The Hanged God

I’ve always loved Norse myth and especially the figure of Odin who is willing to go to any length to achieve wisdom. This drawing depicts the stanzas of the poem Runatal in which Odin hangs himself from an arcane tree in order to find the secret of the runes.
It runs —

“Veit ek at ek hekk

vindga meiði á

nætr allar níu,

geiri undaðr

ok gefinn Óðni

sjálfr sjálfum mér

á þeim meiði

er manngi veit hvers hann af rótum renn”

“I wot that I hung on the wind-tossed tree

all of nights nine

wounded by spear, bespoken to Óthin,

bespoken myself to myself,

[upon that tree of which none telleth

from what roots it doth rise].”

—Runatal (translation by Hollander)

Click on the image to visit my Society 6 store, where you can buy a gallery quality giclée print.

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