Figure descriptions
A man, identified in the poem text as Olaf the Sea-King, stands at the top of a set
of steps. He wears a horned helmet and
armour, and caries a large spear. Multiple Vikings wearing helmets and armour stand
to his left. They all hold shields and spears. A
man’s corpse lies on the ground at the king’s feet. The corpse’s head leans off of
the raised platform on which the other men stand.
A second corpse lies under the steps. An old man sits beside the steps. He holds a
dagger and looks up at the Vikings. The king and
the Vikings look back at him. Full-page illustration contained within a single-ruled
border.
Multi-part illustration. Illustration contains parts of the poem letterpress in two
rectangular double-ruled borders with
curved edges. They are positioned in the top-right and bottom-right sections of the
page. The first part of the hand-drawn poem
title, “Olaf The Sea-King,” is placed in the top-left corner of the illustration.
A man’s face is depicted in profile view at the
center of the initial letter “O”. The man has a beard and wears a helmet. A wave emerges
from the lower curve of the letter “S”. The
second part of the hand-drawn poem title, “A Scandanavian Ballad”, is placed in the
top-right corner of the illustration, above the
first poem section. Behind this part of the title, there is a scene of a ship sailing
on rough waters. The waves are more than twice
the height of the ship. A large bird flies to the right of the title. This scene is
separated from the lower scene and is contained
within a double-ruled border. The lower scene shows a woman holding a baby to her
chest. She reaches out with her other arm and
appears to be frightened. The woman kneels near the edge of a cliff that overlooks
a body of water. The rough outline of three men is
visible in the background. There are cliffs in the distance beyond the water. This
scene is contained within its own two-part
border: the inner part is shaded and the outer part is double-ruled. 3/4-page illustration
contained within a single-ruled
border.
Illustration contains parts of the poem letterpress in two rectangular double-ruled
borders with curved edges. They are
positioned in the top-left and bottom-center sections of the page. At the center,
Olaf the Sea-King lies asleep on a bed, which is
positioned on the deck of a ship. He holds his arms under his head. His horn is tied
to his belt and his shield rests next to him on
the deck. A light fog shrouds the rest of the illustration. Olaf’s dream is depicted
in the fog off the side of the ship. In the
dream, Olaf stands surrounded by other Vikings. He holds his sword in one hand and
his shield in the other hand. He gestures behind
him with one arm and looks down toward the deck of the ship. The other Vikings reach
out toward the sleeping Olaf. The figure
nearest to him holds out an ornate goblet that is decorated with two beasts’ heads.
Full-page illustration contained within a
three-part border. The inner and outer parts of the border are both double-ruled.
The middle part is filled with an intricate
pattern of curls, rings, and human hands.
Illustration contains parts of the poem letterpress in two rectangular double-ruled
borders with curved edges. They are
positioned in the top-left and bottom-left areas of the page. At the right, Olaf the
Sea-King stands at the bow of a ship. He stands
with his arms behind his back and has a sheathed sword on his hip. The ship’s figurehead
features a horse’s head. Vikings fill the
rest of the ship. They wear helmets and armour and hold swords and spears. Olaf and
the Vikings all look forward at something in the
distance beyond the scope of the illustration. Full-page illustration contained within
a three-part border. The inner part of the
border has torn edges and appears to be formed from the sail of the ship. The outer
part is double-ruled. The middle part is
shaded.
Illustration contains parts of the poem letterpress in two rectangular double-ruled
borders with curved edges. They are
positioned in the top-left and bottom-right areas of the page. At the center of the
illustration, several men pull a ship onto the
shore with a long rope. Multiple other ships have already been brought ashore. One
man stands and directs the men pulling the ship,
and he gestures with his hand in the direction in which they are pulling. There is
a pile of corpses beside this man. Spears pierce
some of their bodies. In the lower-left corner of the illustration, a man and a woman
stand together. The man carries a jug and
looks forward, while the woman looks down and gestures toward two corpses. Shields
and spears litter the ground. Full-page
illustration contained within a three-part border. The inner part of the border is
double-ruled and curved; it forms swirls that
connect with the borders of the poem letterpress. The inner part also connects to
the outer double-ruled border along the left and
right edges. The inner and outer parts of the border separate in the top-right and
bottom-left corners. The middle part is shaded.
The shaded area in the top-right corner is filled with arrows, and the shaded area
in the bottom-left corner is filled with pieces
of a broken sword.
Illustration contains parts of the poem letterpress in two rectangular double-ruled
borders with curved edges, positioned in
the top-left and bottom-right areas of the page. In the top-right section of the illustration,
an old man with a long beard and
robes stands beside an armoured Viking. The old man holds one hand to his beard and
extends his other arm behind the Viking. He holds
a horn in his extended arm. The Viking man wears a tunic and a breast plate and holds
a helmet at his hip. The two men stand on top
of large circular plates, which look like shields. A crowd of men hold up the plates,
supporting the weight of the two men. Their hands
and some of their weapons are visible in the space between the two parts of the letterpress.
In the bottom-left section of the
illustration, multiple men from the crowd hold their weapons up in the air and look
up toward the two elevated figures. These men
wear Viking helmets and carry shields. Full-page illustration contained within a three-part
border. The inner part of the border is
double-ruled and curved; it forms swirls that connect with the borders of the poem
letterpress. The inner part also connects to the
outer double-ruled border along the left and right edges. The inner and outer parts
of the border separate in the top-right and
bottom-left corners. The middle part is shaded. The shaded area in the top-right corner
is filled with a lyre and a plant, and the
shaded area in the bottom-left corner is filled with a pattern of identical objects
with flowing tops.
Illustration contains parts of the poem letterpress in two rectangular double-ruled
borders with curved edges, positioned in
the top-center and bottom-center areas of the page. At the center of the illustration,
an armoured man rides a dark horse. The man
has long hair and a sword fastened at his hip. He holds the horse’s reins in his hands;
the horse raises its front hoof. Behind the
man and the horse, a crowd of men fly large, white flags. Some of the men also raise
spears and other weapons in the air. A man at
the right side of the illustration holds a helmet up on the tip of his spear. Full-page
illustration contained within a multi-part
border. The inner part of the border is double-ruled and rectangular with curved corners;
it connects with the borders of the poem
letterpress. The outer part of the border is also double-ruled. There are decorative
horizontal bars that run the full width of the
page at the top and bottom of the page, above and below the central part of the illustration
and behind the poem letterpress. Both
horizontal bars feature an intricate vegetal pattern.
