E is for Erik the Red

Good evening my dears, how are you all? I quite miss talking directly to you, rather than just typing information here! I'm sorry I've been slow with commenting, I have deadlines coming up at the end of April so I'm feeling a little frantic! 

Anyways, lets talk about Erik the Red, the guy who founded the first settlement in Greenland!

We know about Erik the Red from the Icelandic Sagas, texts that were passed down from oral tradition during the viking age. It is said that Erik had to leave Norway because he had committed manslaughter there. He moved to Iceland but then he killed a bunch of people and ended up getting himself outlawed. Smart, huh? 

I've always liked the story that when Iceland was discovered, the explorers named it Iceland because it was so cold, but on discovering Greenland afterwards, realised that they should have reserved the name for that place instead. However, according to the sagas (/wikipedia, where I've just learned this) it was Erik who named it Greenland, having returned to Iceland after he'd served his time away, because he wanted to give it a more appealing name than Iceland had. Either way, I've always thought how the names Iceland and Greenland were kind of mixed up :)

Have you ever read any of the Icelandic sagas? I really do recommend them - I find it really fascinating that they had been passed down orally for so long before finally being written. I love the Chinese Whispers effect that they got, since they began as historical tales but as they were passed on, certain details were changed, leaving us with stories of beserkers and witches and magic. They're wonderful!

the little nordic cabin

x

E is for Elsa Beskow

When I was given this calendar for Christmas, I discovered a new love of mine…

…the Swedish author and illustrator Elsa Beskow.

Born in Stockholm in 1874, Elsa Beskow became one of the most well known childrens writer and illustrator, writing stories where reality and fairytales were mixted together. Many of her stories are set in the forest, with characters dressed up like little berries. My two favourites are Tomtebobarnen (The Children of the Forest) and Puttes Äventyr i Blåbärsskogen (Peter in Blueberry Land). The stories are so sweet and cozy and the illustrations are absolutely beautiful!

 

It is said that Elsa Beskow took inspiration for her books from her own life and from her sons, and that the stories dealt largely with the child - adult relationship. Unfortunately Elsa fell victim to a large amount of criticism, mainly about the gender roles within her stories, as well as being considered as too old-fashioned.

None of that matters to me. In my opinion she is a true artist, making beautiful illustrations of the wonderful little world she created. How about you? Do you have a favourite illustrator? 


(pictures lovingly taken from here, here, here & here)

inspire nordic