Meet the Anton Fellows: The fury of the Northmen

Interview with Margaret Bethray
"From the fury of the Northmen, deliver us, O Lord!"--medieval prayer

English major Margaret Bethray '04 is fascinated by the culture of the Northmen-better know to us as Vikings-and the literature of that "Dark Age." Thanks to an Anton Fellowship, she was able to study Viking culture in England and Scotland during summer 2002. Subsequently, she continued her studies through Clark's study-abroad program at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. An Alice Higgins Scholar grant enabled her to return to Scotland's Orkney Islands in summer 2003 to write and reflect on the findings of her earlier trips. In a recent conversation, summarized below, she discussed her fascination with Viking culture and early English literature, interests she's hoping to unite in a senior honor's thesis.

How did you come to apply for an Anton Fellowship to study Viking culture?

As a child, I became fascinated with Norse myths, which played an important part in Viking culture. My father's family is from Britain, so I've been there many times. During one of these trips I visited York--called Jorvik by the Vikings--and its Viking museum. Outside the museum were military re-enactors dressed as Vikings in full armor. I was fascinated!

After I started at Clark, I reconnected with Norse myths when I took a class called Wagner, the Jews and the Nazis.* In class we examined how the Nazis used the operas of Richard Wagner as propaganda. Many of these operas were based on ancient Norse myths, tweaked a bit by Wagner for his own purposes. These myths were the stories that Vikings told among themselves and believed in.

So by the spring of my sophomore year, when it was time to submit proposals for the Anton Fellowship, I realized I had already read a lot about Vikings and was seriously interested in them. I thought, 'Why don't I see how much further I can go with this?'

In my proposal, I requested funds to tour Viking sites in England and Scotland, including York and the Orkney Islands off the northern tip of Scotland. There's a wealth of Viking artifacts, tombs and museums in Britain. I also wanted to go to Maidstone, England to see the Military Odyssey, which recreates military troops from Celtic times to Desert Storm, including the Vikings. In that way I would be able to meet some "Vikings" and talk with them. It turned out to be a spectacular journey. I had an amazing time.

What was the culmination of your fellowship?

Long before I was accepted for the Anton Fellowship, I had started jotting down notes about Viking culture. At Goddard Library I was stupefied by the books there--an incredible wealth of resources. By the time the grant became available, I had about 40 pages of notes, Then, during the trip itself I sketched and wrote about what I saw.

When I came back to the U.S., I concentrated this information into two formats. The first was an illustrated book, about 100 pages long with a 4-page bibliography. The second consisted of a display of Viking costume with armor that I reconstructed. So that I could make it as realistic as possible, I visited the web sites of some forges and armorers. And I made some clothes for myself. Not being a seamstress at the time, I came to realize how difficult clothing manufacture must have been before sewing machines and pre-made fabrics!

And you created the illustrations yourself?

Yes. One of the things I loved about the trip was finding people who thought they had Viking roots. Britain is such a melting pot of different cultures, pre-Celts, Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Normans. When I was in a pub in the Orkneys I found a man with a big beard and seafaring blue eyes who looked to me like an elderly jarl. Later I went to a birds-of-prey center at Stoneham Barns, and took a day course in flying hawks and owls. From these two visits I put together a sketch of a Viking jarl with a hawk. I modeled the face of the jarl on that of the man in the pub. I also took some photos of a man I met in Norwich. Using him as a model, I created a painting of Loki, the Norse god of mischief, complete with tattoos. It was a big project on many levels.

At the end of that summer, I believe you continued your studies during fall semester 2002 at the University of East Anglia?

Yes. And there was a connection with my summer trip, in that Norwich, where the University is located, is an old Viking town, with a lot of Viking artifacts, surnames, streets names, etc. So I spent the fall semester discovering Viking Norwich.

Have you been back to Britain since your semester in Norwich?

Yes, I went back to the Orkneys this past summer (2003), thanks to an Alice Higgins Scholar grant that I received. The English department suggested that I find a place to go for a week to write and revise the work I'd done so far. I chose to go back to the Orkneys.

Are you continuing this year with your interest in Viking culture?

Yes. During my sophomore year I had studied the Epic of Beowulf with Professor Virginia Vaughan. Beowulf was a product of the pre-Viking Anglo-Saxon culture, but it shares similarities with many of the Viking sagas. I loved Beowulf! It's full of bravery, fighting, the supernatural, and monsters. Having read a lot about the Viking sagas, I've decided to use my senior honor's thesis to explore similarities between those sagas and Beowulf. I think I'd like to focus on the comitatus, the warrior band, or on the identity of Grendel, whom Beowulf slays. Was Grendel an undead warrior who returned or a monster?

Have you had an opportunity to bring any of what you've learned into the community?

I'm hoping to make a presentation about Vikings to the Boy Scouts and to a school in Connecticut where my mother works. I'll be giving a talk tomorrow in Professor Vaughan's class, which currently is studying Beowulf. I hope to convey to the students at both places some of my own enthusiasm for the subject.

What has receiving the Anton Fellowship meant to you?

When the Antons funded me, not only creatively and as a student was I inspired, but that they would give me time and money to do something that I loved so much made me really look at some of my interests and say 'maybe they're hobbies, but maybe I could really go with them.' That belief that the Antons have in the Fellows is a tremendous gift to give to any student. By not having a grade riding on the outcome of my project, I felt free to pursue the subject from different angles, whether it was costume or armor reconstruction, settlement exploration, or using birds of prey for hunting. A project like this takes on a life of its own--there are so many ways it can inspire you.
* For information on another student inspired by this class, see an interview with Matthew Gilbert.