I enjoy studying classic buildings to learn their history and meaning. A good example is the National Theater in Oslo. I looked beyond the Ionic columns toward the relief inside the pediment. The carving shows armed soldiers chaining a Norse woman. I suspect this is a scene from the play “The Vikings at Helgeland.” The 10th century plot begins when Dagny, the daughter of Icelandic chieftain Ørnulf, is abducted by a sea-king named Sigurd the Strong. It ends with the deaths of her seven brothers who try to rescue her. The tragedy was written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in 1857.
