Victoria, BC: Exhibit: The Return of “The Vanquished Viking Gods: Lost, Found, and Assimilated”

Lecture: McPherson Library Room 126 – 2:00 p.m. “The Heroes of Asgard Through the Ages” by Dr. Trish Baer.

Mearns Centre for Learning, McPherson Library. Exhibition: main foyer from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Curated by Dr. Trish Baer and Michael Lines MLS.

Back by popular demand for a limited engagement. Co-sponsored by Medieval Studies and The Icelanders of Victoria.

Discover the beginning of the downward journey of the Viking gods from deities in Valhalla – to heroes in storybooks for Victorian children – to pedagogical figures in homeschooling lesson plans.

We are happy to offer a second chance to see this exhibit and a first chance to hear a lecture, “The Heroes of Asgard Through the Ages” by Dr. Trish Baer. This exhibition concerns the 19th - 20th century retellings of Old Norse mythology and is focused on The Heroes of Asgard and the Giants of Jötunheim, Or, The Week and Its Story by Annie and Eliza Keary that was first published in 1857. The Heroes of Asgard was published in three editions, i.e., 1857, 1870 and 1930, with changes in its title and different illustrators for each of the editions.

Dr. Baer’s lecture at 2:00 p.m. will explore questions regarding the publication history of The Heroes of Asgard. What does this seminal retelling of the Norse myths along with the illustrations accompanying the editions, the adoption of The Heroes of Asgard in the curriculum of British colonist homeschoolers during the Victorian era – and its inclusion in homeschooling curriculum in the present day – reveal concerning the transmission and reception of the Norse myths? Bring your curiosity and your questions!