November 2020
homework assignment
illustration, text adaptation, typesetting
My midterm project for a course on Icelandic Family Sagas.
I chose to depict Gudrun’s dreams in Laxdaela Saga because they foreshadow the plot. A passing wise man interprets her dreams and accurately predicts her turbulent love life.
Most of the text is taken from the translation in The Sagas of the Icelanders with a few tweaks.
One of the biggest challenges of turning such an old story into a visual form was figuring out clothing that was, at least, somewhat historically accurate. Given the difficulty of finding accurate sources, my main influence was Viking fashion. Similarly, most of the haircuts are vaguely-educated guesses. The popular portrayal of Vikings often features long hair for both men and women and braids, though there seems to be evidence of men having shaved (or mostly shaved) heads because of helmets.
For the art style, I developed something inspired by illuminated manuscripts (not what the sagas were, but from a similar era) and Art Nouveau. The flowers symbolize the prominent characters in Gudrun's story, which are herself, her four husbands, and her first love. The sword represents the general theme of violence but is also a reference to a cursed sword which one of her husbands uses to kill his brother (who was her first love). The cross and the chalice signify Christianity, which becomes important towards the end of the saga.
The final page features a couple of questions asked by one of her sons. Both of her answers are elusive, but her son is satisfied with her second response. But the mystery remains for the readers -- who did she love the best?
