The Golden Helmet
Encyclopedia
The Golden Helmet is a Donald Duck
comic strip
story written by Carl Barks
in July 1952. Donald and his nephews go on a treasure hunt for a mythical helmet that apparently gives the possessor legal claim of North America
.
s.
Donald's wish is soon answered when he becomes involved in a relic hunt of great importance. According to an old Viking saga and a map discovered in the museum, Olaf the Blue, a Viking explorer, had reached the coast of North America
in the early 10th century and had claimed this land as his property — a claim that was indeed valid according to an international treaty drafted in 792 during the reign of Charlemagne
. Accompanied by his attorney Lawyer Sharky, Azure Blue, a man who claims to be Olaf's distant descendant, sets out to find the evidence that his ancestor left behind as proof of his claim — a Golden Helmet, whose possessor will become owner of North America.
The museum's director enlists Donald and his nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, in a rival attempt to find the helmet first. Its location is estimated to be somewhere on the coast of Labrador
. During their search, both rival expeditions lose all modern equipment, and by the time they find the helmet they must try to reach Labrador's coast traveling like the Vikings did. This is the least of their problems as the helmet changes hands between Azure Blue, the museum's director, Donald and Lawyer Sharky.
The helmet, an object of power, has the same effect on each of its successive owners: A cold glitter in their eyes betrays awakening greed and ambitions, as they become more ruthless, each of them in turn revealing the dreams of a would-be tyrant. Ironically, the idealistic museum director is the worst of all, as he isn't interested in personal wealth, but changing North American culture and education to his own ideals, to the "benefit" of society.
Finally, Donald's nephews manage to throw the helmet into the sea and end the madness, but not before Louie gets the same glitter in his eyes. Working again as a guard in the museum, Donald decides to get acquainted with his century and see the exhibits that interest the crowds.
's One Ring
or Der Ring des Nibelungen
, where the reason also lies in one's mind rather than any magical curse. Barks' successors have added a number of sequels. It seems to have inspired a further exploration of the Ducks' motivation and the darker sides of their psyches in subsequent stories.
building blocks.
In 1995, Don Rosa
wrote a sequel to The Golden Helmet, called The Lost Charts of Columbus
.
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
story written by Carl Barks
Carl Barks
Carl Barks was an American Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck , Gladstone Gander , the Beagle Boys , The Junior Woodchucks , Gyro Gearloose , Cornelius Coot , Flintheart Glomgold , John D...
in July 1952. Donald and his nephews go on a treasure hunt for a mythical helmet that apparently gives the possessor legal claim of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Plot
Donald is seen working as a guard in the Duckburg Museum (as also in "Lost in the Andes!"), but he finds his duties unsatisfying. The relics of the glorious past in the halls of the museum are all but forgotten, as the crowds are more interested in the butterfly, lace and tatting collections. Donald laments his luck for being stuck there while he thirsts for adventure like the VikingViking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s.
Donald's wish is soon answered when he becomes involved in a relic hunt of great importance. According to an old Viking saga and a map discovered in the museum, Olaf the Blue, a Viking explorer, had reached the coast of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in the early 10th century and had claimed this land as his property — a claim that was indeed valid according to an international treaty drafted in 792 during the reign of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
. Accompanied by his attorney Lawyer Sharky, Azure Blue, a man who claims to be Olaf's distant descendant, sets out to find the evidence that his ancestor left behind as proof of his claim — a Golden Helmet, whose possessor will become owner of North America.
The museum's director enlists Donald and his nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, in a rival attempt to find the helmet first. Its location is estimated to be somewhere on the coast of Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
. During their search, both rival expeditions lose all modern equipment, and by the time they find the helmet they must try to reach Labrador's coast traveling like the Vikings did. This is the least of their problems as the helmet changes hands between Azure Blue, the museum's director, Donald and Lawyer Sharky.
The helmet, an object of power, has the same effect on each of its successive owners: A cold glitter in their eyes betrays awakening greed and ambitions, as they become more ruthless, each of them in turn revealing the dreams of a would-be tyrant. Ironically, the idealistic museum director is the worst of all, as he isn't interested in personal wealth, but changing North American culture and education to his own ideals, to the "benefit" of society.
Finally, Donald's nephews manage to throw the helmet into the sea and end the madness, but not before Louie gets the same glitter in his eyes. Working again as a guard in the museum, Donald decides to get acquainted with his century and see the exhibits that interest the crowds.
Analysis
Usually considered as one of Barks' strongest stories, its strength lies in its characterization, as each of the characters exhibits the darkest sides of his personality. The "heroes" prove to be no better than the "villains" when the opportunity arises and the only solution seems to be the loss of the helmet. The helmet has a similar effect on those who possess it to J. R. R. TolkienJ. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's One Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
or Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
, where the reason also lies in one's mind rather than any magical curse. Barks' successors have added a number of sequels. It seems to have inspired a further exploration of the Ducks' motivation and the darker sides of their psyches in subsequent stories.
Relevance to Danish culture
In January 2006, the Danish Ministry of Culture published a canon of works significant to Danish culture. This story — the only item in the entire canon not of Danish origin — was included on the list of children's culture items, alongside LEGOLego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
building blocks.
Sequels
In 1989, two young teenagers, Jesper Lund Madsen and Theis Christiansen won a competition in the Danish Anders And (Donald Duck) magazine, with a comic produced completely by themselves, "På gensyn med den gyldne hjelm" (The Golden Helmet Revisited.) The comic was produced as a bonus magazine for the october 16, 1989 issue of the magazine. Madsen later went on to work professionally for the magazine.In 1995, Don Rosa
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa, known simply as Don Rosa, is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck and other characters created by Carl Barks for Disney comics, such as The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.-Early life:Don Rosa's grandfather,...
wrote a sequel to The Golden Helmet, called The Lost Charts of Columbus
The Lost Charts of Columbus
The Lost Charts of Columbus is the sequel of The Golden Helmet. It was created by Don Rosa and originally published in Donald Duck Adventures #43.-Plot:...
.
External links
- The Golden Helmet in Carl Barks guidebook