Description: This frontispiece for The Elf
Dance is from the 1903 edition of Children of Odin by
Ernest
Edwin
Speight that was first
published in 1901. The illustration of The Elf Dance is for
Robert Williams
Buchanan's translation of
the popular medieval Scandinavian ballad known in Iceland as
"Kvæði af Ólafi liljurós" in Swedish as “Herr Olof och älvorna;”
and in Danish as “Elveskud”. There are many variations of the
narrative of the poem, but all of them concern Herr Olaf who
sees the elfs dancing in the woods on the day before his wedding
and consequently dies. The illustration is not signed but
contains a monogram in the lower right-hand corner for an artist
whose name is not known. See: Buchanan's translation and Edward Dalziel's illustration.
Source: Children of Odin
Folio or Page: Frontispiece
Medium: Not Known
Date: 1901
Dimensions (mm): 100 x 140
Provenance:
This illustration is from The
Children of Odin from the collection of P. A. Baer.
Rights:
This illustration from Children of
Odin is in the public domain.
Research notes, early print reviews, etc.:
Early Print Review of The Children of Odin:
"The book is copiously illustrated, but we cannot regard this as a merit, for
the artist, whose name is not given, has evidently little acquaintance with
Northern literature, and has read the letterpress very hurriedly and
carelessly." Review by A.F.M in Saga-Book III of the Viking Club. (London:
Private Printing of the Viking Society. 1903), 491. Accessed through
http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/ on 12 January 2022.
Bibliography:
Editions
Speight, E
E. Children of Odin.
London: H. Marshall ,
1903.
Secondary Sources
M., A.
F..
"Review of The Children of Odin by E. E. Speight" in
Saga-Book III of the Viking Club
London: Private Printing of the Viking
Society, 1903.
Laliberte,
Camille (en.)
b. 19th December 1998
Occupation: Research Assistant
Artist Not Known
Artist Not
Known
Artist not known for this illustration in Children of
Odin.
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).
Source Materials:
Children of Odin (en.)
Children's book by Ernest Edwin Speight published in 1901. The
illustrations in MyNDIR are from the second edition that was published
in 1903. Disambiguation: This book should not be confused with The Children of Odin by Padriac
Colum published in 1920 that was illustrated by Willy Pogany.
The Elf Dance (en.)A Scandinavian ballad
that was popular in the Middle Ages and was translated into English by
Robert Williams Buchanan.
Source Persons
Buchanan, Robert
Williams (en.)
b. 1841
d. 1901
Nationality: British
Occupation: Writer, Poet, Playwright, and Translator.
Buchanan edited the anthology •Ballad Stories of the Affections from
the Scandinavian (1866).
Speight, Ernest
Edwin (en.)
b. 6 December 1871
d. 17 September 1949
Nationality: English
Occupation: Author, Professor of English
Residence: Yorkshire, England
Ernest Edwin Speight, better known as E. E. Speight, was an English
professor who worked in India and Japan. He authored Children of Odin,
as well as numerous English textbooks. He was awarded the Fifth Class of
the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan for his services as
a teacher.
