, Siegfried and The Twilight of the Gods (1911). The images in MyNDIR are from the 1939 edition, with Rackham's illustration, and all four of the operas in one volume.
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.