Decisive and opinionated, gets into discussions and arguments frequently. Makes harsh and hurtful remarks about other people.

Hardworking, but still thinks it’s never enough.

Had twins when she was quite young, but has had several miscarriages since. Is very protective of her children even as they grow up and has trouble letting them go. It’s especially the son, Arngrímr, who rebels against her. The daughter, Arndís, is more conforming to her demands.

Used to be religious, but her own misadventures in spite of all the worship have made her doubtful.

Likes:

  • the few moments in late summer, after haymaking and before gathering the sheep, when there is little to do on the farm and she can sit outside and spin and talk to her children
  • repeating the [Irish] songs and poems her mother taught her, and teaching them to her daughter
  • having made winter provisions and knowing that the snowfall will begin any day now and that it’s going to be okay

Dislikes:

  • strong believers in fate
  • people who made their fortune on other people’s misery, like slave traders
  • men who think their opinion is more valuable just because they’re men
  • the moods her husband gets in when he drinks

Questions and Answers

Did viking age clothes have buttons?

I will have to check that. At the moment, I haven’t used any pictures with buttoned-down clothes for my fictional vikings. This shirt has embellishments that look a bit like buttons. I decided to accept that when I was redoing her portrait. Þórhalla is wealthy, so she would be able to afford a little bling. Also, her husband was a trader, and maybe he brought something home that was a little different from what they had.

Why did you change Þórhalla’s portrait anyway?

For those of you who don’t know my first batch of 25 fantasy vikings, which I published in PDF form, Þórhalla had one of the “old style” portraits (made with the Splicer, not the Collager on Artbreeder.) I liked the way she looked very much, and her children’s portraits (Arndís and Arngrímr) resemble her closely, but what I had totally overlooked was the fact that, in that picture, she wore mascara.

Þórhalla Arndís Arngrímr

I have tried removing her make-up in the Splicer, but all I managed was to make her look older or more cheerful. Both are characteristics I don’t want for her. So I decided to remake her entirely but try to keep her beautiful features, her pale complexion, and her only very slightly arrogant expression insofar it was possible. I’m afraid she has lost some of her stunning self-assurance in the new picture, she’s now more vulnerable. I’m not entirely happy with it and might change it again, at the moment I just changed her story to make it a better fit. The new reddish tint of the hair I like, after all she has [Irish] ancestry, the name Kjartan has a Gaelic origin. (About the use of country names)