Tag: History
-
Introducing the Course: Medieval Iceland
“The story goes that some people wanted to sail from Norway to the Faroes—a viking called Naddodd, to name one of them. They were driven out to sea westwards, and came to a vast country.” (landnámabók, 16) Far to the north lies a small island called Iceland. Settled by vikings, it eventually would become an…
-
Law in the Viking Age
This week is a brief, uncomplicated overview of Viking Age Law. Most of this material, however, has been gathered from sources that pertain to later medieval Iceland. Still, the roots of Icelandic law run back to Viking Age Norwegian law. Keeping that in mind however, our understanding can never be without some level of doubt.…
-
Sagas: Icelanders and Style
Last week, we discussed the two saga genres of Fornaldarsögur (mythical-heroic sagas) and Konungasögur (king sagas). This week, we will be discussing the third genre of saga literature:Íslendingasögur (family sagas). This final genre actually makes up the bulk of saga literature we have. It is also the genre that is most studied for historical information, in regards to medieval…
-
Sagas: Skalds and Poetry
This week we will begin a discussion on skalds (poets) and their tradition. Poetry had a much higher value in the medieval world than it does today. Words had power, so much so that they could even physically deform you. Law texts specifically note punishments for slandering someone’s name. This is not only unique to Scandinavian region…
-
Sagas: Snorri and Eddas
This week we will continue our discussion of Viking Age related literature by entering the realm of the Edda and Eddic poetry. We will start by discussing an important Icelander named Snorri Sturluson, discussing the literature that has preserved much of our mythological material. Contents: Snorri Sturluson (d. 1241) Snorri Sturluson was a prominent member of…
-
Norse and Celtic Overlap in Sagas
no-destiny asked: Hey! I just found your blog and now I’m in love with it. So, I felt free to make some questions! First I wanna ask about a post, tagged in the “Celtic History” link, where you said that Ireland was mentioned in the Viking Sagas and that the Vikings where also said in the…
-
Viking Age Writing: Runes
This week’s lesson will explore the history of runes during the Viking Age. The younger futhark will be the prime focus of discussion, since those were the runes used throughout the Viking Age, but I will still touch on each set of Futhark during this lesson. I am by no means an expert, but this lesson…
-
Strong Women in Norse Mythology, Sagas, and History
Anonymous asked: Hello, im not sure if you already postet something on this topic but could you tell me a bit about strong women in the viking age or mythologie? (Links to your blog post about that topic would help 2) Thank you in advance, your blog is beautiefull ♡ I have only touched on this…
-
Viking Spirituality
Spirituality, in historical terms, is something quite difficult to assess. That being said, I do not expect to touch on everything nor to be the only interpretation that is out there. This lesson will also be a little sparse on detailed information. Instead, it will focus more on giving a general impression of spirituality during…
-
Norse Mythology: Gods and Races, Part 3
At last, we reach the final segment of this lesson on Norse Mythology. This will actually conclude our discussion of Norse Mythology, moving next to something related – spirituality. Following that lesson will be runes. This lesson will cover some of the major races of the Norse Cosmology: Giants, Dwarves, Elves, Valyries, and Norns. These are most…
-
Notes on Viking Age Social Classes
gothic-metalhead-deactivated202 asked: Hi – in your previous “crash course” post you mentioned nordic social classes – Thrall, Karl and Jarl. I’ve got 3 questions to this: 1. – what’s the plural form of those words in old norse? (Because I guess these are old norse words) 2. – how about Konung? Were they equall with kings/princes…
-
Women’s Rights in the Viking Age
1224isy-blog asked: Rights of women in Viking times? Maybe their side of the myths I really like this question, especially since women in the Viking Age are among my favorite subject areas for the period. I actually have a lot I can provide for women’s rights, notably for the period directly following Viking Age Iceland. As…
