"Rolf Krake og hans Stridsmænd bane sig Vey over et Baal antændt for at trodse dem" 1782

Meno Haas created this print depicting "Rolf Krake and his Warriors Clearing a Blaze Lit to Thwart Them." Observe the figures pressed into combat, a dance of life and death. Rolf Krake, sword aloft, leading his men over the blaze, represents the hero's journey through trials, a motif echoed in countless myths. Consider the hero battling a dragon, or Christ's descent into hell, all symbolic of overcoming adversity. Here, the fire is a powerful image: a symbol of both destruction and purification, danger and transformation. It’s not dissimilar to the alchemical symbol of fire, representing inner transformation, which then resurfaces in Wagner's operas, where fire both destroys and redeems. These flames, this very act of crossing over, resonates through history, each echo subtly altered, yet maintaining that core spark of human experience. The collective memory, encoded in these symbols, continues to ignite our subconscious.