Scandinavian Aggression

The berserker is freaking out! Since that’s basically just what berserkers do when they’re going berserk. It’s all part and parcel of channeling the iconic animalistic rage inherent to berserkerdom. No one really knows exactly what the prerequisite qualities were for going berserk, but prevailing theories generally focus on fierce-animal-cult worship, trance-inducing substances, and militaristic rituals. Jacob Foust, who created the illustration of the berserker presented here, has made the keen observation that berserkers as presented in the sagas also often displayed many of the same traits that are frequently found among trauma survivors in our present day—increased difficulty in regulating emotion, disruptions in consciousness and perception, and the ongoing struggle of adapting to the surrounding world. It strikes me as an insightful observation and not one that I believe has received much attention from the academic world (though if anyone out there knows any differently, please chime in).

Anyway, Jacob, who also goes by the moniker of Skarphedin online (a fine reference to a memorable figure in Njal’s Saga) is an artist based in southeastern New Mexico. His art deals most frequently with Norse mythology and the Icelandic sagas, often portraying actual scenes described in the sagas themselves. In fact, I first became aware of his work through the illustrations he created for the Saga Thing podcast, in which he joined Matt Smith among the artists to have contributed iconic visuals to the ever-unscrupulous events of the Icelandic sagas that the hosts, John and Andy, guide us through. Jacob’s first Saga Thing piece appeared in conjunction with The Saga of Bard the God of Snowfell episode in 2020.

Most of Jacob’s illustrations are monochromatic: black and white, bold and very eye-catching. Some rely on simple, clean lines in a two-tone color palette, others present a more textured aesthetic. In addition to saga scenes and other aspects of the viking world and medieval history, he’s also created illustrations to accompany recent books such as Siobhán Clark’s The Saga of Ádís Rauðfeldr and Costanza Miccichè’s La Danza dei Tre Spiriti (presently only available in Italian but with plans for an eventual English version).

Finally, it should be noted that, as a resident of the Land of Enchantment, Jacob is not fascinated only by Icelandic outlaws, but also New Mexican ones, which is fitting. I, for one, find it hardly surprising that Hrafn Gunnlaugsson’s classic Icelandic viking films were coined “cod westerns.” Tons of outlawry abounded in both Settlement Period Iceland and Gilded Age era New Mexico. Gotta love that overlap of history steeped in vigilante justice and imbued with stories of roving bands or solitary outlaws on horseback struggling to survive in a harsh, relatively barren environment.

So it only makes sense Jacob is also hosting a podcast on the lawlessness of the New Mexican territory of the late 19th century. When it comes to the sorts of activities and general propensity towards violence that characterized guys like Billy the Kid and Pecos Bob Olinger, well…they tend to remind one of Iceland’s notorious blood feuds that escalated out of control. If that sounds like your sort of thing (and if you’re even at this website in the first place, then it probably is), then give the Seven Rivers Cemetery podcast a listen!

And lastly, before I leave you to Odin’s baleful glare, remember to give Jacob’s Instagram pages a look: @skarphedin_illustrator for the Norse art and @seven_rivers_cemetery for the Wild West podcast.