The Old Norse-Icelandic Literary Corpus – Overview and Main Questions
2022: The Old Norse-Icelandic literary corpus is one of the largest text corpora of medieval European literature. Exploring its origins, history and genres is among the tasks of this ten-credit course: The Poetic Edda, Snorri Sturluson’s Edda, Skaldic poetry, important saga genres such as Kings’ Sagas, Sagas of Icelanders, Legendary Sagas and Bishops’ Sagas as well as encyclopedic literature will be discussed in class and read in excerpts. International scholars have been interested in different genres of the corpus for over two centuries. Students will be introduced to this rich history of scholarship and will be made familiar with both more "classical" theories and recent approaches. Finally, students will be introduced to post medieval and modern reception of Old Norse text genres.
The Kings’ sagas
2022: The Old Icelandic Kings’ sagas tell us about events in Northern Europe from a mythical time until the 13th century. However, they are not a report of what really happened in the past, but rather the literary attempt to elaborate on fundamental principles of historical development. Interestingly enough, the focus of many Kings‘ sagas seems to be on challenges, obstacles, and failures of kingship, whereas successful rulership is often marginalized in the narrative. What does this mean for our understanding of medieval Nordic history? In this course, several Kings‘ sagas are read in depth, seeking to find out more about their historiographical, narratological and anthropological dimensions.
Medieval literature
2022: The course focuses on the various ways in which medieval texts can be studied, referring to both medieval or modern literary theory. The characteristics of medieval textual culture will be discussed, as well as medieval attitudes to fact and fiction, entertainment and edification. Texts representing all of the most important genres of Icelandic medieval literature will be read.
Egils saga Skallagrímssonar
2022: This course discusses one of the most prominent Sagas of Icelanders, and uses this saga to exemplify the most important research questions regarding medieval literature. Among other things, we will talk about the author of Egils saga, the significance of emotions, both natural and supernatural things and their significance in the saga, the ambiguity of Egill as a poet and warrior, but also his travels in Northern Europe, as well as his relationship to the Norwegian kings. Egils saga will be read in its entirety, but also relevant scholarly publications from the 20th and 21st centuries.
Old Norse Poetry (Eddic and Skaldic)
2021: Eddic poetry and Skaldic poetry are the main types of Old Norse poetry. Modern research on mythology and heroic lay is depended on these texts, but already medieval authors quoted them in order to strengthen their stories. From this point of view, Eddic and Skaldic poetry are the backbone of Old Norse literature. This course talks about different poems from the 9th to the 14th century, about their significance for Old Norse literature, about differences between Eddic and Skaldic poetry, as well as the history of research since the 19th century.
Snorri Sturluson: Edda, Kings’ sagas, and Skaldic Poetry
2021: Snorri Sturluson ranks among the most popular individuals in the medieval North, and is considered the author of the Edda, Heimskringla, and maybe Egils saga. Medieval Icelandic Studies today rely on Snorri in various ways, and it is important to know both the author and his work in order to be able to put medieval Icelandic literature into its larger context. In this class, we will look at Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál and thus Skaldic Poetry, the Kings‘ sagas in Heimskringla, Fagrskinna and Morkinskinna, and last but not least Egils saga. We will read texts from these works, and the main focus will be on understanding and interpreting them in the context of medieval society, literary history and present scholarship.
Sagas of Icelanders
2021: The subject is the Sagas of Icelanders and the Tales of Icelanders. Among the topics of discussion are the preservation of these texts, their origins and sources, and how they have classified and defined as saga groups. Also under review will be their structure and aesthetics, their cultural context and scholarly methods in dealing with them. Our main focus will be on Egils saga Skallagrímssonar and Króka-Refs saga.
Gods, men and demogorgons in Nordic sources
2020: We will talk about the most important literary sources on pagan customs and religions aside from Christianity, including the Prose Edda, Eddic and Skaldic poetry, legendary sagas, and sagas of Icelanders. We will look at Æsir, albs, giants, beasts, and plants, and deal with mythology and the supernatural as presented in Old Norse literature. Participating students are expected to work independently as well as in groups.
Old Icelandic literature – A history of scholarship
2020: The reemergence of scholarship on Old Icelandic literature is connected to the Europe-wide influence of humanism, but only as of the 19th century, in the context of growing nationalism, did it start to develop for real. Important theories on the origins of Old Iceland literature were introduced, leading to a decades-long debate among scholars from Iceland, Norway, Germany, and other countries. After the Second World War, however, scholars were forced to put to the test new ways of assessing Germanic lore, often by turning their back on older research – which thus continued to be the starting point of many new ideas. From this point of view, in the early 21st century, scholars in the field of Old Icelandic literature are still entangled with this history of research. It is important to understand this connection in order to appreciate what the study of Old Icelandic literature is all about, both regarding theories, research methods, and the role of medieval studies in society.
Medieval literature
2020: The course focuses on the various ways in which medieval texts can be studied, referring to both medieval or modern literary theory. The characteristics of medieval textual culture will be discussed, as well as medieval attitudes to fact and fiction, entertainment and edification. Texts representing all of the most important genres of Icelandic medieval literature will be read.
Snorri’s Edda in its European context
2019: Snorri’s Edda is among our most important sources about Norse mythology, but it also witnesses the noteworthy impact of learned continental discourse. This class focuses on the influence of theology on Gylfaginning and the so-called Prologue in Snorri’s Edda, but will also take into account several chapters in Ynglinga saga which are related to Gylfaginning. Moreover, Skáldskaparmál will be discussed in the light of European poetry since antiquity. Selected medieval texts will be read as well as scholarly publications on a number of central issues with these texts. Students are expected to participate in class via discussions and individual projects.
Skaldic poems and their contexts
2019: The tradition of Skaldic poetry is one of the most potent literary traditions of the Nordic Middle Ages. One of the characteristics of skaldic poems is their preservation as a part of larger texts, in particular the sagas of Icelanders, the kings’ sagas and Snorra-Edda. The course is concerned with all these texts and the skaldic poems they preserve: mythological poems, poems depicting battles and wars between kings, and yet others that concern personal matters. We will discuss verses as sources and verses as part of the surrounding narrative. Particular attention will be given to the figurative language of the category. Finally, we will discuss editions, theories about age and the historical value of skaldic poetry.
The Kings’ Sagas
2019: The focus will be on the beginnings of royal historiography, and the reading of some of the most famous Kings’ sagas from a historical and literary perspective: Oddr Snorrason’s Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar, Ynglinga saga and Óláfs saga helga in Heimskringla, as well as Morkinskinna and Sverris saga. Some Legendary sagas on ancient kings will be read following the same principles. The history of research on these literary sources will be discussed as well as the main problems with specific texts. Students are expected to participate in class via presentations and discussions as well as individual projects.
Viking Age Iceland – History, Society, and Archaeology
2018: This class surveys the history, society and archaeology of Viking Age Iceland. Students read medieval sagas and modern historical, anthropological and literary studies. The lectures focus on the ways in which Icelandic society evolved throughout the Viking Age (ca. 790–1100 AD), and explore aspects of everyday life, politics, belief systems, and the role of blood feud. Sagas will be read, and their value as a source for Viking Age Iceland will be discussed. At times the course turns to archaeological finds, and how they relate to later written sources. Students are expected to participate in class via discussions and individual projects.
Icelandic medieval literature in a European context
2018: This class surveys the medieval Icelandic literature in its European context, starting with the so-called Migration Period in the 5th and 6th centuries, and tracing the development of storytelling in Western and Northern Europe until the late Middle Ages. The lectures focus on different genres of Old Norse literature (including skaldic and Eddic poetry, Snorri’s Edda, Kings’ sagas, Sagas of Icelanders, and learned treatises) and tie these texts both to the historical development of medieval Europe and to other medieval texts in the vernacular. Students are expected to participate in class via the discussion of medieval texts and recent scholarly publications, as well as via individual projects.
Reading the medieval sagas
2018: This ten-credit course presents methods of reading different types of medieval sagas, based on a variety of theoretical approaches. The sagas under study belong to the genres of Íslendingasögur (sagas about early Icelanders), riddarasögur (chivalric sagas), and konungasögur (kings’ sagas). They will be read in English translation though references will also be made to the original texts.
2017: This ten-credit course presents methods of reading different types of medieval sagas, based on a variety of theoretical approaches. The sagas under study belong to the genres of fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda (legendary sagas), Íslendingasögur (sagas about early Icelanders), and konungasögur (kings’ sagas). They will be read in English translation though references will also be made to the original texts.
2016: A selection of sagas about early Icelanders, kings’ sagas and legendary sagas will be read in English translation, but with reference to the original text. Narrative technique will be studied, as well as structure, characterization and staging. The mental world of the sagas will also be studied as well as the way they represent society.
The Old Norse-Icelandic Literary Corpus – Overview and Main Questions
2015: This course offers a detailed presentation of the Old Norse-Icelandic literary corpus, covering all of the major types of texts (poetry, sagas, laws, encyclopedic literature, etc.). The main scholarly issues will be discussed as well as the history of scholarship in the field. A selection of texts will be read in translation.