Imagine, if you will, that you are at a children’s theatre performance- a child-friendly version of the retrieval of Mjollnir from the giants. Thor still cross-dresses, but there’s no wholesale slaughter. The children helped create their costumes and the set. It shows, but in the best of ways. (Or so I hope; this is a class/play I’m proposing to teach/direct for my parks and recreation department.)
Thor, Thrym (child friendly version of Þrymr), possibly Loki, and all the male background characters are wearing inauthentic-to-the-max horned helmets, assembled by an adult out of paper products and decorated by each child as they desire.
The “Valkyries” (here more or less the Greek chorus) are wearing similarly constructed and decorated hats with wings on the side, rather than horns. There is probably glitter glue.
So what does Freya wear on her head? Obviously authenticity is not an issue- we’re going with generally accepted visual shorthand. There will be a short lesson on why these helmets aren’t true, but will convey what we need to say and also add visual interest. The hats are primarily a craft project for the children, so Freya can’t go bareheaded.
Most of the images of Freya show her with a bare head, a circlet, or a simple pointed cap. I can do one of the latter two if necessary. But is there anything fancier that you would see and think “Oh, that must be Freya!”? Flowers maybe?
A Robin Hood archer’s cap with a feather. It can be made easily out of construction paper. I would reccomend you use one without the point on the top, but does have a pointy front.
She is playing the same role as a princess in later fairy tales, so how about a coronet? She was a fertility goddess, so perhaps a coronet made of flowers?
I’d juat go all out neo-classical and deck the girl out inAthena of the Parthenon garb. I think I am safe in saying they are Ethnological and Theological twins… perhaps natural drift.
devilsknew, that would be a bit much. It’s one thing to do the generally-accepted-even-though-it’s-wrong horned helmets, and another to jump pantheons, even with comparable goddesses.
One of the things I’m having to work around is the inherent unfairness of just one kid having a different sort of head covering. I don’t want the other kids to get jealous, or the Freya-portrayer to feel sad for being left out or prideful for being “special.”
I’m thinking a base cap like the other kids, with flowers instead of horns/wings.
LawMonkey, that is a totally awesome hat. I am thinking of using that Freya’s hat-wings for reference for the Valkyrie hat-wings.
