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Home , Hersir, North Sea Empire, Piraeus Lion, Siege of Paris (845), Viking art

Hist3593

The and

their World

Dr. Jennifer MacDonald Office: 447 BAC Office Hours: Mondays 3:50-5:10; Wednesdays 3:50 -7:00; Fridays 10:30-12:00 Email: [email protected] Phone: 585-1243

Course Description: The people of , living between 780 and 1100, are often referred to as Vikings, but who were they really? Warriors with horned helmets? Misunderstood farmers and traders? Democratic poets? This course presents an interdisciplinary and balanced view of the Vikings and their culture, society and journeys of exploration, commerce, settlement and conquest.

Course Objectives: In this course, we will be looking at a period which has often been misrepresented in popular culture. You will think about the challenges this presents. We will make heavy use of written primary sources, so you can improve your ability to work with historical documents. Also, you will think about how historians can use other types of sources when evaluating the past. You will be required to present your own theories and ideas. You will work on your communication skills. You will take significant control over your own work, working to flexible deadlines with your reading assignments and creating your own essay topics. Overall, I aim to provide you with an enjoyable experience through which you will enhance your knowledge of the subject at hand and improve your academic skills.

Marking Assignment Due Date Weight Record your mark Participation Continuously 5% Primary Source Review September 18 15% Midterm October 7 15% Essay Proposal October 30 10% Essay November 25 25% Exam See Registrar’s Office 30%

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Textbooks Haywood, J. The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings. Toronto: Penguin. (Optional) (H) Somerville, A.A and R.A. McDonald (eds.). The Age: A Reader. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010. (SM) Roesdahl, E. The Vikings. Toronto: Penguin, 1991. (R)

Readings and Schedule The reading schedule is a guideline. Topics will be covered in roughly this order, but topics may carry on into the next day(s) depending on this class’s particular interests. All adjustments will be discussed in class and it is your responsibility to stay on top of the reading schedule.

September 4 Introduction to Course, Who were the Vikings?

September 9 Pre-Viking Scandinavia and Sources for the H: 8-25, 94-5 R: 9-22, 25-29, 46-51, 177-184 SM: Introduction; # 2. A Description of the Islands of the North; # 103. Advice from

September 11 Social Classes and Gender H:28-29, 44-45 R:30-41, 62-63 SM: #3. The Lay of Rig; #6. How the Hersir Erling Treated His Slave; #22. Queen Gunnhild Has her Way with Hrut; #24. A Warrior-Woman; #26. Gudrun Osvifrsdaughter's Incitement of her Sons; #27. The Goading of Hildigunn;#28. (a) The Betrothal of Olaf Hoskuldsson; #29. (a) How Gudrun Divorced Thorvald; #29(b) Vigdis Divorces Thord Goddi

September 16 Gender and Warfare H: 34-35, 84-85 R: 59-61, 140-146, plate 8 & 21 SM: #30 (a) Earl Rognvald Kali on Being a Gentleman; #30 (c) Olaf Tryggvason, of ; #31 (a) Odin's Berserks; #31 (b) The Rage of Skallagrim and Egil; 31 (c) Egil Fights a Berserk; #32 (a) King Magnus Barelegs Dresses to Kill; #32 (b) The Sword Skofnung; #32 (d) Saint Olaf's Sword, Hneitir; #32(e) Viking Age Swords; #38. (b) Olaf Tryggvason at the Battle of Svold; #38. (c) Rognvald and Thorfinn the Mighty Fight It Out in the Orkneys; #83. The Death of Thormod Kolbrunarskald

September 18 Pagan Gods, Heroes and Myth H: 26-27, R: 147-158, plate 11, 12, 16 & 24 SM: #8. The Creation-Myth; #9. Ragnarok; #11. Odin's Wisdom and ; #12. Odin Welcomes Eirik Bloodax to ; #13. Odin Hangs on ; #14(a) The Death of King Vikar; #14(b) The Deaths of Domaldi and Olaf Tretelgja; #16. The Temple at Uppsala; #18. King Harald Gormsson and the Land-Spirits; #19(a) An Arab Description of a Viking Funeral; #19 (c) Odin Orders Cremation and Becomes a God; #19(d) The Death of Baldur the Good; #19(e) Gunnar's Burial Mound; #20(a) Gunnar's Posthumous Poem

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September 23 State formation in Scandinavia H: 29-35, 136-137 R: 64-77, plate 1 & 12 SM: #4. Politics in Harald Finehair's Norway; # 94. Harald Finehair and the Unification of Norway; #95. State-Making in : The Stone; #96. State-Making in Denmark: Unification and Expansion; #97. Knut the Great and the North Sea

September 25 Settlement Patterns: Rural and Military H: 36-37 R: 41-45, 94-107, 129-140, plate 13 & 14

September 30 Settlement Patterns: Towns and Trade H: 38-39, 42-43 R: 108-128, plate 4, 9, 10 SM: #77. Advice for Sailors and Merchants

October 2 Travel and Transport H: 40-41 R: 78-93, plate 2, 3 & 15 SM: # 33. King Olaf Tryggvason Builds the Long Serpent; #35. King Sverrir's Mariasud; #37. Animal Heads on the Prows of Ships; #67. Sailing Directions and Distances in the North Atlantic

October 7 ***Midterm***

October 9 Reasons for Expansion, and the Baltic H: 46-53, 104-105 R: 187-194, 277-283 SM: #39. On the Causes of the ; #78. Egil in Youth and Old Age

October 14 Thanksgiving, No Classes

October 16 H: 100-109, R: 283 –292 SM: #61. On the Arrival of the ; #62. A Muslim Diplomat Meets Viking Merchants; #63. River Routes to Constantinople

October 21 Byzantium and the Islamic World H: 124-5 R: 283 –292 SM: #38. (d) Earl Rognvald in the Mediterranean; # 50(a) Ibn al-Kutia; #50 (b) Ibn Adhari; #58. The Lion; #59. The Rus; #60. The Rus Attack Constantinople; #64. A Norwegian Soldier of Fortune in the East; #65. Rus Expeditions to the Middle East

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October 23 France & Viking H: 54-61, 64-65, 80-83, 124-5 R: 168-177, 195-209, plates between 104&105 and 230 &231 SM: #7. The Life of Anskar; #46. and Vikings, 800-829; #47. The Northmen in France, 843-865; #48. The Annals of St-Vast, 882-886; #49. An Account of the Siege of , 885- 886; #57. Rollo Obtains Normandy from the King of the Franks

October 28 H: 76-79, 130-131 R: 210-216 SM: #38. (c) Rognvald and Thorfinn the Mighty Fight It Out in the Orkneys; #53. Ketil Flatnose and his Descendants in the Hebrides; #54. Earl and the Establishment of the Earldom of Orkney ; #55. Runic Inscriptions from Maes Howe, Mainland, Orkney; #79. Svein Asleifarson's Viking Life; #98. The Earldom of Orkney at Its Zenith

October 30 and Wales H: 128-9 R: 216-220 SM: 56. Runic Inscriptions from the Isle of Man

November 4 Ireland H: 72-75 R: 221-232 SM: #43. Viking Raids on Ireland, 795-842; #45. Irish Resistance to the ; #52. The Vikings in Ireland, 845-917; #99. The Battle of Clontarf, 1014

November 6 H: 54-55, 62-3, 66-71, 110-115, 118-123, 126-7 R: 233-261, plate 27 SM: #40. Viking Raids on England, 789-850/1; #41. Alcuin's Letter to King Athelred, 793; #42. An English Gospel Book Ransomed from the Vikings; #51. Viking Activities in England, 851- 900; #97. Knut the Great and the ; #100. The Bridge, 1066

November 11 Remembrance Day, No Classes

November 13 The Faeroes, and the Althing H: 86-93 R: 262-271 SM: #21. Unn the Deep-Minded Takes Control of her Life; #66. The Islands in the Northern Ocean, ca 825; #67. Sailing Directions and Distances in the North Atlantic; #68. The Western Ocean; #69. Adam of Bremen on Iceland; #70(a) The Book of the Icelanders; #70(b) The Book of Settlements; #70(c) The of the People of Eyri; #71. Skallagrim's Landtake in Iceland; #81. The Death of Gunnar; #82. The Burning of Njal

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November 18 and the Conversion to H: 32-33, 96-97, 117, 132-133 R: 158-167, 271-274, plate 17, 18 & 28 SM: #7. The Life of Anskar; #72. (a) The Book of the Icelanders; #72(b) The Book of Settlements; #73. The King's Mirror on Greenland; #84. The Conversion of the under ; #85. Olaf Tryggvason and the Conversion of Norway; #86. A Poet Abandons the Old Gods; #87. The Christianization of Norway under Saint Olaf; #88. The Conversion of the Icelanders; #89. The Conversion of Greenland; #91. Christianity in ; #92. Christianity and the Church in Norway; #93. The Travels of King Sigurd, Jerusalem-Farer; #95. State-Making in Denmark: The Jelling Stone

November 20 Vikings in America, Part I H: 98-99 R: 274-276 SM: #23. The Prowess of Freydis, Daughter of Eirik the Red; #74. Adam of Bremen on ; #75. The Norse Discovery of Vinland; #76. Thorfinn Karlsefni in Vinland

November 25 Vikings in America, Part II Readings TBA

November 27 Contraction of the Viking World H: 115-117, 134-5 R: 295-7 SM: #99. The Battle of Clontarf, 1014; #100. The Battle of Stamford Bridge, 1066; #101. The Decline of the Earls of Orkney; #102. The Battle of Largs, 1263

December 2 Catch up and Review SM: #103. Advice from Odin

Description of Assignments

General Instructions, Referencing and formatting: All papers must be properly referenced using Turabian style footnotes and bibliographies. You may not cite class lectures. You may not use Wikipedia or other non-specialist websites. If you have questions about acceptable web resources, come see me. All assignments must use both primary and secondary sources. Please double space your papers, use a font like 12pt Times New Roman, use 2.54cm margins, and number your pages. Add a title on at the beginning of your paper, include my name and the course number, and put your name on the right hand side of the first page. Word counts include everything except the bibliographies and you must write the word count on the opening page. If you are having problems with any assignment, please come see me during office hours.

Class participation: You are expected to come to class and to do the readings for each class. You will be marked on oral participation and written work done during class in groups and/or as individuals. You will also be given marks for contributing to discussions on Acorn. Criteria for marking include sophistication and completeness of ideas, originality of thought, knowledge of material covered and ability to present the material clearly. Poor attendance will lead to failing participation marks.

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Document Analysis: In this assignment, you will focus on one document in order to learn about aspects on Viking culture and society. The document options are listed below. All documents can be found in your SM reader. The main body of the document analysis must be 1100-1300 words long. If you wish to examine material culture or a document from another source, speak to me in person about your selection.

You will explain the source of the passage and discuss what we can learn by reading it. The best document analyses contain an argument and often focus on one specific idea. While you are concentrating on developing your own ideas about the document, you must make significant use of secondary sources. Failure to use secondary sources will lead to poor grades on this assignment.

Document choices: 1. The Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan 5. Hoskuld Buys a Slave 10. A Prophetess in Greenland 15. Sigurd, the Earl of Lade, Sacrifices to the Gods 17. A Temple in Iceland 19. (b) Snorri's History of Burial Practices 20. (b) Grettir's Fight with Glam 25. Gudrun Drives her Sons to Take Revenge 28. (b) How Unn Mordsdaughter Found Herself Betrothed 29. (c) How Aud Dealt with her Humiliating Divorce 30. (b) Gunnar Hamundarson, the Ideal Warrior 31. (d) Grettir Fights a Berserk 32. (c) , Sigurd, and the Sword Gram 34. Harald Sigurdarson's Splendid Ship 38. (a) A Hard-Fought Sea-Battle at Bute 44. The Martyrdom of Blathmac, 825 80. The Meet Their End 90. The Conversion of Orkney

Essay & Essay Proposal: You are free to choose any topic you wish, but this assignment must differ substantially from the document analysis. Topic selection for essays on the Vikings can be problematic and this assignment is intended to ensure that you have all chosen doable projects. As you work, concentrate on creating a strong thesis statement and backing up your ideas with evidence from primary sources. You must also use a good variety of secondary sources.

For the proposal, you must submit a polished thesis statement, an indication of how you will build your argument, and annotated bibliography. It is to your advantage to put as much work into this as possible. Detailed work at this stage will help you better prepare for the essay and will earn you higher marks. These are due on the date specified on the first page of the syllabus, but you may submit them earlier if you wish. Note: late and/or missing assignments at this stage can cause great problems later in the term.

The proposal is to be a sophisticated piece of work. There are two major sections to this assignment. You should begin a proposal of 275-325 words. Within this section, I want you to present your thesis statement. At this point, it should be clear, concise and carefully considered. You must demonstrate how you are going to prove your thesis. The second part of this

Page 6 of 8 assignment is an annotated bibliography. This is to be divided into a section on primary sources and one on secondary sources. For each source you have found you are to provide a full and properly formatted biographical entry. Under each entry you are to write a short paragraph telling me what sort of information is in the source and how it will be useful to you. The proposal will be marked on style, the level of detail supplied, and the viability of the topic as presented.

The essay itself must be 3000-3200 words long. The essay will be graded on its own merits, including content, argument, and style. As you work, concentrate on creating a strong thesis statement and backing up your ideas with evidence from primary sources. You must also use a good variety of secondary sources.

Midterm: The midterm will take place in class. It will include short answer, primary source, and essay questions. It may cover any of the material in your assigned readings and anything discussed in class.

Final Exam: The exam will take place during the exam period. The first section of the exam will similar to the midterm and will be on material covered after the cut off for the midterm. The second section will cover material from the whole term and will include primary source and essay questions. These tend to cover the most important themes from the entire term.

Policies Late Assignments: Hardcopies of assignments are due at the times specified above. Late assignments will be penalised one letter step per day. If the paper is one week late, it will receive a maximum of 50%. I stamp all hardcopies with date on which I receive them and that is the only date that counts. If you have a legitimate reason for not being able to hand in work on time, please contact me as soon as you can and attach documentation to the assignment when you submit it.

Class Attendance: The best way to succeed in this course is to come to class. There is a participation mark in this course and if you are not in class, you are not participating.

Computer Usage: I expect all students to check their university email on a regular basis. This course makes use of Acorn for discussions, some assignments, updates and the like. Websites of Special interest for this class: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html http://omacl.org/ http://www.the-orb.net/ http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/labyrinth-home.html http://www.rosenweinshorthistory.com/

Contact Information My email address and office number are given at the beginning of this syllabus. If you send an email, please include your full name and the course number. I never check email in the evenings or on the weekends. You are encouraged to visit the office during my posted office hours and I am happy to arrange to meet you at other times. You may post questions of general interest on Acorn.

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Students with disabilities: If you are a student with a documented disability who anticipates needing accommodations in this course, please inform me after you meet with Jill Davies ([email protected] or 585-1127) or Kathy O’Rourke ([email protected] or 585- 1823) in Disability Access Services, located in the Student Resource Centre, which is on the lower floor of the Old SUB.

The Writing Centre offers free help to all students wishing to improve their writing skills. You can sign up online today: To book a one-on-one appointment with a writing tutor, see the following:  is English your first language? writingcentre.acadiau.ca/writing-tutorials.html  is English a second language? writingcentre.acadiau.ca/esl-writing-tutorials.html To see which helpful presentations and workshops you might want to attend this year, see the following: writingcentre.acadiau.ca/workshops-and-presentations.html

Plagiarism: The University’s policy on academic integrity, cheating and plagiarism can be found in the Calendar. It includes the following definitions: 1) Cheating is copying or the use of unauthorized aids or the intentional falsification or invention of information in any academic exercise. 2) Plagiarism is the act of presenting the ideas or words of another as one’s own. Students are required to acknowledge and document the sources of ideas that they use in their written work. 3) Self plagiarism is also a form of plagiarism. It is the presentation of the same work in more than one course without the permission of the instructors involved. 4) A student who knowingly helps another to commit an act of academic dishonesty is equally guilty. 5) Penalties are levied in relation to the degree of the relevant infraction. They range from requiring the student to re-do the piece of work, through failure on that piece of work, to failure in the course, and to dismissal from the university. See the Calendar for more on procedures concerning infractions. The Library has a helpful tutorial on plagiarism. It can be found at http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/ .

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