Extended Research - The Vikings

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Ballads

Viking Poetry

Skaldic poetry is a sophisticated art. The rules are more convoluted than those

for a sonnet or haiku. In the most common form, a stanza had eight lines. Each

line had six syllables and three stresses. The rhythm was fixed, as were the

patterns of rhyme and alliteration.

The music of a line was of utmost importance--these poems really were "songs,"

even though we don't know if they were "sung" or chanted or just recited. A

skaldic poem was designed to please the ear. It was first a sound-picture, though

in a great poem sound and meaning were inseparable.

A skaldic poem was a cross between a riddle and a trivia quiz. Each half-stanza of

a poem contained at least two thoughts. These could be braided together so that

the listener had to pay close attention to the grammar (not the word order) to

disentangle subject, object, and verb. The riddle entailed disentangling the

interlaced phrases so that they formed two grammatical sentences.

The quiz part was the kennings. Nothing was stated plainly. Why call a ship a ship

when it could be the otter of the ocean"? Snorri Sturluson defined kennings in

his Edda,which he wrote as a handbook on Viking poetry. Otter of the ocean is

a very easy one. As Snorri explained, there are three kinds of kennings: It is asimple kenning to call battle spear clash and it is a double kenning to call a

sword fire of the spear-clash, and it is extended if there are more elements.

Norse Poetry

Norse poetry, although also derived from an oral tradition, in turn

is very different from the Finnish runo. The primary feature which distinguishes

Norse poetry is probably thealliteration used. Alliteration means words which

begin with the same sound, as in song ... sword, board ... brandor eagle ... sir.Another important feature of Norse poetry is the use ofkennings. A kenning is a

riddling reference to one item or concept which does not name it directly, but

rather suggests it by the elliptical way in which the subject is spoken of, which

causes the listener or reader to visualize the intended concept.

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A simple kenning is found in the name Beowulfor "bee-wolf": the wolf is a

kenning for "thief" hence the phrase becomes "bee-thief" which the Norse

listener would understand to be a bear, which steals honey from bees.

Norse poetry comes in two "flavors": eddaic and skaldic. Eddaic verse is

anonymous and is composed in relatively simple language and meters. The

themes are mythical or drawn from heroic legends. Stanzas vary in number of

lines within the same poem. Skaldic poems are usually attributed to named poets

and many of them are praise poems made for a specific jarl or king. Skaldic

meters follow strict rules and can be very complex in structure, and the language

used is often convoluted, kenning-rich, and a challenge for those unversed in the

poetic tradition to understand without footnotes.

Runos were undoubtedly used in spells, magical operations, and to accompany

ritual. They were also used as entertainment at festivals, in competitions of

memoy and performance, and as work songs in the fields. Men tended to

sing runos preserving heroic poetry, while women favored lyric, legends and

ballads.

How Ballads could work in a 3D World

Ballads could be a good way to structure an animation, using their set up as a

way to visually tell a story. They could also serve as a voice over, having the

narrative set up in a way that reads as a ballad describing the actions and

developments of a story. The right blend would allow for complimenting contrast

with mass appeal and effect.

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Middle Age Theatre

Little is known about theatre between 600 and 1000 A.D. Prior to these times,

theatre was used as way to communicate tales of drama, mystery, and morality,

as well as displaying farces and masques. This was also used believed to have

been used as a method of putting across the points of view and opinions of the

church by having performers act out tales from the bible in specific ways.

Theatre performance came in two main forms, one being in the form of a

physical building where a stage was present, and the other being a travelling

theatre or a pop up theatre which was pretty much a stage on wheels. These

types of theatre had an interesting layout where the stage would be the back of a

carriage with an open front, having free standing decorations to create depth on

stage.

Due to the travelling, it was thought that the sets were simple but effective and

the main attraction and focus was on the actors and performers that were

visually telling the tale or story. These were sometime accompanied by bards or

musicians to make the performance even more entertaining.

How Pop-up theatre could work in a 3D World

Using a set stylized in a way that resembles pop-up theatre could help to

provide an animation with an interesting art direction that would engage an

audience by creating a feel which fits with the time period the story is set within.

The depth of the performance area would be specific, and the limited design

could help draw attraction to the characters performing which could further

enhance the details of a narrative.

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Tapestry

8th

Century British Art movements were particularly focused on Carvings,

Tapestry, Illuminated Manuscript and metal work.

Areas of creative development inside the 8th

century were Wessex, Northumbria

and Kent.

Metal work

Metal work derived mainly from the Germanic animal style of artwork. Thestyle came into influence to British nationals from German immigrants.

In the 8th century the Bloomery method was introduced to smelting metal.The bloomery method melted iron into a single malleable lump (a bloom)

which was then forged into place on an anvil.

Iron swords were drastically different to steel swords which were laterintroduced.

The bloomery method for smelting was prominent until the 15th centurywhere it was superseded by the blast furnace.

The furnaces used an air hole with bellows to heat to extremetemperatures to melt the iron. The furnace was made out of thick walls of

clay or stone to withstand such temperatures.

Tapestry

Tapestry was made from wool stitched on Linen or for the richer people orplaces considered of relative importance across the kingdom, tapestry was

made from Silk and gold and silver threads with in some exceptions gem

stones stitched into the silk.

Tapestry was made from a range of sizes; the Bayeux tapestry runs atapproximately 0.5m x 68m and is considered incomplete.

Most tapestry was destroyed throughout the conflicts of the time and verylittle survives to this date.

Tapestry was a means of depicting a story and passing on a message sincethe first books were not developed until the end of the era when King

Alfred prevailed.

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Carvings

Carving was particularly focused on utilizing the raw materials of stone,ivory and whale bone for sculptural, aesthetic or spiritual benefit.

Sculptures and carvings were often built as monuments (usually built toresemble crosses).

Most surviving monuments exist within side churches; monuments builtout door are now badly weathered and hard to date.

Some monuments depict human figures. Typically whale bone carving and ivory carving was associated with

jewelry.

Illuminated Manuscript

Illuminated Manuscript was a combination of illustrations and earlyliterature formed to develop a story.

Manuscript comes from the Latin translation manus meaning hand andscriptum for writing.

Creating manuscripts was a slow and expensive process. The most expensive manuscripts were decorated in burnished gold and

colored pigments.

How Tapestry could work in a 3D World

Art must be developed in straight lines, Tapestry was stitched into fabric. Figures

could become 3D animated in the foreground whilst objects in the background

could be developed in after effects and photo shop as moving images. Some

objects in the background such as buildings of importance or boast could be

developed as 3D animations; typically anything of importance will stand out andbreak the confines of the 2D barriers that tapestry holds. The key to applying art

to the animation may be in looking at what purpose the artwork held during the

8th

century. It is clear through research that artwork didnt simply exist for

aesthetic quality; in fact that artwork existed as a means to express religious

beliefs or to write or demonstrate importance6


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Documents

Extended Research - The Vikings