Description:
King
Óláfr Tryggvason and his
men standing in front of the pagan idols, including one of
Þórr, that they are about to destroy. This
illustration is from Chapter 69 in Olav Tryggvasons Saga, the seventh saga in
Kongesagaer, in Gustav
Storm's Norwegian translation
of Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla.
Source: Kongesagaer
Folio or Page: 163
Medium: pen and ink drawing printed by means of
zincography
Date: 1899
Dimensions (mm): 90 x 90
Provenance:
This copy of Kongesagaer contains the signature of
Halldor C.
Espe and the date 1900 on the second page along with the note
"Ac 134" in the upper left hand corner. This is not a deluxe
edition,it has a plain black cover with gilt lettering on the spine
and a red and black title page but does not have any decorative page
borders. Page #21 is misnumbered as #22. The pages of this copy
appear to be of a more durable quality paper than those of the copy
in the Urbana-Champaign Library (Q. 839.6 SN5HDAS1899) which are now
very fragile.
P.A. Baer purchased this copy of Kongesagaer in
Oslo in 2008.
Rights:
Illustrations from the 1899 edition of Kongesagaer are in the Public Domain.
Bibliography:
Primary Sources
Sturluson,
Snorri.
Kongesagaer.
Translated by
Gustav
Storm,
Kristiania: J. M.
Stenersen, 1899.
Secondary Sources
Cleasby, Richard
and
Vigfússon
Guðbrandur
. An Icelandic-English Dictionary.
Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1957.
Sturluson,
Snorri. The
Heimskringla: Or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway.
Translated by
Samuel
Laing,
London: Longman, Brown, Green, and
Longmans, 1844.
―. Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway.
Translated by
Lee M.
Hollander,
Austin: University of Texas
Press, 1964.
Þórr (non.)
Thor (en.)
In the Prose Edda, Þórr is the son of Óðinn
and the giantess Jörð. However, in Heimskringla, he is a mortal.
Historical Persons, i.e. from Heimskringla, Saxo, sagas etc.
Óláfr
Tryggvason (non.)
Olaf
Tryggvason (en.)
Óláfr was baptized in England before he became king in Norway. He
promoted Christianity throughout his rule but never succeeded in
christainizing the whole country. He likely died at the Battle of Svold
in 1000 but rumours persisted afterwards that he had survived.
Source Materials:
Heimskringla (is.)
History of the Kings of Norway (en.)
This account of the history of the kings of Norway and is generally
believed to have been written by Snorri Sturluson in Iceland in 1230. It
begins with the legendary Swedish dynasty of the Ynglings, who were the
subject matter of the skaldic poem Ynglingtal, and ends with the reign
of the Norwegian king, Magnus Erlingson (died 1184).
Kongesagaer (1899 ed.) (no.)
The first edition of Gustaf Storm's Norwegian translation of Heimskringla. Of the two hundred and
twenty illustrations for the 1899 edition Werenskiold drew fifty-seven,
Krohg forty- seven, Wetlesen forty-three, Egedius thirty-seven, Munthe
twenty-seven, and Peterssen eight.
Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar (is.)
Olav Tryggvasons Saga (no.)
Saga of Óláf Tryggvason (en.)
This is the seventh saga in Heimskringla.
Source Persons
Egedius,
Halfdan (no.)
b. 5th May 1877
d. 2nd February 1899
Nationality: Norwegian
Egedius was one of the main illustrator's for Gustav Storm's editions
of Kongesagaer in 1899 and 1900.
Snorri
Sturluson (is.)
b. 1179
d. 1241
Nationality: Icelandic
Snorri was an Icelandic statesman, scholar, and author who is credited
with writing Heimskringla, The
Prose Edda, and possibly Egil's
Saga.
