Exploration of the heroic narratives of the Northern Middle Ages with a focus on both the hero and the heroic ethos in a period or radical cultural, social and religious change and on a particular body of literature, the Scandinavian versions of Germanic heroic narrative. Required of majors.

Scandinavian 60 is a requirement for the five major concentrations in Scandinavian. A hamstrung goldsmith. A cross-dressing god. A teenage dragonslayer. A warrior who fights in the form of a bear. A deceived queen who takes a terrible revenge on her closest family. The most beautiful and intelligent woman in Iceland, who buries three husbands. These are just a few of the remarkable stories which have survived almost a thousand years from when they were composed by anonymous Scandinavian poets and authors. What gave these narratives their contemporary relevance, and why have they survived so long? The time these stories come from (c. 800-1300 CE) was a period of radical change in Scandinavia, from the pagan warrior societies of the Viking Age, to the Christian, literate, centralized world of the Middle Ages. In this course, you will learn about the literature and other media of Viking Age and medieval Scandinavia, and explore how these stories of gods, kings, warriors, shield-maidens and tragic lovers relate to the social changes taking place at the time they were enjoyed by their first audiences. You will acquire tools for reading and interpreting texts and artifacts from distant times and places, and explore some of the recent resonances of these narratives in various media (e.g. music, film, TV, graphic novels, games). Texts The Poetic Edda, trans. by Carolyne Larrington, revised edition (Oxford: 2014). The Saga of the Volsungs, trans. by Jesse Byock (Penguin: 2000). The Saga of King Hrolf kraki, trans. by Jesse Byock (Penguin: 1998) The Saga of the People of Laxardal and Bolli Bollason's Tale, trans. by Keneva Kunz (Penguin: 2008). Further texts will be provided on bcourses.

Prerequisites: none. The course and readings are in English.

The course will consist of lecture and discussion, with a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous elements.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills