Muninn

Saturday, December 19, 2009


“If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows."--Reverend Henry Ward Beecher

Nothing like a retreat into Norse mythology when you feel overwhelmed with yourself. It has always worked for me and it continues as I admit that the Greek Gods were not always the 'historically cool' ones. Norse Gods were brewing their own brawn and dousing their fear in mugs of ale made from the skulls their enemies.

Formidable as Odin was, I was always struck by the fact that he had this fascination for ravens much like Chengiz Khan. His ravens were named Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory). Each day, he would send these two birds off around the world at daybreak to bring him news or tidings. In 'Grimnismal', Odin says

"For Huginn I fear lest he return not home, but I am more anxious for Muninn".

This suggests that Odin valued memory more than thought, something you wouldn't normally conceive about the God of war.

In this illustration, I have sought to represent a 'humaniod' or a 'sprite' (whichever you'd prefer) version of Muninn, which I feel, for obvious reasons should be represented as a feminine apparition. I am also working on Huginn's apparition, although with little success.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Very interesting piece..I like the tale behind it as well.
By the way,really enjoyed your classroom proj animatic.:).The storys lovely.

Tarun Padmakumar said...

this is beautifully done! very nice incarnation of Muninn the raven.

I might be speaking out of turn here, but let me say that ravens seem to be forms that are used in various fictitious works aswell. for example:In Neil Gaimn's "Sandman", the king of dreams has a raven called David(i think) by his side.And in Metal Gear Solid, there is a man known as Raven, who watches over Snake, the protagonist, even from beyond the grave.To name afew.
I wonder if this sprouted from Norse mythology. Then again, iguess anything can be traced to mythology.

From the comment above, i can safely assume that your classroom proj is definitely going to be awesome. All the best with your work!

Unknown said...

Beautiful illustrations, done with a strong and so imaginative technique. :)

Another great blog to follow,
ciao!

 
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