Description: This scene is from the 1930 edition of Abbie F
Brown's In the Days of Giants.This illustration by
E. Boyd
Smith is from a Victorian era retelling of the
myth concerning The Death
of Baldr. In Snorri´s Prose Edda, Loki is held
responsible for Baldr´s death because he made a point of
discovering that Baldr was vulnerable to mistletoe. Loki
supplied Baldr´s blind brother, Höðr with a dart fashioned out
of mistletoe and guided Höðr's hand in throwing it. Loki flees
after Baldr dies but the gods capture him and bind him in a cave
with the guts of his son Narfi. Abbie Farewell Brown's
In the Days of Giants was first published in 1902,
and this illustration was digitized from the reprint published
in 1930.
Source: In the Days of Giants
Folio or Page: 256
Medium: Not known
Date: 1930
Dimensions (mm): 80 x 135
Provenance:
This illustration is from In
the Days of Giants from the collection of P. A.
Baer.
Rights:
This illustration from In the Days of
Giants is in the public domain.
Research notes, early print reviews, etc.:
Early Print review of the first edition of In the Days
of Giants: "There are six illustrations by E. Boyd Smith, which are
delightful reproductions of the quaint conceits of these old legends." (The
Washington Post 7). Web. 20 November 2021.
Bibliography:
Primary Sources
Brown,
Abbie. In
the Days of Giants: A Book of Norse Tales.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1930.
Secondary Sources
Review of In
the Days of Giants by Abbie Farwell Brown.
The Washington Post (1877-1922), 5 May
1902: 7. Web. 20 November
2021.
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 presonification of fire in the myth concerning Þórr´s
Journey to the Court of Útgarða-Loki.
Artifacts
Mjöllnir (non.)
Mjollnir (en.)
Þórr's hammer that returns to his hand after he throws it.
Gods and Goddesses
Baldr (non.)
Balder (en.)
The god who was killed by his brother Höðr.
Höðr (non.)
Hod (en.)
The god who killed his brother Baldr with a weapon made of mistletoe.
Depending on the source, the mistletoe projectile is a spear, an arrow,
or a dart. In the Prose Edda, Höðr is blind and
his aim is guided by Loki.
In the Prose Edda, Þórr is the son of
Óðinn and the giantess Jörð. However, in Heimskringla, he is a mortal.
Richard Wagner
based Donner in The Ring Cycle on
Þórr.
Myths
Death of Baldr Myth
A myth concerning an accidental fratricide. It sometimes includes Loki
as an instigator who dupes Baldr's brother, Höðr, into the act and
actually guides his hand. In the Prose Edda,
Snorri says that Höðr was blind.
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).
In the Days of Giants (en.)
Retelling of Norse Myth written by Abbie Farwell Brown and illustrated
by Elmer Boyd Smith.
Prose Edda (is.)
Snorri Sturluson's thirteenth-century prose work concerning Old Norse
mythology and poetics.
Source Persons
Brown, Abbie
Farwell (en.)
b. August 21, 1871
d. March 5, 1927
Nationality: American
Occupation: Author
Residence: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Abbie Farwell Brown was an American novelist, journalist, playwright,
lyricist, and children's author.
Smith,Elmer
Boyd (en.)
b. May 31, 1860
d. October 5, 1943
Nationality: Canadian/American
Occupation: Author/Illustrator
Residence: Wilton, Connecticut, USA
A Canadian-American writer and illustrator.
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.
