1.
Arthur Rackham
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Arthur Rackham was an English book illustrator. Rackham was born in Lewisham, then part of Kent as one of 12 children. In 1884, at the age of 17, he was sent on a voyage to Australia to improve his fragile health. At the age of 18, he worked as a clerk at the Westminster Fire Office, in 1892, he left his job and started working for the Westminster Budget as a reporter and illustrator. Book illustrating then became Rackhams career for the rest of his life and this was developed further through the austere years of the Boer War with regular contributions to childrens periodicals such as Little Folks and Cassells Magazine. In 1901 he moved to Wychcombe Studios near Haverstock Hill, edith suffered a miscarriage in 1904, but the couple had one daughter, Barbara, in 1908. M. Barries Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, published by Hodder & Stoughton. Income from the books was greatly augmented by annual exhibitions of the artwork at the Leicester Galleries, Rackham won a gold medal at the Milan International Exhibition in 1906 and another one at the Barcelona International Exposition in 1912. His works were included in exhibitions, including one at the Louvre in Paris in 1914. From 1906 the family lived in Chalcot Gardens, near Haverstock Hill, until moving from London to Houghton, in 1929 the family settled into a newly built property in Limpsfield, Surrey. Arthur Rackham died in 1939 of cancer at his home, during that period, there was a strong market for high quality illustrated books which typically were given as Christmas gifts. Many of Rackhams books were produced in a de luxe limited edition, often vellum bound and sometimes signed, as well as a larger and this was often followed by a more modestly presented octavo edition in subsequent years for particularly popular books. The onset of the war in 1914 curtailed the market for such quality books, arthur Rackhams works have become very popular since his death, both in North America and Britain. His images have been used by the greeting card industry. His original drawings and paintings are keenly sought at the international art auction houses. Rackhams illustrations were based on robust pen and India ink drawings. He would first lightly block in shapes and details of the drawing with a soft pencil, over this he would then carefully work in lines of pen and India ink, removing the pencil traces after the drawing had begun to take form. For colour pictures, he would begin painting by building up multiple thin washes of watercolour creating translucent tints. He would also go on to expand the use of cuts in illustration work, particularly in the period after the First World War, as exemplified by his Sleeping Beauty
2.
Nibelungenlied
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The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, the Nibelungenlied is based on pre-Christian Germanic heroic motifs, which include oral traditions and reports based on historic events and individuals of the 5th and 6th centuries. Old Norse parallels of the legend survive in the Völsunga saga, the Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda, the Legend of Norna-Gest, in 2009, the three main manuscripts of the Nibelungenlied were inscribed in UNESCOs Memory of the World Register in recognition of their historical significance. The poem in its various forms was lost by the end of the 16th century. There are thirty-five known manuscripts of the Nibelungenlied and its variant versions, eleven of these manuscripts are essentially complete. The oldest version seems to be the one preserved in manuscript B, twenty-four manuscripts are in various fragmentary states of completion, including one version in Dutch. The text contains approximately 2,400 stanzas in 39 Aventiuren, the title under which the poem has been known since its discovery is derived from the final line of one of the three main versions, hie hât daz mære ein ende, daz ist der Nibelunge liet. Liet here means lay, tale or epic rather than simply song, the manuscripts sources deviate considerably from one another. This categorization derives from the signatures on the *A, *B, the Nibelungs lament, a sort of appendix to the poem proper, mentions a Meister Konrad who was charged by a bishop Pilgrim of Passau with the copying of the text. This is taken as a reference to Saint Pilgrim, bishop of Passau from 971–991, the search for the author of the Nibelungenlied in German studies has a long and intense history. Among the names suggested were Konrad von Fußesbrunnen, Bligger von Steinach, none of these hypotheses has wide acceptance, and mainstream scholarship today accepts that the authors name cannot be established. The original version began with the introduction of Kriemhild, the protagonist of the work. The second part deals with Kriemhilds marriage to Etzel, her plans for revenge, the journey of the Burgundians to the court of Etzel, the first chapter introduces the court of Burgundy. Kriemhild has a dream of a falcon that is killed by two eagles and her mother interprets this to mean that Kriemhilds future husband will die a violent death, and Kriemhild consequently resolves to remain unmarried. The second chapter tells of the background of Siegfried, crown prince of Xanten and his youth is narrated with little room for the adventures later attributed to him. In the third chapter, Siegfried arrives in Worms with the hopes of wooing Kriemhild, Siegfried leaves his treasure in the charge of a dwarf named Alberich. After killing the dragon, Siegfried then bathed in its blood, in spite of Hagens threatening stories about his youth, the Burgundians welcome him, but do not allow him to meet the princess. Disappointed, he remains in Worms and helps Gunther defeat the invading Saxons
3.
Dwarf (mythology)
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In Germanic mythology, a dwarf is a being that dwells in mountains and in the earth, and is variously associated with wisdom, smithing, mining, and crafting. Dwarfs are often described as short and ugly, although some scholars have questioned whether this is a later development stemming from comical portrayals of the beings. The concept of the dwarf has had influence in popular culture. The modern English noun dwarf descends from the Old English dweorg and it has a variety of cognates in other Germanic languages, including Old Norse dvergr and Old High German twerg. According to Vladimir Orel, the English noun and its cognates ultimately descend from Proto-Germanic *đwerȝaz, beyond the Proto-Germanic reconstruction, the etymology of the word dwarf is highly contested. Competing etymologies include a basis in the Indo-European root *dheur-, the Indo-European root *dhreugh, modern English has two plurals for the word dwarf, dwarfs and dwarves. Dwarfs remains the most commonly employed plural, regarding the plural, Tolkien wrote in 1937, I am afraid it is just a piece of private bad grammar, rather shocking in a philologist, but I shall have to go with it. Norse mythology provides different mythical origins for the beings, as recorded in the Poetic Edda, the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá details that the dwarfs were the product of the primordial blood of the being Brimir and the bones of Bláinn. The Prose Edda, however, describes dwarfs as beings similar to maggots that festered in the flesh of Ymir before being gifted with reason by the gods. The Poetic Edda and Prose Edda contain over 100 dwarf names, while the Prose Edda gives the four dwarfs Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri a cosmological role, they hold up the sky. In addition, scholars have noted that the Svartálfar appear to be the same beings as dwarfs, one dwarf named Alvíss claimed the hand of Thors daughter Þrúðr in marriage, but he was kept talking until daybreak and turned to stone, much like some accounts of trolls. After the Christianization of the Germanic peoples, tales of dwarfs continued to be told in the folklore of areas of Europe where Germanic languages were spoken, in the late legendary sagas, dwarfs demonstrate skill in healing as well as in smithing. In the early Norse sources, there is no mention of their short, in the legendary sagas, however, they are small. Anatoly Liberman suggests that dwarfs may have originally been thought of as supernatural beings. Old Norse dwarf names include Fullangr and Hár, whereas Anglo-Saxon glosses use dweorg to render Latin terms such as nanus and pygmaeus, dwarfs in folklore are usually described as old men with long beards. Female dwarfs are hardly ever mentioned, however, in the Swedish ballad Herr Peder och Dvärgens Dotter, the role of supernatural temptress is played by a dwarfs daughter. The Anglo-Saxon charm Wið Dweorh appears to relate to sleep disturbances, in the Old English Herbal, it translates Latin verrucas, warts. Lotte Motz theorized that the Germanic dwarfs, particularly as smiths and gatekeepers, there were seven dwarfs in the Brothers Grimms fairy tale Snow White
4.
Nibelung
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The vast wealth of the Burgundians is often referred to as the Niblung or Niflung hoard. In Richard Wagners opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, Nibelung denotes a dwarf, the earliest probable surviving mention of the name is in the Latin poem Waltharius, believed to have been composed around the year 920. In lines 555–6 of that poem Walter, seeing Guntharius and his men approaching says, Nōn assunt Avarēs hīc, the translation is, These are not Avars, but Frankish Nivilons, inhabitants of the region. The other texts have nebulones worthless fellows instead of nivilones, a replacement for an obscure proper name. In medieval Latin names, b and v often interchange, so Nivilones is a reasonable Latinization of Germanic Nibilungos and this is the only text to connect the Nibelungs with Franks. Since Burgundy was conquered by the Franks in 534, Burgundians could loosely be considered Franks of a kind, the name Nibelunc became a Frankish personal name in the 8th and 9th centuries, at least among the descendants of Childebrand I. Yet, in this poem, the center of Gunthers supposedly Frankish kingdom is the city of Worms on the Rhine, in the eddic poem Atlakviða, the word Niflungar is applied three times to the treasure or hoard of Gunnar. It is also applied once to Gunnars warriors and once to Gunnar himself, the variant form Hniflungr also occurs as the name of Högnis son in the eddic poem Atlamál, and as a term for the children born by Gunnars sister Gudrún to Atli. It appears to be a term for warrior in Helgakviða Hundingsbana I. Hniflungar might be of separate origin, meaning descendants of Hnef, however h was early dropped initially before other consonants in Norwegian dialects which might lead to the adding of h to names in other dialects where it did not originally belong. In the Lex Burgundionum, issued by the Burgundian king Gundobad, it is decreed that those who were free under the kings Gibica, Gundomar, Gislaharius, and Gundaharius will remain free. But as will be seen below, legendary tradition often makes Gibiche or Gjúki the father of Gunther/Gunnar, in Norse tradition another brother is named Gutthorm which looks like a slight garbling of Gundomar. German tradition provides instead a third brother named Gernot, which may be a substitution of a familiar name for an unfamiliar one. In the Nibelungenlied, all three brothers are called kings, but if so, the order of the names here is puzzling. One would expect Gundaharius to be named immediately after Gibica, another king called Heriricus rules the Burgundians and is father of Hiltgunt, the heroine of the tale. The only other kinsman of Gunther who appears here is Hagano, but Haganos exact familial relation to Guntharius is not given. The Old Norse Þiðrekssaga is a translation of German legendary material into Norwegian. Here Gunther and his brothers are sons and heirs of Irung or Aldrian by Aldrians wife Ode, the sons are named Gunnar, Gernoz, and Gisler
5.
Sigurd
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Sigurd is a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. The earliest extant representations for his legend come in form from seven runestones in Sweden and most notably the Ramsund carving. As Siegfried, he is one of the heroes in the German Nibelungenlied, as Sivard Snarensven he was the hero of several medieval Scandinavian ballads. The name Sigurðr is not the name as the German Siegfried. The Old Norse form of Siegfried would have been Sigfroðr, Sivard is a variant form of Sigurðr. These name forms all share the first element Sig-, which means victory, in the Völsunga saga, Sigurd is supposedly the posthumous son of Sigmund and his second wife, Hiordis. Sigmund dies in battle when he attacks Odin, and Odin shatters Sigmunds sword, dying, Sigmund tells Hiordis of her pregnancy and bequeaths the fragments of his sword to his unborn son. Hiordis marries King Alf, and then Alf decides to send Sigurd to Regin as a foster, Regin tempts Sigurd to greed and violence by first asking Sigurd if he has control over Sigmunds gold. When Sigurd says that Alf and his control the gold and will give him anything he desires. Sigurd replies that he is treated as an equal by the kings, then Regin asks Sigurd why he acts as stableboy to the kings and has no horse of his own. Sigurd then goes to get a horse, an old man advises Sigurd on choice of horse. In this way Sigurd acquires Grani, a directly descended from Odins own horse. Finally, Regin tries to tempt Sigurd by telling him the story of the Otters Gold, Regin explains to Sigurd that his father is Hreidmar, a powerful magician, and that his two brothers are Ótr and Fafnir. Regin explains that he is a master at smithing and he also describes how his brother, Ótr possesses many magical talents. Regin tells a story of how Ótr enjoys taking the form of an otter and swimming at a waterfall, Andvari often assumes the form of a pike and swims in the same pool as well. One day, the Æsir see Ótr in the form of an otter carrying a fish in his mouth on the banks, loki kills him for his pelt. They take the pelt to the home of Hreidmar to display their catch. Hreidmar, Fafnir, and Regin promptly seize the Æsir and demand compensation for the death of Ótr, loki acquires a net from the sea giantess, Rán
6.
Fafnir
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In Norse mythology, Fáfnir or Frænir is a son of the dwarf king Hreidmar and brother of Regin, Lyngheiðr, Lofnheiðr and Ótr. After being affected by the curse of Andvaris ring and gold, in the Icelandic Volsunga Saga, Fáfnir is a dwarf with a powerful arm and fearless soul. He guards his fathers house of glittering gold and flashing gems and he is the strongest and most aggressive of the three brothers. Regin recounts to Sigurd how Odin, Loki and Hœnir were traveling when they came across Ótr, Loki killed the otter with a stone and the three Æsir skinned their catch. The gods came to Hreidmar’s dwelling that evening and were pleased to show off the otters skin. Loki fulfilled the task by gathering the cursed gold of Andvari as well as the ring, Andvaranaut, Fáfnir then killed Hreidmar to get all the gold for himself. He became very ill-natured and greedy, so he went out into the wilderness to keep his fortune, Fáfnir also breathed poison into the land around him so no one would go near him and his treasure, wreaking terror in the hearts of the people. Regin plotted revenge so that he could get the treasure and sent his foster-son Sigurd to kill the dragon, Regin then ran away in fear, leaving Sigurd to the task. The earth quaked and the ground shook as Fafnir appeared. Sigurd, undaunted, stabbed Fafnir in the shoulder as he crawled over the ditch he was lying in. As the creature lies dying, he speaks to Sigurd and asks for his name, his parentage. Fafnir figures out that his own brother, Regin, plotted this, Sigurd tells Fafnir that he will go back to the dragons lair and take all his treasure. Regin then returned to Sigurd after Fafnir was slain, corrupted by greed, Regin planned to kill Sigurd after Sigurd had cooked Fafnirs heart for him to eat and take all the treasure for himself. Sigurd then ate some of Fafnir’s heart and kept the remainder, some versions are more specific about Fáfnirs treasure hoard, mentioning the swords Ridill and Hrotti, the helm of terror and a golden coat of chainmail. Fafnir appears – as Fafner – in Richard Wagners epic opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, Fasolt is in love with her, while Fafner wants her as without her golden apples the Gods will lose their youth. The Giants, mainly Fafner, agree to accept a massive hoard of treasure stolen from the dwarf Alberich instead, the treasure includes the magic helmet Tarnhelm and a magic ring of power. As they divide the treasure, the brothers argue and Fafner kills Fasolt, the Giants are thought to represent the working class. However, while Fasolt is a revolutionary, Fafner is a more violent and jealous figure
7.
Das Rheingold
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Das Rheingold, WWV 86A, is the first of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagners Der Ring des Nibelungen, or in English, The Ring of the Nibelung. Das Rheingold premiered at the National Theatre Munich on 22 September 1869, with August Kindermann in the role of Wotan, Heinrich Vogl as Loge, and Karl Fischer as Alberich. Wagner wanted this work to premiere as part of the entire cycle, the work was first performed as part of the complete cycle on 13 August 1876, in the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. Although Das Rheingold comes first in the sequence of Ring operas, so in August 1851, Wagner wrote in Eine Mittheilung an meine Freunde, I propose to produce my myth in three complete dramas. However, by October, he had decided that this required a prelude. To the sentence quoted above he added the words, which will be preceded by a great prelude, a letter Wagner wrote to Theodor Uhlig confirms that at this time the opera was intended to have three acts. Wagner continued to develop the text and storyline of the prelude in parallel with those of Die Walküre, the prose draft of Das Rheingold was completed between 21 March and 23 March 1852 and its verse draft between 15 September and 3 November. A fair copy of the text was finished by 15 December, during the early years of the 1850s Wagner produced some musical sketches for parts of the Ring and noted down various motifs that were to be used in the work. There also exist three sets of isolated musical sketches for Das Rheingold which were composed between 15 September 1852 and November 1853. The first of these was entered into the draft of the text, the second into Wagners copy of the 1853 printing of the text. All three were used by Wagner. Proper sequential development of the score started on 1 November 1853, by 14 January, Wagner had completed the first draft of the opera on between two and three staves. The next stage involved the development of a detailed draft that indicated most of the vocal and instrumental details. This was completed by 28 May, in parallel with this, Wagner started work on a fair copy of the score on 15 February, a task he completed on 26 September 1854, by which time he had also started work on the sketches of Die Walküre. Das Rheingold was first performed at Munich on 22 September 1869 and its first performance as part of the complete Ring cycle took place at Bayreuth on 13 August 1876. It continues to be performed on a regular basis both in Bayreuth and elsewhere, Das Rheingold, considerably shorter than its three successors, consists of four scenes performed without a break. It has been noted as one of the best-known drone examples in the concert repertory, the curtain rises to show, at the bottom of the Rhine, the three Rhine maidens, Woglinde, Wellgunde, and Flosshilde, playing together. The key shifts to A flat as Woglinde begins an innocent song whose melody is used to characterise the Rhine maidens later in the cycle
8.
Valhalla
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In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those who die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyjas field Fólkvangr. In Valhalla, the join the masses of those who have died in combat known as Einherjar and various legendary Germanic heroes and kings. Before the hall stands the golden tree Glasir, and the ceiling is thatched with golden shields. Various creatures live around Valhalla, such as the stag Eikþyrnir, the Modern English noun Valhalla derives from Old Norse Valhöll, a compound noun composed of two elements, the masculine noun valr the slain and the feminine noun höll hall. Valr has cognates in other Germanic languages such as Old English wæl the slain, slaughter, carnage, Old Saxon wal-dād murder, Old High German battlefield, all of these forms descend from the Proto-Germanic masculine noun *walaz. Among related Old Norse concepts, valr also appears as the first element of the nouns valkyrja chooser of the slain, valkyrie and Valfreyja, the second element, höll, is a common Old Norse noun. It is cognate to Modern English hall and has the same meaning, both developed from Proto-Germanic *xallō or *hallō, meaning covered place, hall, itself from the Proto-Indo-European root *kol-. In stanzas 8 to 10 of Grímnismál, the god Odin states that Valhalla is located in the realm of Glaðsheimr, Odin describes Valhalla as shining and golden, and that it rises peacefully when seen from afar. From Valhalla, every day Odin chooses from those who have died in combat. Valhalla has spear-shafts for rafters, a roof thatched with shields, coats of mail are strewn over its benches, a wolf hangs in front of its west doors, and an eagle hovers above it. Within Valhalla exists Thors hall Bilskirnir, and within it exist five hundred and forty rooms, in stanzas 25 through 26, Odin states that the goat Heiðrún and the hart Eikþyrnir stand on top of Valhalla and graze on the branches of the tree Læraðr. Heiðrún produces vats of mead that liquor cannot be compared to, in stanza 38 of the poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, the hero Helgi Hundingsbane dies and goes to Valhalla. Prose follows after this stanza, stating that a burial-mound was made for Helgi, in stanzas 40 to 42, Helgi has returned to Midgard from Valhalla with a host of men. An unnamed maid of Sigrún, Helgis valkyrie wife, sees Helgi, the maid asks if she is experiencing a delusion, if Ragnarök has begun, or if Helgi and his men have been allowed to return. In the stanzas that follow, Helgi responds that none of things have occurred. The maid tells Sigrún that the mound has opened up, and that Sigrún should go to Helgi there, as Helgi has asked her to come and tend his wounds. Sigrún goes into the mound, and finds that Helgi is drenched in gore, filled with joy at the reunion, Sigrún kisses him before he can remove his coat of mail, and asks how she can heal him
9.
Freyja
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In Norse mythology, Freyja is a goddess associated with love, sex, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death. Along with her brother Freyr, her father Njörðr, and her mother, stemming from Old Norse Freyja, modern forms of the name include Freya, Freyia, and Freja. Freyja rules over her heavenly afterlife field Fólkvangr and there receives half of those that die in battle, whereas the other half go to the god Odins hall, within Fólkvangr is her hall, Sessrúmnir. Freyjas husband, the god Óðr, is frequently absent and she cries tears of red gold for him, and searches for him under assumed names. Freyja has numerous names, including Gefn, Hörn, Mardöll, Sýr, Valfreyja, Freyjas name appears in numerous place names in Scandinavia, with a high concentration in southern Sweden. Various plants in Scandinavia once bore her name, but it was replaced with the name of the Virgin Mary during the process of Christianization, rural Scandinavians continued to acknowledge Freyja as a supernatural figure into the 19th century, and Freyja has inspired various works of art. The name Freyja is transparently lady and ultimately derives from Proto-Germanic *frawōn, Freyja is cognate with, for example, Old Saxon frūa lady, mistress and Old High German frouwa. The theonym Freyja is thus considered to have been an epithet in origin, in the Poetic Edda, Freyja is mentioned or appears in the poems Völuspá, Grímnismál, Lokasenna, Þrymskviða, Oddrúnargrátr, and Hyndluljóð. Völuspá contains a stanza that mentions Freyja, referring to her as Óðs girl, Freyja being the wife of her husband, the stanza recounts that Freyja was once promised to an unnamed builder, later revealed to be a jötunn and subsequently killed by Thor. In the poem Grímnismál, Odin tells the young Agnar that every day Freyja allots seats to half of those that are slain in her hall Fólkvangr, while Odin owns the other half. In the poem Lokasenna, where Loki accuses nearly every female in attendance of promiscuity and/or unfaithfulness, the introduction to the poem notes that among other gods and goddesses, Freyja attends a celebration held by Ægir. Loki tells her to be silent, and says that he knows all about her—that Freyja is not lacking in blame, for each of the gods and elves in the hall have been her lover. She says that Loki is lying, that he is just looking to blather about misdeeds, and since the gods and goddesses are furious at him, he can expect to go home defeated. Loki tells Freyja to be silent, calls her a malicious witch, Njörðr interjects—he says that a woman having a lover other than her husband is harmless, and he points out that Loki has borne children, and calls Loki a pervert. The poem Þrymskviða features Loki borrowing Freyjas cloak of feathers and Thor dressing up as Freyja to fool the lusty jötunn Þrymr, in the poem, Thor wakes up to find that his powerful hammer, Mjöllnir, is missing. Thor tells Loki of his hammer, and the two go to the beautiful court of Freyja. Thor asks Freyja if she will lend him her cloak of feathers, Freyja agrees, Loki flies away in the whirring feather cloak, arriving in the land of Jötunheimr. He spies Þrymr sitting on top of a mound, Þrymr reveals that he has hidden Thors hammer deep within the earth and that no one will ever know where the hammer is unless Freyja is brought to him as his wife
10.
Odin
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In Germanic mythology, Odin is a widely revered god. In the modern period, Odin continued to be acknowledged in the folklore of Germanic Europe. Forms of his name appear frequently throughout the Germanic record, though narratives regarding Odin are mainly found in Old Norse works recorded in Iceland and these texts make up the bulk of modern understanding of Norse mythology. In Old Norse texts, Odin is depicted as one-eyed and long-bearded, frequently wielding a spear named Gungnir, and wearing a cloak, Odin is attested as having many sons, most famously the god Baldr with Frigg, and is known by hundreds of names. Odin has an association with Yule, and mankinds knowledge of both the runes and poetry is also attributed to him. In Old Norse texts, Odin is given primacy over female beings associated with the battlefield—the valkyries—and oversees Valhalla, where he receives half of those who die in battle, the other half are chosen by the goddess Freyja for her afterlife location, Fólkvangr. In later folklore, Odin appears as a leader of the Wild Hunt and he has also been associated with charms and other forms of magic, particularly in Old English and Old Norse texts. Odin has been a frequent subject of study in Germanic studies, in the modern period, Odin has inspired numerous works of poetry, music, and other forms of media. He is venerated in most forms of the new religious movement Heathenry, together with other gods venerated by the ancient Germanic peoples, some branches focus particularly on him. The Old Norse theonym Óðinn and its cognates, including Old English Wōden, Old Saxon Wōden, the masculine noun *wōđanaz developed from the Proto-Germanic adjective *wōđaz, related to Latin vātēs and Old Irish fáith, both meaning seer, prophet. Adjectives stemming from *wōđaz include Gothic woþs possessed, Old Norse óðr, mad, frantic, furious, additionally the Old Norse noun æði rage, fury and Old High German wuotī madness derive from the feminine noun *wōđīn, from *wōđaz. Over 170 names are recorded for the god Odin and these names are variously descriptive of attributes of the god, refer to myths involving him, or refer to religious practices associated with the god. This multitude of names makes Odin the god with the most names known among the Germanic peoples, the weekday name Wednesday derives from Old English wōdnesdæg. Cognate terms are found in other Germanic languages, such as Middle Low German wōdensdach, all of these terms derive from Proto-Germanic *Wodensdag, itself a Germanic interpretation of Latin Dies Mercurii. However, in Old High German, the derived from Odins was replaced by a translation of Church Latin media hebdomas. The earliest records of the Germanic peoples were recorded by the Romans and they regard it as a religious duty to offer to him, on fixed days, human as well as other sacrificial victims. Hercules and Mars they appease by animal offerings of the permitted kind, in this instance, Tacitus refers to the god Odin as Mercury, Thor as Hercules, and Týr as Mars, and the identity of the Isis of the Suebi has been debated. But their rankings in their respective religious spheres may have very different
11.
Frigg
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In Germanic mythology, Frigg, Frija, Frea, and Frige is a goddess. In nearly all sources, she is described as the wife of the god Odin, in Old High German and Old Norse sources, she is also connected with the goddess Fulla. The English weekday name Friday bears her name, Frigg is described as a goddess associated with foreknowledge and wisdom in Norse mythology, the northernmost branch of Germanic mythology and most extensively attested. The children of Frigg and Odin include the gleaming god Baldr, due to significant thematic overlap, scholars have proposed a particular connection to the goddess Freyja. After Christianization, mention of Frigg continued to occur in Scandinavian folklore, in modern times, Frigg has appeared in modern popular culture, has been the subject of art, and receives modern veneration in Germanic Neopaganism. The theonyms Frigg and Frija are cognate forms—linguistic siblings of the same origin—that descend from a substantivized feminine of Proto-Germanic *frijaz, *frijaz descends from the same source as the feminine Sanskrit noun priyā and the feminine Avestan noun fryā. In the modern period, an -a suffix is applied to denote femininity. This spelling also serves the purpose of distancing the goddess from the English word frig, the connection with and possible earlier identification of the goddess Freyja with Frigg in the Proto-Germanic period is a matter of scholarly debate. The name Freyja is not attested outside of Scandinavia, like the name of the group of gods to which Freyja belongs, the Vanir. This is in contrast to the name of the goddess Frigg, who is attested as a common among the Germanic peoples. The best that can be done is to survey the arguments for and against their identity, the English weekday name Friday comes from Old English Frīges Day and is cognate with Old High German frîatac. Both weekday names are result of interpretatio germanica that occurred at or before the 3rd or 4th century CE, several place names refer to Frigg in what are now Norway and Sweden, although her name is altogether absent in recorded place names in Denmark. According to this legend, a people known as the Winnili were ruled by a woman named Gambara who had two sons, Ybor and Agio. The Vandals, ruled by Ambri and Assi, came to the Winnili with their army, Ybor, Agio, and their mother Gambara rejected their demands for tribute. Ambra and Assi then asked the god Godan for victory over the Winnili, to which Godan responded, Whom I shall first see when at sunrise, meanwhile, Ybor and Agio called upon Frea, Godans wife. Frea counseled them that at sunrise the Winnil should come, at sunrise, Frea turned Godans bed around to face east and woke him. Godan saw the Winnili, including their women, and asked who are those Long-beards. Frea responded to Godan, As you have given them a name, Godan did so, so that they should defend themselves according to his counsel and obtain the victory
12.
Loki
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In Norse mythology, Loki, Loptr, or Hveðrungr is a god or jötunn. Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi, by the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Narfi and/or Nari, by the stallion Svaðilfari, Loki is the mother—giving birth in the form of a mare—to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. In addition, Loki is referred to as the father of Váli in Prose Edda, though this also refers to Odin as the father of Váli twice. Lokis relation with the gods varies by source, Loki sometimes assists the gods, Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents he appears in the form of a salmon, a mare, a fly, and possibly an elderly woman named Þökk. Lokis positive relations with the end with his role in engineering the death of the god Baldr. In both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, the goddess Skaði is responsible for placing a serpent above him while he is bound, Loki may be depicted on the Snaptun Stone, the Kirkby Stephen Stone, and the Gosforth Cross. Lokis origins and role in Norse mythology, which scholars have described as that of a trickster god, have been much debated by scholars. Loki has been depicted in or is referenced in a variety of media in popular culture. The etymology of the name Loki has yet to be solved and it may be related to Old Norse luka, meaning close, shut. The name Hveðrungr is also used in reference to Loki, occurring in names for Hel, in the Poetic Edda, Loki appears in the poems Völuspá, Lokasenna, Þrymskviða, Reginsmál, Baldrs draumar, and Hyndluljóð. In stanza 35 of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, a völva tells Odin that, among other things, she sees Sigyn sitting very unhappily with her bound husband, Loki. In stanza 54, after consuming Odin and being killed by Odins son Víðarr, the poem Lokasenna centers around Loki flyting with other gods, Loki puts forth two stanzas of insults while the receiving figure responds with a single stanza, and then another figure chimes in. The poem begins with an introduction detailing that Ægir, a figure associated with the sea, is hosting a feast in his hall for a number of the gods. There, the gods praise Ægirs servers Fimafeng and Eldir, Loki could not bear to hear that, and kills the servant Fimafeng. In response, the gods grab their shields, shrieking at Loki, the gods then return to the hall, and continue drinking. Entrance and rejection Loki comes out of the woods, and meets Eldir outside of the hall, Loki greets Eldir with a demand that Eldir tell him what the gods are discussing over their ale inside the hall. Eldir responds that they discuss their weapons and their prowess in war, Loki says that he will go into the feast, and that, before the end of the feast, he will induce quarrelling among the gods, and mix their mead with malice
13.
Freyr
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Freyr or Frey is one of the most important gods of Norse religion. The name is conjectured to derive from the Proto-Norse *frawjaz, lord, Freyr was associated with sacral kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and was pictured as a phallic fertility god, Freyr is said to bestow peace and pleasure on mortals. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house. In the Icelandic books the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the gods gave him Álfheimr, the realm of the Elves, as a teething present. He rides the shining dwarf-made boar Gullinbursti and possesses the ship Skíðblaðnir which always has a favorable breeze and can be folded together and he has the servants Skírnir, Byggvir and Beyla. The most extensive surviving Freyr myth relates Freyrs falling in love with the female jötunn Gerðr, eventually, she becomes his wife but first Freyr has to give away his magic sword which fights on its own if wise be he who wields it. Although deprived of this weapon, Freyr defeats the jötunn Beli with an antler, however, lacking his sword, Freyr will be killed by the fire jötunn Surtr during the events of Ragnarök. Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Freyr is revived in the period in Heathenry. Written around 1080, one of the oldest written sources on pre-Christian Scandinavian religious practices is Adam of Bremens Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum, Adam claimed to have access to first-hand accounts on pagan practices in Sweden. He refers to Freyr with the Latinized name Fricco and mentions that an image of him at Skara was destroyed by the Christian missionary and his description of the Temple at Uppsala gives some details on the god. Later in the account Adam states that when a marriage is performed a libation is made to the image of Fricco, historians are divided on the reliability of Adams account. While he is close in time to the events he describes he has an agenda to emphasize the role of the Archbishopric of Hamburg-Bremen in the Christianization of Scandinavia. His timeframe for the Christianization of Sweden conflicts with other sources, such as runic inscriptions, on the other hand, the existence of phallic idols was confirmed in 1904 with a find at Rällinge in Södermanland. When Snorri Sturluson was writing in 13th century Iceland, the indigenous Germanic gods were still remembered although they had not been openly worshiped for more than two centuries, in the Gylfaginning section of his Prose Edda, Snorri introduces Freyr as one of the major gods. This description has similarities to the account by Adam of Bremen. Adam assigns control of the weather and produce of the fields to Thor, Snorri also omits any explicitly sexual references in Freyrs description. Those discrepancies can be explained in several ways and it is possible that the Norse gods did not have exactly the same roles in Icelandic and Swedish paganism but it must also be remembered that Adam and Snorri were writing with different goals in mind. Either Snorri or Adam may also have had distorted information, the only extended myth related about Freyr in the Prose Edda is the story of his marriage
14.
Thor
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In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing and fertility. The cognate deity in wider Germanic mythology and paganism was known in Old English as Þunor and in Old High German as Donar, into the modern period, Thor continued to be acknowledged in rural folklore throughout Germanic regions. Thor is frequently referred to in place names, the day of the week Thursday bears his name, in Norse mythology, largely recorded in Iceland from traditional material stemming from Scandinavia, numerous tales and information about Thor are provided. With Sif, Thor fathered the goddess Þrúðr, with Járnsaxa, he fathered Magni, with a mother whose name is not recorded, he fathered Móði, and he is the stepfather of the god Ullr. The same sources list Thor as the son of the god Odin and the earth, Jörð. Thor has two servants, Þjálfi and Röskva, rides in a cart or chariot pulled by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, and is ascribed three dwellings. Thor wields the mountain-crushing hammer, Mjölnir, wears the belt Megingjörð and the iron gloves Járngreipr, Thor has inspired numerous works of art and references to Thor appear in modern popular culture. Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Thor is revived in the period in Heathenry. The name of the god is the origin of the weekday name Thursday, by employing a practice known as interpretatio germanica during the Roman Empire period, the Germanic peoples adopted the Roman weekly calendar, and replaced the names of Roman gods with their own. Latin dies Iovis was converted into Proto-Germanic *Þonares dagaz, from which stems modern English Thursday, beginning in the Viking Age, personal names containing the theonym Thórr are recorded with great frequency. Prior to the Viking Age, no examples are recorded, thórr-based names may have flourished during the Viking Age as a defiant response to attempts at Christianization, similar to the wide scale Viking Age practice of wearing Thors hammer pendants. They regard it as a duty to offer to him, on fixed days. Hercules and Mars they appease by animal offerings of the permitted kind, in this instance, Tacitus refers to the god Odin as Mercury, Thor as Hercules, and the god Týr as Mars, and the identity of the Isis of the Suebi has been debated. In Thors case, the identification with the god Hercules is likely at least in part due to similarities between Thors hammer and Hercules club. In his Annals, Tacitus again refers to the veneration of Hercules by the Germanic peoples, Donar, the southern Germanic form of the gods name. According to an account, the Christian missionary Saint Boniface felled an oak tree dedicated to Jove in the 8th century. Around the second half of the 8th century, Old English mentions of a figure named Thunor are recorded, gabriel Turville-Petre saw this as an invented origin for the placename demonstrating loss of memory that Thunor had been a gods name. Adam details that Thor, they reckon, rules the sky, he governs thunder and lightning, winds and storms, fine weather and fertility and that Thor, with his mace, looks like Jupiter
15.
Richard Wagner
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Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is primarily known for his operas. Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works and he described this vision in a series of essays published between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the first half of the four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and his advances in musical language, such as extreme chromaticism and quickly shifting tonal centres, greatly influenced the development of classical music. His Tristan und Isolde is sometimes described as marking the start of modern music, Wagner had his own opera house built, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which embodied many novel design features. The Ring and Parsifal were premiered here and his most important stage works continue to be performed at the annual Bayreuth Festival, until his final years, Wagners life was characterised by political exile, turbulent love affairs, poverty and repeated flight from his creditors. His controversial writings on music, drama and politics have attracted extensive comment, notably, since the late 20th century, where they express antisemitic sentiments. The effect of his ideas can be traced in many of the arts throughout the 20th century, his influence spread beyond composition into conducting, philosophy, literature, Richard Wagner was born to an ethnic German family in Leipzig, where his family lived at No. 3, the Brühl in the Jewish quarter and he was baptized at St. Thomas Church. He was the child of Carl Friedrich Wagner, who was a clerk in the Leipzig police service, and his wife, Johanna Rosine. Wagners father Carl died of typhus six months after Richards birth, afterwards his mother Johanna lived with Carls friend, the actor and playwright Ludwig Geyer. In August 1814 Johanna and Geyer probably married—although no documentation of this has found in the Leipzig church registers. She and her family moved to Geyers residence in Dresden, until he was fourteen, Wagner was known as Wilhelm Richard Geyer. He almost certainly thought that Geyer was his biological father, Geyers love of the theatre came to be shared by his stepson, and Wagner took part in his performances. In his autobiography Mein Leben Wagner recalled once playing the part of an angel, in late 1820, Wagner was enrolled at Pastor Wetzels school at Possendorf, near Dresden, where he received some piano instruction from his Latin teacher. He struggled to play a scale at the keyboard and preferred playing theatre overtures by ear. Following Geyers death in 1821, Richard was sent to the Kreuzschule, at the age of nine he was hugely impressed by the Gothic elements of Carl Maria von Webers opera Der Freischütz, which he saw Weber conduct. At this period Wagner entertained ambitions as a playwright and his first creative effort, listed in the Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis as WWV1, was a tragedy called Leubald. Begun when he was in school in 1826, the play was influenced by Shakespeare
16.
Der Ring des Nibelungen
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Der Ring des Nibelungen, WWV86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas, the composer termed the cycle a Bühnenfestspiel, structured in three days preceded by a Vorabend. It is often referred to as the Ring Cycle, Wagners Ring, Wagner wrote the libretto and music over the course of about twenty-six years, from 1848 to 1874. The first performance as an opened the first Bayreuth Festival in 1876, beginning with Das Rheingold on 13 August. Wagners title is most literally rendered in English as The Ring of the Nibelung, the Nibelung of the title is the dwarf Alberich, and the ring in question is the one he fashions from the Rhine Gold. The title therefore denotes Alberichs Ring, Nibelungen is occasionally mistaken as a plural, but the Ring of the Nibelungs is incorrect. The cycle is a work of extraordinary scale, the first and shortest work, Das Rheingold, typically lasts two and a half hours, while the final and longest, Götterdämmerung, takes up to five hours, excluding intervals. The cycle is modelled after ancient Greek dramas that were presented as three tragedies and one satyr play, the Ring proper begins with Die Walküre and ends with Götterdämmerung, with Rheingold as a prelude. Wagner called Das Rheingold a Vorabend or Preliminary Evening, and Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung were subtitled First Day, Second Day and Third Day, respectively, the scale and scope of the story is epic. It follows the struggles of gods, heroes, and several mythical creatures over the magic ring that grants domination over the entire world. The drama and intrigue continue through three generations of protagonists, until the final cataclysm at the end of Götterdämmerung, the music of the cycle is thick and richly textured, and grows in complexity as the cycle proceeds. Wagner wrote for an orchestra of gargantuan proportions, including a greatly enlarged brass section with new instruments such as the Wagner tuba, bass trumpet and contrabass trombone. Remarkably, he uses a chorus only relatively briefly, in acts 2 and 3 of Götterdämmerung and he eventually had a purpose-built theatre constructed, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, in which to perform this work. The theatre has a stage that blends the huge orchestra with the singers voices. The result was that the singers did not have to strain themselves vocally during the long performances. The plot revolves around a ring that grants the power to rule the world. Wotans schemes to regain the ring, spanning generations, drive much of the action in the story, Hagen is drowned as he attempts to recover the ring. In the process, the gods and Valhalla are destroyed, details of the storylines can be found in the articles on each music drama
17.
Tarnhelm
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Tarnhelm is a magic helmet in Richard Wagners Der Ring des Nibelungen. It was crafted by Mime at the demand of his brother Alberich and it is used as a cloak of invisibility by Alberich in Das Rheingold. It also allows one to change form, Alberich changes to a dragon and then a toad in Das Rheingold. Fafner changes to a dragon at the end of Das Rheingold, Siegfried changes to Gunthers form in Götterdämmerung Act I, Scene 3. Finally, it one to travel long distances instantly, as Siegfried does in Götterdämmerung Act II. The 1957 Warner Bros. cartoon Whats Opera, Doc, a comedy on opera in general and Wagners Ring Cycle in particular, has Elmer Fudd wearing a magic helmet that is meant to suggest Tarnhelm. The Dungeons & Dragons game includes an item called the helm of teleportation. In Marvels Thor an adaption was done of the Ring Cycle, the Tarnhelm is an integral part of Michael Scott Rohans Winter of the World trilogy, which repurposes many Norse myths. The main character in Brenda Cloughs novel How Like a God can psionically obstruct other people seeing him. The Tarnhelm is a found in the PC game Diablo II. Operation Tarnhelm is the name of the pack for the PC strategy game Naval War, Arctic Circle. Huliðshjálmr of Norse dwarves Fafnirs helmet Aegis
18.
Hagen (legend)
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Hagen or Högni is a Burgundian warrior in tales about the Burgundian kingdom at Worms. Hagen is often identified as a brother or half-brother of King Gunther, in the Nibelungenlied he is nicknamed from Tronje. Of the main manuscripts of the Nibelungenlied, the representatives of versions B and C use the spelling Tronege, from Tronege Hagene, Hagen of Tronege, geborn of Tronege. The A version usually writes Trony, Tronje is the appropriate modern German form. In the B and C versions, the name is in the case, with the nominative being Troneg, Tronje. All attempts to interpret Hagens name or home are highly speculative, although the Nibelungenlied has a historic center, it was written down only centuries later, in 1200, and therefore incorporated the authors Medieval knowledge and intentions. There are suggestions that the epithet refers to more or less similar-sounding place names, with this ascription, people could also connect themselves to the ancient Romans. Tronje could also be the Colonia Ulpia Traiana, a Roman city close to modern Xanten, and this would explain Hagens seemingly profound knowledge of incidents and deeds from Siegfrieds youth. The Belgian city of Drongen in Ghent was known in Latin as Truncinas and had various Romanesque spellings over the centuries, Truncinas, Truncinis. Today, its French name is Tronchiennes, which sounds almost like Tronje, dutch authors place the Kudrun saga here since it contains townscape and landscape names such as Wulpe Tenenbaums. According to this interpretation, Hagen of the Nibelungenlied could be identical with the Hagen of the Kudrun, not too far away, there are place names that hint at further figures from the Nibelungenlied, especially Hagens relative Ortwin of Metz and his colleagues Hunold and Volker von Alzey. Based on the castles around Dhronecken, Ortwin can be assigned to Metz, Hagen to Dhronecken, Hunold to Hunoldispetra and these are places that travelers coming from Xanten and over Metz and Worms to Passau, would pass along the way. In the Nibelungenlied, he is called Hagen of Tronje, some versions indicate he is the Oheim of the three kings, i. e. their mother Utes brother. In German tradition, Hagen is especially grim, implacable, and violent, according to the Thidreks saga, Hagen was Gunnars half-brother. Not fully human, though, as being fathered by an elf on the wife while the king was away. In these forementioned accounts, it is Hagen who kills the hero Siegfried during a hunt and this version of the character appears in Wagners Der Ring des Nibelungen. In Norse tradition, Hagens counterpart Högni is less extreme and the slayer of Sigurd is Gutthorm. But Gutthorm does so when egged on by his elder brothers, in German accounts, Gunther and Hagen are the final casualties of the fall of the Nibelungs
19.
Andvari
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In Norse mythology, Andvari is a dwarf who lives underneath a waterfall and has the power to change himself into a fish at will. Andvari had a magical ring Andvaranaut, which helped him become wealthy, using a net provided by Ran, Loki catches him as a pike and forces him to give up his gold and Andvaranaut. Andvari cursed the gold which would destroy anyone who possessed it. After the deaths of Brynhild and Sigurd, Gunnar left Andvaris gold in a cave, years later, Andvari discovered the cave and his lost gold, although his ring was lost forever. In Richard Wagners cycle of music dramas, Der Ring des Nibelungen, the character Alberich is based in part on Andvari. Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend
20.
Norse mythology
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The cosmos in Norse mythology consists of Nine Worlds that flank a central cosmological tree, Yggdrasil. Units of time and elements of the cosmology are personified as deities or beings, various forms of a creation myth are recounted, where the world is created from the flesh of the primordial being Ymir, and the first two humans are Ask and Embla. These worlds are foretold to be reborn after the events of Ragnarök, there the surviving gods will meet, and the land will be fertile and green, and two humans will repopulate the world. Norse mythology has been the subject of scholarly discourse since the 17th century, by way of comparative mythology and historical linguistics, scholars have identified elements of Germanic mythology reaching as far back as Proto-Indo-European mythology. In the modern period, the Romanticist Viking revival re-awoke an interest in the subject matter, the myths have further been revived in a religious context among adherents of Germanic Neopaganism. The majority of these Old Norse texts were created in Iceland and this occurred primarily in the 13th century. The Prose Edda was composed as a manual for producing skaldic poetry—traditional Old Norse poetry composed by skalds. Originally composed and transmitted orally, skaldic poetry utilizes alliterative verse, kennings, the Prose Edda presents numerous examples of works by various skalds from before and after the Christianization process and also frequently refers back to the poems found in the Poetic Edda. The Poetic Edda consists almost entirely of poems, with some prose narrative added, in comparison to skaldic poetry, Eddic poetry is relatively unadorned. Numerous further texts, such as the sagas, provide further information, the saga corpus consists of thousands of tales recorded in Old Norse ranging from Icelandic family histories to Migration period tales mentioning historic figures such as Attila the Hun. By way of historical linguistics and comparative mythology, comparisons to other attested branches of Germanic mythology may also lend insight, wider comparisons to the mythology of other Indo-European peoples by scholars has resulted in the potential reconstruction of far earlier myths. Of the mythical tales and poems that are presumed to have existed during the Middle Ages, Viking Age, Migration Period, numerous gods are mentioned in the source texts. In the mythology, Thor lays waste to numerous jötnar who are foes to the gods or humanity, the god Odin is also frequently mentioned in surviving texts. One-eyed, wolf and raven-flanked, and spear in hand, Odin pursues knowledge throughout the worlds, Odin has a strong association with death, Odin is portrayed as the ruler of Valhalla, where valkyries carry half of those slain in battle. Odins wife is the powerful goddess Frigg who can see the future but tells no one, and together they have a beloved son, Baldr. After a series of dreams had by Baldr of his death, his death is engineered by Loki, and Baldr thereafter resides in Hel. Odin must share half of his share of the dead with a powerful goddess and she is beautiful, sensual, wears a feathered cloak, and practices seiðr. She rides to battle to choose among the slain, and brings her chosen to her afterlife field Fólkvangr, Freyja weeps for her missing husband Óðr, and seeks after him in far away lands
21.
Theodor W. Adorno
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Theodor W. Adorno was a German philosopher, sociologist, and composer known for his critical theory of society. He is widely regarded as one of the 20th centurys foremost thinkers on aesthetics and philosophy, as a writer of polemics in the tradition of Nietzsche and Karl Kraus, Adorno delivered scathing critiques of contemporary Western culture. Theodor W. Adorno was born as Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund in Frankfurt am Main on September 11,1903, the only child of Oscar Alexander Wiesengrund and Maria Calvelli-Adorno della Piana. His mother, a devout Catholic from Corsica, was once a professional singer, while his father, proud of her origins, Maria wanted her sons paternal surname to be supplemented by the addition of her own name, Adorno. Thus his earliest publications carried the name Theodor Wiesengrund-Adorno, upon his application for US citizenship and he was not only a precocious child but, as he recalled later in life, a child prodigy who could play pieces by Beethoven on the piano by the time he was twelve. At the age of six, he attended the Deutschherren middle school before transferring to the Kaiser-Wilhelm Gymnasium, I took this motif so much as my own that I do not believe I have ever written anything without reference to it, either implicit or explicit. Yet Adornos intellectual nonconformism was no less shaped by the repugnance he felt towards the nationalism which swept through the Reich during the First World War, the younger generations distrust for traditional knowledge arose from the way in which this tradition had discredited itself. Over time, Oscar Wiesengrunds firm established close professional and personal ties with the factory of Karplus & Herzberger in Berlin, I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I say that I owe more to this reading than to my academic teachers. In the summer of 1924, Adorno received his doctorate with a study of Edmund Husserl under the direction of the unorthodox neo-Kantian Hans Cornelius, before his graduation, Adorno had already met with his most important intellectual collaborators, Max Horkheimer and Walter Benjamin. Through Corneliuss seminars, Adorno met his future collaborator Max Horkheimer, in Vienna, he attended public lectures of the satirist Karl Kraus with Berg and met Lukács, who had been living in Vienna after the failure of the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Alban Berg, the man Adorno referred to as my master and teacher, was among the most prescient of his young pupils early friends, convinced that and you are capable of supreme achievements and will undoubtedly fulfill this promise in the shape of great philosophical works. In December 1926 Adornos Two Pieces for String Quartet, op.2 were performed in Vienna, after writing the Piano Pieces in strict twelve-tone technique, as well as songs later integrated into the Six Bagatelles for Voice and Piano, op. 6, Adorno presented his Habilitation manuscript, The Concept of the Unconscious in the Transcendental Theory of the Psyche, Cornelius advised Adorno to withdraw his application on the grounds that the manuscript was too close to his own way of thinking. In this manuscript, Adorno attempted to underline the epistemological status of the unconscious as it emerged from Freuds early writings, against the function of the unconscious in both Nietzsche and Spengler, Adorno argued that Freuds notion of the unconscious serves as a sharp weapon. Against every attempt to create a metaphysics of the instincts and to deify full, undaunted by his academic prospects, Adorno threw himself once again into composition. In addition to publishing numerous reviews of performances and concerts, Adornos Four Songs for Medium Voice and Piano. Between 1928 and 1930 Adorno took on a role within the editorial committee of the Musikblätter des Anbruch. During this period he published the essays Night Music, On Twelve-Tone Technique and Reaction, at this time, Adorno struck up a correspondence with the composer Ernst Krenek, with whom he discussed problems of atonality and twelve-tone technique
22.
Jews
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The Jews, also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Israelites, or Hebrews, of the Ancient Near East. Jews originated as a national and religious group in the Middle East during the second millennium BCE, the Merneptah Stele appears to confirm the existence of a people of Israel, associated with the god El, somewhere in Canaan as far back as the 13th century BCE. The Israelites, as an outgrowth of the Canaanite population, consolidated their hold with the emergence of the Kingdom of Israel, some consider that these Canaanite sedentary Israelites melded with incoming nomadic groups known as Hebrews. The worldwide Jewish population reached a peak of 16.7 million prior to World War II, but approximately 6 million Jews were systematically murdered during the Holocaust. Since then the population has risen again, and as of 2015 was estimated at 14.3 million by the Berman Jewish DataBank. According to the report, about 43% of all Jews reside in Israel and these numbers include all those who self-identified as Jews in a socio-demographic study or were identified as such by a respondent in the same household. The exact world Jewish population, however, is difficult to measure, Israel is the only country where Jews form a majority of the population. The modern State of Israel was established as a Jewish state and defines itself as such in its Declaration of Independence and its Law of Return grants the right of citizenship to any Jew who requests it. The English word Jew continues Middle English Gyw, Iewe, according to the Hebrew Bible, the name of both the tribe and kingdom derive from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The Hebrew word for Jew, יְהוּדִי ISO 259-3 Yhudi, is pronounced, with the stress on the syllable, in Israeli Hebrew. The Ladino name is ג׳ודיו, Djudio, ג׳ודיוס, Djudios, Yiddish, ייִד Yid, ייִדן, Yidn. The etymological equivalent is in use in languages, e. g. but derivations of the word Hebrew are also in use to describe a Jew, e. g. in Italian. The German word Jude is pronounced, the corresponding adjective jüdisch is the origin of the word Yiddish, in such contexts Jewish is the only acceptable possibility. Some people, however, have become so wary of this construction that they have extended the stigma to any use of Jew as a noun, a factual reconstruction for the origin of the Jews is a difficult and complex endeavor. It requires examining at least 3,000 years of ancient human history using documents in vast quantities, as archaeological discovery relies upon researchers and scholars from diverse disciplines, the goal is to interpret all of the factual data, focusing on the most consistent theory. In this case, it is complicated by long standing politics and religious, Jacob and his family migrated to Ancient Egypt after being invited to live with Jacobs son Joseph by the Pharaoh himself. The patriarchs descendants were later enslaved until the Exodus led by Moses, traditionally dated to the 13th century BCE, Modern archaeology has largely discarded the historicity of the Patriarchs and of the Exodus story, with it being reframed as constituting the Israelites inspiring national myth narrative. The growth of Yahweh-centric belief, along with a number of practices, gradually gave rise to a distinct Israelite ethnic group
23.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
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Hindenburg Line
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The Hindenburg Line was a German defensive position of World War I, built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front, from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 1916, the German offensive at the Battle of Verdun had been a costly failure, the Anglo-French offensive at the Battle of the Somme had forced a defensive battle on the Germans, leaving the western armies exhausted. On the Eastern Front, the Brusilov Offensive had inflicted huge losses on the Austro-Hungarian armies in Russia, the declaration of war by Romania had placed additional strain on the German army and war economy. The shorter defensive position behind the Noyon Salient was built to economise on manpower, contain an Allied breakthrough, the British and French armies would need about eight weeks to rebuild roads, bridges and railways in the abandoned area before they could attack. By the beginning of 1917, the outlook for the Germans made a retirement inevitable. German divisions on the Western Front numbered 133 on 25 January 1917, reducing the German manpower shortage, greater output of explosives, ammunition and weapons by German industry to provide the means to counter the Allied Materialschlacht was attempted in the Hindenburg Programme of August 1916. Production did not sufficiently increase over the winter, with only 60 percent of the expected to be fulfilled by the summer of 1917. News of the demolitions and the state of French civilians left behind, were serious blows to German prestige in neutral countries. Divisions released by Operation Alberich and other reinforcements, increased the number of divisions on the Aisne front to 38 by early April. The Hindenburg Line was attacked several times in 1917, notably at St. Quentin, Bullecourt, in August 1916 the German armies on the Somme had been subjected to great strain, the IX Reserve Corps had been shattered in the defence of Pozières. Ten fresh divisions had been brought into the Somme front and a division had been put into the line opposite the British. Destruction, capture, damage, wear and defective ammunition had caused 1,068 of 1,208 field guns and 371 of 820 heavy guns to be out of action by the end of August. The 2nd Army had been starved of reinforcements in mid-August, to replace exhausted divisions in the 1st Army, the emergency in Russia caused by the Brusilov Offensive, the entry of Romania into the war and the French counter offensive at Verdun had already overstretched the German army. The new supreme command ordered an end to attacks at Verdun and the dispatch of troops there to Romania. The western front commanders were told that no reserves were available for offensive operations, on 21 September, after the battle of Flers–Courcelette, Hindenburg ordered that the Somme front was to have priority in the west for troops and supplies. By the end of the Battle of Morval Rupprecht had no reserves left on the Somme front, during September, the Germans sent another thirteen fresh divisions to the British sector and scraped up troops wherever they could be found. Defeats inflicted by the French Tenth Army led to the sacking of the 2nd Army Chief of Staff, Hindenburg and Ludendorff demanded domestic changes to complement their strategy changes. German workers were to be subjected to an Auxiliary Service Law that subjected all Germans from 16–50 years old to compulsory service, the new programme was intended to create a trebling of artillery and machine-gun output and a doubling of munitions and trench mortar production
25.
Oberon
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Oberon is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeares play A Midsummer Nights Dream, in which he is Consort to Titania, Oberons status as king of the fairies comes from the character of Alberich, a sorcerer in the legendary history of the Merovingian dynasty. In the legend, he is the brother of Merowech, whose name is the eponym of the Merovingians. Alberich wins for his eldest son, Walbert, the hand of a princess of Constantinople, in the Nibelungenlied, a Burgundian poem written around the turn of the 13th century, Alberich guards the treasure of the Nibelungen, but is overcome by Siegfried. Huon, son of Seguin count of Bordeaux, passed through the forest inhabited by Oberon and he was warned by a hermit not to speak to Oberon, but his courtesy had him answer Oberons greetings, and so gain his aid in his quest. Huon had killed Charlot, the Emperors son, in self-defense and he succeeds only with Oberons aid. This elf is dwarfish in height, though very handsome and he explains that, at his christening, an offended fairy cursed him to dwarfish height, but relented and gave him great beauty as compensation. Alberich features as a dwarf in the Nibelungen, the height was thus explained. The real Seguin was Count of Bordeaux under Louis the Pious in 839, Charles lEnfant, a son of Charles the Bald, died in 866 of wounds inflicted by a certain Aubouin in the circumstances of an ambush similar to the Charlot of the story. Thus, Oberon appears in a 13th-century French courtly fantasy that is based on a shred of 9th century fact and he is given some Celtic trappings, such as a magical cup that is ever full for the virtuous. The magic cup supplied their evening meal, for such was its virtue that it afforded not only wine, in this story, he is said to be the child of Morgan le Fay and Julius Caesar. Shakespeare saw or heard of the French heroic song through the c. 1540 translation of John Bourchier, Lord Berners, in Philip Henslowes diary, there is a note of a performance of a play Hewen of Burdocize on December 28,1593. Oberon is the king of all of the fairies in William Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream who is feuding with his wife Titania and they are fighting over a changeling child whom Oberon wants to raise as his henchman. Titania wants to keep the child because he is the child of Titanias mortal follower who died, because Oberon and Titania are powerful fairies, their arguments affect the weather. Titania describes what happens to nature when Oberon tricks Titania into loving Bottom, the flower was accidentally struck by Cupids arrow when he attempted to shoot a young maiden in a field, instead infusing the flower with love. Oberon sends his servant, Puck, to fetch the flower, furious that Titania will not give him the child, he puts juice from a magical flower into her eyes while she is asleep. The effect of the juice will cause Titania to fall in love with the first live thing she sees. Titania awakens and finds herself madly in love with Bottom, an actor in the Mechanicals whos head was just transformed into that of a donkeys, thanks to a curse from Puck
26.
Elegast
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Elegast is the hero and noble robber in the poem Karel ende Elegast, a Medieval Dutch epic poem that has been translated into English as Charlemagne and Elbegast. In the poem, he represents the King of the Elves. He appears as a knight on a horse, an outcast vassal of Charlemagne living in the forest. The original Dutch poem uses the name Elegast, while translated versions of the poem commonly use the name Elbegast in German and English and it is a Frankish romance of Charlemagne as an exemplary Christian king who was led on a strange quest to be a robber. Although the poem does not describe Elegasts background, he was an old friend of Charlemagne that had fallen into disgrace, and his banishment to the forest and his name connotes he was elven. Elegast could put people to sleep magically, could open locks without keys and he lived in the forest, thief to the rich people and kind to poor people. In summary, Charlemagne has a vision to go thieving in disguise. Elegast does not recognize the king, as Charlemagne is in disguise as a thief, when Charlemagne suggests they steal from the kings castle, Elegast proves his loyalty to Charlemagne by refusing to steal from the king. Instead, Elegast takes Charlemagne to burglarize the castle of Charlemagnes brother-in-law, once they break into the castle, Elegast overhears Eggeric scheming to kill Charlemagne to his wife, who is Charlemagnes sister. In this way Charlemagne learns of a traitor in his court, the next day, when Eggeric arrives in Charlemagnes court, Charlemagne has Eggeric searched and finds his weapons. Elegast duels with Eggeric and exposes him as a traitor, Eggeric is therefore killed, and his wife is given in marriage to Elegast. Elegasts reputation is restored in the Charlemagne court. There is one dwarf named Elbegast in Eddic texts, according to Low German legends, Elbegast was a dwarf who could steal eggs from under birds. In folklore and legends of Northern Europe, Elbegast was called the king of both the elves and dwarves, some scholars propose Elegast is the character Alberich, whose name means king of the elves. Alberich was a sorcerer in Merovingian epics of the 5th to 8th century, in this friendship, the poem combines Frankish legends of Charlemagne with some Dutch-Germanic mythology. The poem is unique that a Dutch character Elegast is a hero. Elegast is possibly symbolic of the Dutch peoples pre-Christian myth of an ancient elf or folk hero, in the pre-Christian mythology the dwelling in the forest is a religious and sacred dwelling place. At the discovery of the many were dismembered and many were banished
27.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
28.
Thomas Bulfinch
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Thomas Bulfinch was an American writer born in Newton, Massachusetts, best known for the book Bulfinchs Mythology. Bulfinch belonged to a merchant family of modest means. His father was Charles Bulfinch, the architect of the Massachusetts State House in Boston and parts of the U. S. Capitol in Washington, Bulfinch supported himself through his position at the Merchants Bank of Boston. The original volume was dedicated to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and described on the page as an attempt to popularize mythology. In his preface, Bulfinch outlined his purpose, which was an attempt to solve this problem, by telling the stories of mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of amusement. We have endeavored to tell them correctly, according to the ancient authorities, the index at the end will adapt it to the purposes of a reference, and make it a Classical Dictionary for the parlor. His obituary noted that the contents were expurgated of all that would be offensive, the versions Bulfinch gives for the classical myths are those in Ovid and Virgil. His Norse myths are abridged from a work by Paul Henri Mallet, Bulfinchs versions of these myths are still being taught in many American public schools. Bulfinch was the product of Boston Latin School, Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard College, marie Sally Cleary, Myths for the Millions. Thomas Bulfinch, His America, and His Mythology Book, frankfurt am Main, Peter Lang,2007
