Wayland the Smith

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Illustration

Irina-Maria Manea
by The Trustees of the British Museum
published on 26 February 2021
Wayland the Smith Download Full Size Image

Close-up of the front panel of the Franks Casket, Auzon, France, 8th century CE.

The British Museum, London.

This part of the casket features an Anglo-Saxon depiction of the Wayland (Volund) legend. Wayland is depicted next to his forge and tools, with the decapitated body of one of King Niðhad’s sons before him. He is offering a goblet fashioned from the skull to a woman, probably the king’s daughter, Bodvild. The second female figure is either an attendant or Bodvild again.

The male figure on the right side is either Wayland or one of his brothers. He is strangling geese to collect feathers for a flying machine.

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Cite This Work

APA Style

Museum, T. T. o. t. B. (2021, February 26). Wayland the Smith. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/13487/wayland-the-smith/

Chicago Style

Museum, The Trustees of the British. "Wayland the Smith." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified February 26, 2021. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/13487/wayland-the-smith/.

MLA Style

Museum, The Trustees of the British. "Wayland the Smith." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 26 Feb 2021. Web. 27 Jul 2024.

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