NorsePlay.

While browsing The Book Stop's vintage juvenilia section in homebase Tucson, I found a hardback copy of Edith Heal's Siegfried from 1930 CE, which would be a then-kids' novel adaptation of The Saga of the V ö lsungs . Printed on the flyleaves there was this handsome Map of the Siegfried Country : While some of this doesn't line up NorsePlay's placements in The Map Of Midgard Project (i.e. The Hall of the Volsungs should be in Ezinge, Netherlands, not up in Finland, or Fafnir and the "Flaming Hedge" not in Scandinavia, but down in Germany), I really love the art style of this. Also interspersed in the text there were some great illustrations: So why is Siegfried naked, you ask? American illustrator Milo Winter (1888-1956 CE) must have been thinking of the logistics for when Siegfried stabs Fafnir from below and gains nigh-invulnerability from being almost completely drenched in dragon's blood that this could only happen sans clothing. Character-wise...

In a clever Wagnerian Ring Cycle adaptation in Marvel's Thor: The Eternals Saga , this striking panel of Marvel's Valkyrie Brunnhilde is being punitively put to her fire ringed bed in an enchanted sleep after doing what Odin actually wants as opposed to what he told her to do. In a strange and somewhat surreal story arc, Marvel Thor seeks out Odin's Eye for answers about an implied previous incarnation of himself that Odin won't reveal to him. The Eye, actually flying around on an ectoplasmic stalk and terrorizing a planet of gnomish aliens just to power flex, submits to Thor's threats and begins telling the God Of Thunder of a hitherto previously unknown Ragnarök and its survivors' link to the current Asgardian cycle , which then follows Wagner's Ring adaptation of The Saga of the Volsungs , with Thor apparently living as both mortal heroes Siegmund and his incestuously born son Siegfried, which helps explain why they look identical to Marvel Thor t...

I've a feeling that in 1978 CE the producers of Battlestar Galactica somehow got ahold of Wagner's Ring helmets and decided to build their Episode 11, The Young Lords , around these Siegfried costume props. The fearless guerilla teen Kyle (Charles Bloom) confidently tells Colonial Warrior Starbuck that his siblings are a well-oiled army that've been successfully striking Cylon targets long before he gracelessly wrecked his Viper on their homeworld. On the planet Attila (which given the context just also happens to refer to the latter chapters of the Burgundian Song of the Nibelungs ) Starbuck is rescued by the operatic clad martial family which includes young Valkyrie-esque vixen Audrey Landers as Miri, the eldest daughter: [yes, they ride unicorns!] Of course flyboy Starbuck's flirty bad boy charm wins her over pretty quickly. After using B-roll long shot of an actual Rhineland castle, there's closer interiors/exteriors of a Universal Studio's Stage 30 set I...

This pulp cover art is from an old 1977 CE Ace edition of  Space Viking , a re-print of the 1963 CE first edition by H. Beam Piper.  I haven't had the pleasure of reading  Space Viking , so here's a pretty insightfully & unexpectedly Norse Lore referential review from user "DenimLord666": [Space Viking] shares many similarities with Völsungasaga and Brennu-Njáls saga with obvious literary motifs and homages to the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson. Essentially Lord Trask of the planet Trask is a mirror image of the vargr Grettir Ásmundarson and Egill Skallagrímsson. Whoa. Get your  Ulfberht Mk III plasma rifles locked 'n' loaded, NorsePlayers! Let's planetfall raid, and slay some skræliens for their powerfusion caskets! #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the tr...

While Fritz Lang's two-part, nearly 5-hour  Die Nibelungen will remain the first amazing silent film breakout Norse mythological screen achievement, there are actually a few later adaptations of The Saga of the Volsungs / The Song of the Nibelungs , some of which are fairly derivative of Lang's adaptation, and others that show more proto-Sword & Sorcery plotting. Here are three notable cinematic NorsePlays: Treasure Of The Petrified Forest , (aka The Stone Forest,  1965 CE) is more Wagner than Volsungs, setting up hero Sigmund & love interest Princess Siglinde as committed to protect the secret of the forest and its mound of treasure. Unfortunately a hostile Viking king figures out from a defecting jealous sister what that secret is and battle amongst the glitterbombed stucco trees ensues. There's definite fantasy roots here, and more build on the antagonist, but if you're looking for Norse Lore served Spaghetti Viking style , this delivers with some fun narra...

We just ran across this 1968 anime, The Little Norse Prince . Later re-released as The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun , we read its Norse context is apparently window dressing for some Ainu themes, but there's a Völsunga Saga style sword that must be pulled , and later reforged. Any of you seen this? If so, is it NorsePlay enough? #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Edward Gorey once turned his inimitable linear Gothic styling toward Richard Wagner’s Ring figures Brünnhilde and Wotan . [Made for The Met in 1983 CE.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Accomplished fantasy illustrator Alan Lee 's Branstock in the Hall of the Volsungs from his 1984 CE book Castles . #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .