Illustration til Carl Ploug, "Kong Harald og Islændingen" 1870 - 1881

This is an illustration made by Carl Ploug for his namesake's poem, "Kong Harald og Islændingen". Created in Denmark, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century, it depicts a scene from the Old Norse saga tradition. Here, an Icelander is seen holding a bow, sitting inside a wooden structure. We might consider the significance of the Icelandic sagas for Danish national identity at this time. It was a period of romantic nationalism, in which artists looked to the past to define a unique cultural identity. The sagas provided a shared Nordic history, and imagery that linked the Danish people to a heroic past. To understand this image fully, scholars turn to literary history, folklore studies, and research into the artistic institutions and national narratives of the time. This artwork is a reminder that cultural products are always embedded in specific social and political contexts.