King Olav Trygvasson meets Thor

Like his father Odin Thor manifested himself to Olav Trygvasson. Once upon sailing along the coast, a man hailed him from a projecting rock, asking to be taken onboard. Herupon the king ordered the ship to be steered to the rock and take the man onboard. He was of great stature, youghtfully, and had a red beard. Scarcely had he come on board or he started to play all kind of practical jokes on the crew. They however were not amused. He proclaimed they were just miserable seamen, unworthy to travel on such a great ship under the command of such a great king. They asked him whether there was anything noteably he would relate to them. He answered there were but few questions he would prove unable to answer. Upon this they conducted him in front of the king, praising his knowledge. Finaly the king requested to be told a tale of the older days.I will begin then in relating how this land we sail by, used to be inhabited by giants. But a great misfortune befell them so that only 2 females of their race remained alive.Thereupon men of the east migrated into the land and settled it. But the two giantesses plagued and haressed them. Therupon, so the youth recounted, these man cold upon THIS redbeard to aid them in their struggle. Thereupon, i grabbed my hammer and slew those two monstrous beings, and eversince the dwellers of this coast have been calling upon me for aid untill... until thy king came along and destroyed all my old friends, an act wurthy of revenge. The redbeard slimed bitterly upon the king, and before the king could undertake anything, he darted switfly overboard and dissapeared.

I am not sure were in the saga's this story can be found, i myself found it in Benjamin Thorpse "Northern mythology", woodworths editions 2001, ISBN 1 84022 501 7, page 132

Fylgia

In Förnmanna Sögur wordt het volgende gezegd over Thorsten Oxefod: Als kind van 7 jaar liep hij binnen in eenkamer en struikelde. Hij viel languit op de grond, en de wijze oude man Geiter begon hard te lachen. Thorsten vroeg hem wat er zo te belachelijk was aan het vallen op de grond. Geiter antwoorde" ik zag wat jij niet zag. Toen jij in de kamer liep, liep een ijsbeerjong, je Fylgie (geleidedier) voor je. Toen hij mij zag schrok hij en bleef plots staan, waarop jij over het onzichtbare berejong struikelde.
Een Fylia is een geleidedier waarvan men aanneemt dat het een essentieel onderdeel van je karakter weergaf. Onzichtbaar begeleide het zijn mens. Vergelijk het met een totem bij de indianen. Het bijgeloof stelde dat, als je je eigen fylgie ziet, dat een voorbode is van je nakende dood.
In de recente literatuur zi je dit thema terugkomen in "the magical compass"

wat moet ik nu doen met dat hoofd

Odin denkt na over wat hij moet doen met het hoofd van ymir, de oerreus...

runic beast northern skies

circus "Di Pipo"

Het is niet echt mijn gewoonte hier politieke statements te maken, maar dit keer maak ik een uitzondering. Vanochtend stond de meest idiote foto ever van Di Rupo (Di Pipo) op het laatste nieuws. Helaas is hij er nu af, anders zou ik hem ernaast plakken. In het gezicht zelf heb ik niets gewijzigd behalve de neus en een iets grotere strik. De achtergrond heb ik wel serieus aangepakt.

Hlidskjalf

Loki draeber mark'ns fisken

Loki doodt des landens vis (kenning voor otter). De vier onderstaande versies bevatten elk verschillende fotoeffecten. Toegegeven, het verschil is deze keer miniem ;-)

mistige runen

Runic Deer, mother and calf

Alvismal

De Alvismal of het lied van Alvis is van oudsher een van mijn favoriete Edda saga's.
Dit is de versie op wikipedia:"Thor's daughter, Þrúðr, was promised to Alvíss. However, Thor did not want Alviss married to his daughter, so he devised a plan to stop Alvíss from doing so. He told Alvíss that, because of his small height, he had to prove his wisdom. Alvíss agreed. Thor made the tests last until after the sun had risen. Alviss, because he was a dwarf, was petrified when he was exposed to sunlight, and Þrúðr remained unmarried."

Wat de sage niet verteld is of Thrud van Alvis hieldd of niet. In deze tekening ga ik ervan uit dat dat wel het geval is . In het midden van de tekening zie je de zon opkomen terwijl Alvis langzaam in steen veranderd. Thor kijkt grijnzend toe, en de bliksemschicht geeft aan dat hij weer een overwinning in de wacht gesleept heeft. De slang met runen die uit de mond van de dwerg vertrekt staat symbool voor diens wijze woorden, maar wat baten deze woorden indien de zon hen versteend... .

groot panorama

 

Dit beeld is een collage van een aantal tekeningen die ik eerder al maakte. Centraal, de levensboom met Ratatosk.

Onderaan 2 van de 4 herten die aan de levensboom knabellen. En tenslotte het paard sleipnir.
De achtergrond is een bewerkte foro uit Jotunnheimen (NO), samengevoegd met een beeld van een ondergaande zon

Freya siger "nej!".

One morning mighty Thor woke to find that his hammer, Mjollnir, was missing. He woke all of the other gods and goddesses asking if they had seen his hammer, but none of them had, and became quite upset to hear that Mjollnir was missing. Mjollnir was the most powerful weapon that the gods posessed, and if their enemies heard that Mjollnir was missing then they might attack, and the gods would be powerless against them. Loki, the trickster god, had an idea about who had stolen Mjollnir, so he turned himself into a falcon and flew off to find Thrym, the king of the giants. When Loki found Thrym, the giant confessed that it was indeed him that had stolen the hammer while Thor slept. Thrym also said that he had hidden it in a place where no one could find it, and he would not return Mjollnir until Freyja, the most beautiful of all the the goddesses, was made his bride. Loki flew off to tell the gods the bad news. They debated and argued, but they came to the conclusion that Freyja must become Thrym's wife so that the hammer would be return. Freyja and the other gods started preparing for Freyja's wedding when the god Heimdall came up with an idea: Dress mighty Thor up in Freyja's clothing and send him to marry Thrym. Thor didn't like the idea of dressing up like a woman, but his disliked the idea of beautiful Freyja becoming Thrym's bride even more, so he reluctantly agreed. Thor, dressed as a bride, was accompanied by his "handmaiden" Loki to Thrym's castle. When Thor and Loki arrived, Thrym welcomed them in, and held a feast in their honour. Thor ate and entire ox, a net full of salmon, and six barrels of mead by himself, and when Thrym asked Loki why the "maiden" was eating so much Loki replied that she had not eaten for a week in anticipation of the wedding and was famished. Thinking that "Freyja" was really in love with him he decided to give her a kiss. Thrym lifted her vail and prepared to kiss his bride when he caught sight of her red eyes. Alarmed, he asked Loki why his bride's eyes looked the way that they did. Smoothly Loki replied that she had not slept for a week either, and would be fine once she had had a chance to rest. Dim-witted Thrym accepted this and decided to make his bride wait no longer for the wedding. Fetching Mjollnir and holding it aloft he prepared to bless the union when Thor could take it no longer. He ripped off his bridal clothes, grabbed his hammer, and beat all of the giants to death with it, starting with Thrym. No one said mythology was pretty

swan

De zwaan en andere watervolgens zijn oude heilige Europese dieren. In de mythologie van de bronstijd gelden zij als begeleiders van de zon. Hier op de achtergrond de zonnewagen van Trundholm en een rotstekening van Tanum waarop enkele figuren de zon vereren

Die Niebelungen

dino eet genesys

 

Dit is niet iets dat ik getekend heb, maar het is een bewerkte foto. De foto van de dino met de stressbal heb ik enkele jaren geleden genomen op het werk met mijn vorige GSM, vandaar de lage resolutie. Genesys is een leverancies van telefoniesoftware. Ik had de stressbal van hen gekregen op een seminarie. Het dinohoofd is een speelgoedje dat een collega bij Mac Donalds gekregen had.

Iemand had om onozel te doen de Dino laten bijten op de stressbal en daarna de dino op de tafel neergekwakt. Toen ik het geheel even bekeek moest ik serieus lachen. Per toeval stond de tekst genesys mooi naar voren gericht zodat de dino eigenlijk genesys opeet. Of nog de wetenschap strijd met de Chriselijke leer. Wil dit zeggen dat de Dino automatisch wint? Neen, de hete zon van Genesys, gevoed door de achterliggende lava en vulkaan zou de bek van de dino wel eens kunnen verbranden, en hem aldus kunnen dwingen om los te laten... Wie zal winnen? Of vinden wetenschap en religie een akkoord, een punt waatop ze het met elkaar eens kunnen worden?

Soit foto een klein beetje bewerken, foto van eyjafjalla etcetera erachter, enkele effectjes en voila, instant special effect !

lokis vreetwedstrijd

poserende vrouw.

odin ontdekt de runen

Fenris, de start van de laatste oorlog

 

Het ontsnappen van de Fenriswolf kondigt de laatste strijd aan. Na deze stijd gaat de wereld ten onder. Aangezien de wereld nog bestaat ga ik ervan uit dat deze strijd met moderne wapens zoals heli's geleverd zal worden en niet met zwaarden...

hella voor de hekla

fantasybeest

 

nog eens een klassiek fantasybeest

Idun

Dahud an Ys

Dahud van Ys is een Keltisch personage dat mij intigeert sinds  wij vorig jaar naar Bretagne op reis geweest zijn. Dit is wat Wikipedia over haar verteld. Mijn tekening geeft haar weer vlak na het verzinken van  de stad Ys.

Dahut's birth

The king of Cornouaille, Gradlon, had many ships which he used to wage war against the far away countries of the North. An outstanding strategist, he won most of the battles and pillaged the vanquished, thereby amassing great wealth.
But one day, his sailors tired of all this fighting, and refused to continue to lay siege to a particular castle. The king left Cornouaille, exiling himself to the North. Once while walking alone, he saw a red-headed woman: Malgven, Queen of the North, was standing in front of him. She told him: "I know you; you are courageous and skillful in fighting. My husband is old, his sword was rusted. You and I are going to kill him. Then we shall return to your country of Cornouaille." They killed the king of the North and rode on Morvarc'h ("sea horse" in Breton), the Malgven magical horse. It was black, spit fire from its nostrils and was able to gallop on the sea. They catch up with Gradlon's vessels Gradlon but the run-up of Morvarc'h move away the rest of the fleet the ship where it stopped.
Gradlon and Malgven remained long at sea, so Malgven gave birth to a daughter, Dahut. According to some versions of the story, it killed the queen. According to other versions, she did not die, but some time after the birth of Dahut, she asked Gradlon what he thought about Dahut. He responded, "I already cherish her as I cherish you."
Malgven announced him that the face of Dahut keep the look of hers as to not be forgotten because it was time for her to return to her world, and then added that they would see an island shortly after, and he should let go there.

The legend of Ys

Origins

According to some versions of the legend, Ys was built below sea level by Gradlon (Gralon in Breton), King of Cornouaille (Kerne in Breton), upon the request of his daughter Dahut (also called Ahes), who loved the sea.
In others, Ys was founded more than 2000 years before Gradlon's reign in a then-dry location off the current coast of the Bay of Douarnenez, but the Breton coast had slowly given way to the sea so that Ys was under it at each high tide when Gradlon's reign began.
To protect Ys from inundation, a dike was built with a gate that was opened for ships during low tide. The one key that opened the gate was held by the king.

Fall

Ys was the most beautiful and impressive city in the world, but quickly became a city of sin under the influence of Dahut. She organized orgies and had the habit of killing her lovers when morning broke. Saint Winwaloe decried the corruption of Ys and warned of God's wrath and punishment, but was ignored by Dahut and the populace.
One day, a knight dressed in red came to Ys. Dahut asked him to come with her, and one night, he agreed. A storm broke out in the middle of the night and the waves could be heard smashing against the gate and the bronze walls. Dahut said to the knight: "Let the storm rage. The gates of the city are strong, and it is King Gradlon, my father, who owns the only key, attached to his neck." The knight replied: "Your father the king sleeps. You can now easily take his key." Dahut stole the key from her father and gave it to the knight, who was none other than the devil. The devil, or, in another version of the story, a wine-besotted Dahut herself, then opened the gate.
Because the gate was open during storm and at high tide, a wave as high as a mountain collapsed on Ys. King Gradlon and his daughter climbed on Morvarc'h, his magical horse. Saint Winwaloe approached them and told Gradlon: "Push back the demon sitting behind you!" Gradlon initially refused, but he finally gave in and pushed his daughter into the sea. The sea swallowed Dahut, who became a mermaid or morgen.
Gradlon took refuge in Quimper, which became his new capital. An equestrian statue of Gradlon still stands between the spires of the Cathedral of Saint Corentin in Quimper. It is said that the bells of the churches of Ys can still be heard in the sea calm. A legend says that when Paris will be swallowed, the city of Ys will rise up from under the waves: Pa vo beuzet Paris, Ec'h adsavo Ker Is (Par-Is meaning "similar to Ys" in Breton^{[citation needed]}).
This history is also sometimes viewed as the victory of Christianity over druidism, as Gradlon was converted by Saint Winwaloe. Dahut and most inhabitants of Ys were worshippers of Celtic gods. However, another Breton folktale asserts that Gradlon met, spoke with and consoled the last Druid in Brittany, and oversaw his pagan burial, before building a chapel in his sacred grove.^{[citation needed]}

Other legends

The dahu

In a legend of the modern folklore, Dahut was punished by God, who transformed her into a strange animal : the dahu.

Mark of Cornwall

Main article: Mark of Cornwall#The legend

In a Breton legend, Mark of Cornwall is also the king of Cornouaille, where, one day, he hunted a doe before discovering she was, actually, the princess Dahut. Dahut, under her human appearance, condemned him to have the ears and the mane of his horse Morvarc'h.

Carhaix

According to a legend, the city of Carhaix was founded by Dahut, a reference to a supposed Breton language etymology "Ker Ahes" (city of Ahes).