DAC and Icelandic Hekla Club are exhibiting a traveling version of The Njál Saga Tapestry modeled after the Bayeux Tapestry, a Viking-themed tapestry from Northern France that tells the story of the Norman Invasion of Britain in 1066. Like the Bayeux “Tapestry” – the Njál Saga Tapestry is not truly a tapestry, since tapestries are woven on looms. The Njál Saga Tapestry is a long embroidery, entirely hand-stitched in the Bayeux-style on pure woven linen, using Icelandic wool, hand dyed with local plants.

The Njál Saga Tapestry recounts a local story of 10th and 11th century embattled Vikings, created and embroidered in the heart of Njál’s Saga country, on the Rang River plain, in the town of Hvolsvöllur, South Iceland. Njál’s Saga, or more accurately, The Saga of the Burning of Njál, is considered Iceland’s mightiest saga. Its story and characters are woven into the fabric of Icelandic culture and the saga is read every year, on the same day, from start to finish in the schools and libraries of Iceland.

Exhibition:

Friday, August 15 to Tuesday, August 19.  Exhibit hours are 10 am to 4 pm. Free.

Programs:

Friday, August 15, 7 PM Talk by Claudia Pétursson overview of the tapestry. Free, Registration required. Register here.

Saturday, August 16, 2 PM Embroidery workshop by Claudia Pétursson. $35. Register here.

Sunday, August 17, 2 PM Talk by Claudia Pétursson about the Danish connections in the saga and tapestry. Free, Registration required. Register here.

Embroidery kits for sale here.