December 2020
School project
infographics
School project
infographics
For the final assignment of a class on Icelandic Family Sagas, I chose to do an infographic on the societal norms of Saga Age Iceland. I wanted to demonstrate my knowledge of the sagas but also have some fun and, hopefully, entertain the professor enough to get a good grade (which I did successfully). The intended audience for this project was the professor, so I assumed thorough knowledge of the sagas.
In the sagas, the actions people find "honorable" seem to vary, though the concept of "honor" makes frequent appearances. Sometimes letting an insult roll off seems to be the thing to do, but at other times a lack of reaction earns nothing but disrespect. I narrowed down my research to Njal's Saga, one of the longest and most well-known of the sagas. I tracked the many mentions of "honor" and searched for places where characters seemed to be giving general advice. One example is "the hand's joy in the blow is brief." Hasty killing has a way of bringing violent consequences down upon the characters rash enough to do it.
I chose to do a kind of parody of a travel brochure to give the project a clear purpose -- informing a traveler to Saga Age Iceland how to fit in and stay safe.
