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UIcelandX: UOI001X The Medieval Icelandic Sagas

 

Medieval Icelandic Sagas - SYLLABUS

Overview

Course Instructor

Hjalti Snær Ægisson

Beth Rogers

Online Teaching Fellows

Roberto Pagani

Course Description

The Medieval Icelandic Sagas is a short, introductory course on the single most characteristic literary genre of Medieval Iceland. This course will focus on the Sagas of the Icelanders (Íslendingasögur), which were mainly written in the 13th century and are comprised of roughly 40 texts of varying length. This short literature course examines how the people of the medieval Norse world defined themselves through literature and how that literature contributes to our understanding of the culture as it exists today.

We’ll discover how these texts were developed over time, from an earlier oral culture to a genre which travelled outside Iceland and transformed in the later period into new, popular genres that flourished in the courts of Europe.

In this course, you will learn specifically about three Sagas, written at different times, with the aim of giving an overview of the writing period and the genre as a whole. These are The Saga of the People of Eyri (Eyrbyggja saga), The Story of Burnt Njáll (Njáls saga) and The Story of Grettir the Strong (Grettis saga). We will explore the landscape and archaeology of Iceland to see how they can add to our understanding of the Sagas, as well as taking an in-depth look at the most memorable characters and tropes from these stories.

We will create opportunities to engage with an online community of Icelandic and international scholars, learners and others to explore topics relating to Icelandic and Nordic Medieval history beyond the course curriculum.

What You'll Learn in the Course

  • The history of Saga research since the 19th century.
  • The fundamentals of Old Norse textual criticism.
  • The benefits of exploring landscape and archaeological finds when reading the Sagas.
  • Some of the most important character archetypes  in the Sagas.
  • The interplay of Norse mythology, paganism and Christianity in the Sagas.
  • Aspects of the supernatural in the Sagas

Grading

There will be 2 graded assessment types in this course:

  1. Quiz. At the end of weeks 1-5, you will be asked to complete an assessment to be graded by the instructor. The format will consist of 10 questions of varying type which will cover the material of the week.
  2. Final exam. At the end of Week 6, you will be asked to complete a cumulative assessment to be graded by the instructor. The format will consist of 30 questions of varying type which will cover the entirety of course material.

A passing grade in this course is 50%.  

READINGS

For our three selected sagas, PDFs of English translations for relevant scenes and chapters will be provided; however, you are encouraged to read the sagas in their entirety to have the fullest understanding of the literature.

  1. The Story of Burnt Njáll (Njáls saga)

The course team recommends the English translation by Robert Cook. For a public domain English translation, you can use George W. DaSent's version from 1900.

2.              The Saga of the People of Eyri (Eyrbyggja saga)

The course team recommends the English translation by Martin Regal,‎ Judy Quinn, and‎ Vésteinn Ólason. For a public domain English translation, you can use William Morris & Eirikr Magnusson's version from 1892.

3.              The Story of Grettir the Strong (Grettis saga)

The course team recommends the English translation by Örnólfur Thorsson and‎ Bernard Scudder. For a public domain English translation, you can use G. H. Hight's 1913 version.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1--Historical overview. We explore what is unique about the Sagas as a genre, compare some contrasting views on their origin and examine how the Sagas are related to other works of European Medieval literature.

This week, we delve into Norse-Icelandic saga tradition by learning more about sagas as a genre: what they are, how they are composed and why they represent the cultural heritage of a tiny island in the North Atlantic.

This week there is no specific advised reading assignment, though it is encouraged to look over the course material, such as the Glossary and other text provided. See Readings above for more information about the course texts.

Week 2--Manuscripts. We get an overview of the world of Old Norse manuscripts and talk to some experts of Icelandic textual criticism about the extant (and lost) manuscripts of our three main Sagas.

Manuscript culture uses manuscripts to store and disseminate information; in the West, it generally preceded the age of printing. However, Iceland’s love of manuscripts lasted long after the coming of the Age of Print. In early Icelandic manuscript culture, scribes copied manuscripts by hand at a monastery. They copied not just religious works, but a variety of texts such as poetry, sagas, translated romances, and king’s biographies. Medieval manuscript culture deals with the transition of the manuscript from the monasterial centers (e.g. Skálholt, Hólar) to the community.  

 We will cover concepts such as:

  • The oral performances that were our first experiences of these stories we know today
  • How manuscripts were created, compiled, preserved (and lost)
  • Later shifts as the manuscripts gave way to print culture

 

Week 3--Landscape and Archaeology. We visit a few of the most important historical sites of Iceland and ask how they can add to our understanding of the Sagas.

The land itself has always provided the foundation of the Sagas of the Icelanders. Continuing the discussion from the previous week, this unit will allow us to focus on the landscape, focusing on episodes from our stories that emphasize the importance of place, from the site of the national assembly to the farms where saga characters were said to live.

We will learn more about:

  • The foundational book of knowledge about the Icelandic Settlement period, Landnámabók
  • The significance of place names
  • How the medieval Icelandic assemblies, called the þing, functioned

Week 4—Women in the Sagas. We meet some memorable women from our three main Sagas and look at their careers and conflicts. By contextualizing their biographies we come to understand the functioning of the Medieval Icelandic Commonwealth.

This week will focus on representations of females in the sagas, exploring their role in feud dynamics which make up so much of the plot, particularly in Njáls saga. In that story, the complex interplay of honor and social status is exemplified in the character of Hallgerður. Other women in the sagas encourage their husbands to do violence and so maintain their honor, or perform acts of magic to achieve their own ends.

We will research the following:

  • Insults which begin and escalate feuds
  • How  and why women use “whetting,” or goading, to persuade men to continue a feud
  • Women’s roles and power in medieval Icelandic society

Week 5--Paganism and Christianity. We ask how traces of Norse Mythology can be interpreted in the Sagas, even if they are written over two hundred years after paganism officially comes to a close in Iceland. We evaluate the impact of Iceland’s conversion and how it is described in the Sagas.

Paganism is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for populations of the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism. In Iceland, it was used for those who practiced folk rituals or worshipped the Norse gods, such as Freyr or Þórr. After the Conversion of Iceland in 1000, the pagans and Christians were required to work together to keep the Icelandic culture and society intact.

We will explore ideas about:

  • The Conversion of Iceland, and if it was as peaceful as the texts say
  • How pagan rituals remain in the sagas and what they reveal about Icelandic society
  • Historical figures such as King Ólafur Tryggvason, who is said to have built the first Christian church in Norway, in 995.

Week 6--The Supernatural. We address the profusion of supernatural elements, the contradiction at the core of the Sagas’ presumed realism.

Dreams and vampires and ghost-slayers, oh my! This week is devoted to all that cannot be explained by the laws of nature. The class will embark on literary analysis of supernatural elements across the saga genre. Grettis saga is the star of the week, as it tells the story of how one man battles the supernatural for much of his life.

We will discover more about:

  • The use of prophetic dreams in sagas
  • Common supernatural beings in the sagas such as draugr, fylgjur and Landvættir
  • Concepts of the afterlife in Norse-Icelandic culture

FAQ

How long does the course take?

There are 6 weeks of content plus, with some weeks containing additional ungraded bonus material. This course is instructor-paced. You have until [date and time] to complete all materials.

When is work due? Are there deadlines?

This course will run in self-paced mode. This means that you can go through the content and assessments at your own pace. The discussion threads can also be accessed and are a resource of useful information, complementing the videos. But if you pose a comment there, it is uncertain if and when feedback will be provided.

You can request a verified certificate at any time once you've completed the course with a grade of 50% or higher.

I am doing well on the assessments, but when I look under "Progress," I have a very low grade. Why?

The grade is calculated based on all of the assessments you have completed and the assessments that you have not completed (EdX says you have a "zero" on those assessments until you have attempted them). You will see your overall grade improve as you progress through the course.

Whom can I contact if I have a question or problem?

For questions regarding the edX platform, you can contact edX via https://www.edx.org/contact-us.

HONOR CODE

UIcelandX requires individuals who enroll in its courses to abide by the terms of the edX honor code. UIcelandX will take appropriate corrective action in response to violations of the edX honor code, which may include dismissal from the UIcelandX course; revocation of any certificates received for the UIcelandX course; or other remedies as circumstances warrant. No refunds will be issued in the case of corrective action for such violations. Enrollees who are taking UIcelandX courses as part of another program will also be governed by the academic policies of those programs.

NONDISCRIMINATION / ANTI-HARASSMENT

University of Iceland and UIcelandX are committed to maintaining a safe and healthy educational and work environment in which no member of the community is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination or harassment in, our program. All members of the UIcelandX community are expected to abide by University of Iceland policies on nondiscrimination, including sexual harassment, and the edX Terms of Service. If you have any questions or concerns, please report your experience to the Equality Opportunities Officer of the University of Iceland.