DOCSLIB.ORG

Hist3593 the Vikings and Their World

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Hist3593 the Vikings and Their World Hist3593 The Vikings 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 Scandinavia, 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 We will make heavy use of written primary sources, so you can improve your ability to work with historical documents.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% Page 1 of 8 Textbooks Haywood, J. The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings. Toronto: Penguin. (Optional) (H) Somerville, A.A and R.A. McDonald (eds.). The Viking 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 Viking Age 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 Odin 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, King of Norway; #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 Norse Creation-Myth; #9. Ragnarok; #11. Odin's Wisdom and Arts; #12. Odin Welcomes Eirik Bloodax to Valhalla; #13. Odin Hangs on Yggdrasil; #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 Page 2 of 8 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 Denmark: The Jelling Stone; #96. State-Making in Denmark: Unification and Expansion; #97. Knut the Great and the North Sea Empire 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 Viking Expansion; #78. Egil in Youth and Old Age October 14 Thanksgiving, No Classes October 16 Russia H: 100-109, R: 283 –292 SM: #61. On the Arrival of the Varangians; #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 Piraeus 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 Page 3 of 8 October 23 France & Viking Art 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. Franks 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 Paris, 885- 886; #57. Rollo Obtains Normandy from the King of the Franks October 28 Scotland 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 Sigurd 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 Isle of Man 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 Norsemen; #52. The Vikings in Ireland, 845-917; #99. The Battle of Clontarf, 1014 November 6 England 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 North Sea Empire; #100. The Battle of Stamford Bridge, 1066 November 11 Remembrance Day, No Classes November 13 The Faeroes, Iceland 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 Saga of the People of Eyri; #71. Skallagrim's Landtake in Iceland; #81. The Death of Gunnar; #82. The Burning of Njal Page 4 of 8 November 18 Greenland and the Conversion to Christianity 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 Danes under Harald Bluetooth; #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 Sweden; #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 Vinland; #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.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Number Symbolism in Old Norse Literature
    Háskóli Íslands Hugvísindasvið Medieval Icelandic Studies Number Symbolism in Old Norse Literature A Brief Study Ritgerð til MA-prófs í íslenskum miðaldafræðum Li Tang Kt.: 270988-5049 Leiðbeinandi: Torfi H. Tulinius September 2015 Acknowledgements I would like to thank firstly my supervisor, Torfi H. Tulinius for his confidence and counsels which have greatly encouraged my writing of this paper. Because of this confidence, I have been able to explore a domain almost unstudied which attracts me the most. Thanks to his counsels (such as his advice on the “Blóð-Egill” Episode in Knýtlinga saga and the reading of important references), my work has been able to find its way through the different numbers. My thanks also go to Haraldur Bernharðsson whose courses on Old Icelandic have been helpful to the translations in this paper and have become an unforgettable memory for me. I‟m indebted to Moritz as well for our interesting discussion about the translation of some paragraphs, and to Capucine and Luis for their meticulous reading. Any fault, however, is my own. Abstract It is generally agreed that some numbers such as three and nine which appear frequently in the two Eddas hold special significances in Norse mythology. Furthermore, numbers appearing in sagas not only denote factual quantity, but also stand for specific symbolic meanings. This tradition of number symbolism could be traced to Pythagorean thought and to St. Augustine‟s writings. But the result in Old Norse literature is its own system influenced both by Nordic beliefs and Christianity. This double influence complicates the intertextuality in the light of which the symbolic meanings of numbers should be interpreted.
    [Show full text]
  • 18Th Viking Congress Denmark, 6–12 August 2017
    18th Viking Congress Denmark, 6–12 August 2017 Abstracts – Papers and Posters 18 TH VIKING CONGRESS, DENMARK 6–12 AUGUST 2017 2 ABSTRACTS – PAPERS AND POSTERS Sponsors KrKrogagerFondenoagerFonden Dronning Margrethe II’s Arkæologiske Fond Farumgaard-Fonden 18TH VIKING CONGRESS, DENMARK 6–12 AUGUST 2017 ABSTRACTS – PAPERS AND POSTERS 3 Welcome to the 18th Viking Congress In 2017, Denmark is host to the 18th Viking Congress. The history of the Viking Congresses goes back to 1946. Since this early beginning, the objective has been to create a common forum for the most current research and theories within Viking-age studies and to enhance communication and collaboration within the field, crossing disciplinary and geographical borders. Thus, it has become a multinational, interdisciplinary meeting for leading scholars of Viking studies in the fields of Archaeology, History, Philology, Place-name studies, Numismatics, Runology and other disciplines, including the natural sciences, relevant to the study of the Viking Age. The 18th Viking Congress opens with a two-day session at the National Museum in Copenhagen and continues, after a cross-country excursion to Roskilde, Trelleborg and Jelling, in the town of Ribe in Jylland. A half-day excursion will take the delegates to Hedeby and the Danevirke. The themes of the 18th Viking Congress are: 1. Catalysts and change in the Viking Age As a historical period, the Viking Age is marked out as a watershed for profound cultural and social changes in northern societies: from the spread of Christianity to urbanisation and political centralisation. Exploring the causes for these changes is a core theme of Viking Studies.
    [Show full text]
  • Large Castles and Large War Machines In
    Large castles and large war machines in Denmark and the Baltic around 1200: an early military revolution? Autor(es): Jensen, Kurt Villads Publicado por: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra URL persistente: URI:http://hdl.handle.net/10316.2/41536 DOI: DOI:https://doi.org/10.14195/2183-8925_30_11 Accessed : 5-Oct-2021 17:35:20 A navegação consulta e descarregamento dos títulos inseridos nas Bibliotecas Digitais UC Digitalis, UC Pombalina e UC Impactum, pressupõem a aceitação plena e sem reservas dos Termos e Condições de Uso destas Bibliotecas Digitais, disponíveis em https://digitalis.uc.pt/pt-pt/termos. Conforme exposto nos referidos Termos e Condições de Uso, o descarregamento de títulos de acesso restrito requer uma licença válida de autorização devendo o utilizador aceder ao(s) documento(s) a partir de um endereço de IP da instituição detentora da supramencionada licença. Ao utilizador é apenas permitido o descarregamento para uso pessoal, pelo que o emprego do(s) título(s) descarregado(s) para outro fim, designadamente comercial, carece de autorização do respetivo autor ou editor da obra. Na medida em que todas as obras da UC Digitalis se encontram protegidas pelo Código do Direito de Autor e Direitos Conexos e demais legislação aplicável, toda a cópia, parcial ou total, deste documento, nos casos em que é legalmente admitida, deverá conter ou fazer-se acompanhar por este aviso. impactum.uc.pt digitalis.uc.pt Kurt Villads Jensen * Revista de Historia das Ideias Vol. 30 (2009) LARGE CASTLES AND LARGE WAR MACHINES IN DENMARK AND THE BALTIC AROUND 1200 - AN EARLY MILITARY REVOLUTION? In 1989, the first modern replica in Denmark of a medieval trebuchet was built on the open shore near the city of Nykobing Falster during the commemoration of the 700th anniversary of the granting of the city's charter, and archaeologists and interested amateurs began shooting stones out into the water of the sound between the islands of Lolland and Falster.
    [Show full text]
  • Hunting and Social Change in Late Saxon England
    Eastern Illinois University The Keep Masters Theses Student Theses & Publications 2016 Butchered Bones, Carved Stones: Hunting and Social Change in Late Saxon England Shawn Hale Eastern Illinois University This research is a product of the graduate program in History at Eastern Illinois University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Hale, Shawn, "Butchered Bones, Carved Stones: Hunting and Social Change in Late Saxon England" (2016). Masters Theses. 2418. https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/2418 This is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses & Publications at The Keep. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of The Keep. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Graduate School� EASTERNILLINOIS UNIVERSITY " Thesis Maintenance and Reproduction Certificate FOR: Graduate Candidates Completing Theses in Partial Fulfillment of the Degree Graduate Faculty Advisors Directing the Theses RE: Preservation, Reproduction, and Distribution of Thesis Research Preserving, reproducing, and distributing thesis research is an important part of Booth Library's responsibility to provide access to scholarship. In order to further this goal, Booth Library makes all graduate theses completed as part of a degree program at Eastern Illinois University available for personal study, research, and other not-for-profit educational purposes. Under 17 U.S.C. § 108, the library may reproduce and distribute a copy without infringing on copyright; however, professional courtesy dictates that permission be requested from the author before doing so. Your signatures affirm the following: • The graduate candidate is the author of this thesis. • The graduate candidate retains the copyright and intellectual property rights associated with the original research, creative activity, and intellectual or artistic content of the thesis.
    [Show full text]
  • THE Vikings the VIKINGS
    THE vikings THE VIKINGS 1 TABLE DES MATI RES TABLE OF CONTENTS Artistic Direction WHO WERE THE VIKINGS? Sylvain Lapointe Who were they? .............................................................................................. 4 Where did they come from? ...................................................................... ... 5 Text Pier-Luc Lasalle When did they live? .................................................................................... ... 5 Sailors ................................................................................................................ 6 Music Explorer-pirates and bandit-tradesmen ................................................ ... 7 Enrico O. Dastous How did one turn Viking? ......................................................................... ... 7 Mode of government ..................................................................................... 8 Staging Eloi ArchamBaudoin Trade ................................................................................................................. 8 Viking currency ............................................................................................... 9 Authorship of the Pedagogical Document Agriculture ....................................................................................................... 9 Aude Le Dubé DAILY LIFE IN THE VIKING ERA Translation Gaëtan Chénier Tasks ............................................................................................................. ... 10 Housing Cover Illustration Food
    [Show full text]
  • an Examination of the Relationship Between the Icelandic Conv
    “FATE MUST FIND SOMEONE TO SPEAK THROUGH”: CHRISTIANITY, RAGNARÖK, AND THE LOSS OF ICELANDIC INDEPENDENCE IN THE EYES OF THE ICELANDERS AS ILLUSTRATED BY GÍSLA SAGA SÚRSSONAR Item Type Thesis Authors Mjolsnes, Grete E. Download date 01/10/2021 15:39:20 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/81 1 “FATE MUST FIND SOMEONE TO SPEAK THROUGH”: CHRISTIANITY, RAGNARÖK, AND THE LOSS OF ICELANDIC INDEPENDENCE IN THE EYES OF THE ICELANDERS AS ILLUSTRATED BY GÍSLA SAGA SÚRSSONAR A THESIS Presented to the Faculty Of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS by Grete E. Mjolsnes, B. A. Fairbanks, Alaska December 2008 2 Abstract Iceland surrendered political control to the Norwegian monarchy in 1262, but immediately resented their choice. The sagas about reliance on the Norwegians, clearly illustrating that the Icelanders knew where this path was leading them. Gísla Saga is a particularly interesting text to examine in light of the contemporaneous political climate, as it takes place in the years leading up to the conversion but was written between the conversion and the submission to Norwegian rule. Though Gísla does not explicitly comment on either the conversion or the increase in Norwegian influence, close examination illuminates ambiguity in the portrayal of Christian and pagan characters and a general sense of terminal foreboding. This subtle commentary becomes clearer when one reads Gísla Saga in light of the story of Ragnarök, the death of the gods and the end of the Norse world. Characters and images in Gísla Saga may be compared with the events of Ragnarök, the apocalyptic battle between the Æsir and the giants, illustrating how the Christian conversion and Norwegian submission brought about the end of Iceland’s golden age by destroying the last home of the Norse gods.
    [Show full text]
  • History Today Magazine, Vikings Warriors of No Nation
    Norse travellers reached every corner of the known world, but they were not tourists. The ‘racially pure’ Vikings of stereotype were, in fact, cultural chameleons adopting local habits, languages and religions. Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough VIKINGS WARRIORS OF NO NATION Viking ship carrying Harold III of Norway against his half-brother Olaf II in 1030, c.1375. 2 | History Today | April 2018 April 2018 | History Today | 3 n January 2018, President Trump Odinism and white supremacy are bedfellows. expressed a preference for immigrants Such ideas of racial and cultural purity from affluent nations such as Norway, as would have been alien to the inhabitants of the opposed to those from what he termed medieval Nordic world. They may have come ‘shithole countries’. The indignant from the northernmost fringes of Europe – and Iresponse was on a global scale. Photos of in the case of Icelanders, in the middle of the beautiful African sunsets and wildlife were North Atlantic – but Norse travellers reached posted. One Norwegian woman tweeted: ‘We every corner of the known world. are not coming. Cheers from Norway.’ Trump was not the first to misuse Blond men in boats Scandinavian countries as a poster child for Thanks to chronicles and letters written by racism. The Nazi ideology of Aryan supremacy Christian holy men, perpetuated by modern rested on the premise of the Nordic race as books, cartoons and films, an enduring Viking superior to all others. Particularly disturbing stereotype is engrained in our collective was the ‘Lebensborn’ programme initiated by cultural imagination: blond men in boats with the head of the SS Heinrich Himmler to secure beards and battle-axes, sailing slate-grey seas the racial purity of the Third Reich.
    [Show full text]
  • Thevikingblitzkriegad789-1098.Pdf
    2 In memory of Jeffrey Martin Whittock (1927–2013), much-loved and respected father and papa. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A number of people provided valuable advice which assisted in the preparation of this book; without them, of course, carrying any responsibility for the interpretations offered by the book. We are particularly indebted to our agent Robert Dudley who, as always, offered guidance and support, as did Simon Hamlet and Mark Beynon at The History Press. In addition, Bradford-on-Avon library, and the Wiltshire and the Somerset Library services, provided access to resources through the inter-library loans service. For their help and for this service we are very grateful. Through Hannah’s undergraduate BA studies and then MPhil studies in the department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic (ASNC) at Cambridge University (2008–12), the invaluable input of many brilliant academics has shaped our understanding of this exciting and complex period of history, and its challenging sources of evidence. The resulting familiarity with Old English, Old Norse and Insular Latin has greatly assisted in critical reflection on the written sources. As always, the support and interest provided by close family and friends cannot be measured but is much appreciated. And they have been patient as meal-time conversations have given way to discussions of the achievements of Alfred and Athelstan, the impact of Eric Bloodaxe and the agendas of the compilers of the 4 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 5 CONTENTS Title Dedication Acknowledgements Introduction 1 The Gathering
    [Show full text]
  • Vikings LEVELED READER • T a Reading A–Z Level T Leveled Reader Word Count: 1,359 VIKINGS
    Vikings LEVELED READER • T A Reading A–Z Level T Leveled Reader Word Count: 1,359 VIKINGS Z T W Written by William Houseman Illustrated by Maria Voris Visit www.readinga-z.com www.readinga-z.com for thousands of books and materials. VIKINGS Written by William Houseman Vikings Level T Leveled Reader Illustrated by Maria Voris © Learning A–Z, Inc. Correlation Written by William Houseman LEVEL T Illustrated by Maria Voris Fountas & Pinnell P All rights reserved. Reading Recovery 38 www.readinga-z.com www.readinga-z.com DRA 38 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ...................................................... 4 Viking Warriors ................................................. 7 Discovering a New Land ............................... 10 Eric the Red ...................................................... 12 Leif Ericson ...................................................... 14 Other Viking Conquests ................................. 18 Glossary ............................................................ 20 INTRODUCTION When you hear the word Vikings, do you think of warriors or do you think of explorers? Do you think of merchants or do you think of poets? The Vikings were all of these things. They were also scientists, farmers, and fisherfolk. They were courageous fighters who loved to explore the world. 3 4 The Viking Age began about twelve hundred Over time, the Vikings’ spirit of exploration years ago. The Vikings came from the coastal and adventure led them to places all around lands in northern Europe that are now the Europe. It even led them to discover new countries of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. lands that no one in Europe knew existed. The Vikings were used to cold weather and They seized land along the western coast of learned to sail and fight at an early age. Their Europe. They even conquered land along the ships were fast and could carry many warriors.
    [Show full text]
  • Norse Myth and Identity in Swedish Viking Metal: Imagining Heritage and a Leisure Community
    Sociology and Anthropology 4(2): 82-91, 2016 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/sa.2016.040205 Norse Myth and Identity in Swedish Viking Metal: Imagining Heritage and a Leisure Community Irina-Maria Manea Faculty of History, University of Bucharest, Romania Copyright©2016 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract This paper will be exploring how a specific the cultural codes were preserved: Black metal artists rejoice category of popular music known as Viking Metal in war imagery, fantastic stories and landscapes and above thematically reconstructs heritage and what meanings we can all anti-Christian. The Norwegian scene at the beginning of decode from images generally dealing with an idealized past the ’90 (e.g. Mayhem Burzum, Darkthrone) had a major more than often symbolically equated with Norse myth and impact on defining the genre and setting its aesthetics, antiquity. On the whole we are investigating how song texts however, Sweden’s Bathory played no lesser role, both and furthermore visual elements contribute to the formation through the tone and atmosphere sustained musically by lo-fi of a cultural identity and memory which not only expresses production and lyrically by flirtating with darkness and evil. attachment for a particular time and space, but also serves as More importantly, Bathory marked the shift towards Nordic a leisure experience with the cultural proposal of an alternate mythology and heathen legacy in his Asatru trilogy (Blood selfhood residing in the reproduction of a mystical heroic Fire Death 1988, Hammerheart 1990, Twilight of the Gods populace.
    [Show full text]
  • A Viking-Age Settlement in the Hinterland of Hedeby Tobias Schade
    L. Holmquist, S. Kalmring & C. Hedenstierna-Jonson (eds.), New Aspects on Viking-age Urbanism, c. 750-1100 AD. Proceedings of the International Symposium at the Swedish History Museum, April 17-20th 2013. Theses and Papers in Archaeology B THESES AND PAPERS IN ARCHAEOLOGY B New Aspects on Viking-age Urbanism, c. 750-1100 AD. Proceedings of the International Symposium at the Swedish History Museum, April 17–20th 2013 Lena Holmquist, Sven Kalmring & Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson (eds.) Contents Introduction Sigtuna: royal site and Christian town and the Lena Holmquist, Sven Kalmring & regional perspective, c. 980-1100 Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson.....................................4 Sten Tesch................................................................107 Sigtuna and excavations at the Urmakaren Early northern towns as special economic and Trädgårdsmästaren sites zones Jonas Ros.................................................................133 Sven Kalmring............................................................7 No Kingdom without a town. Anund Olofs- Spaces and places of the urban settlement of son’s policy for national independence and its Birka materiality Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson...................................16 Rune Edberg............................................................145 Birka’s defence works and harbour - linking The Schleswig waterfront - a place of major one recently ended and one newly begun significance for the emergence of the town? research project Felix Rösch..........................................................153
    [Show full text]
  • JOANNA KATARZYNA PUCHALSKA* Vikings Television Series: When
    The Polish Journal of the Arts and Culture Nr 15 (3/2015) / ARTICLE JOANNA KATARZYNA PUCHALSKA* (Jagiellonian University) Vikings Television Series: When History and Myth1 Intermingle ABSTRACT This article concentrates on the History Channel’s contemporary television series entitled Vikings. The author raises the issue of the popularity of the historical drama genre and the presence of Viking topics in popular culture. The text explains why it is difficult to accuse the producers of Vikings of incompetence when it comes to the real Vikings and their world. However, it is obvious that the creators of the series did not want to restrict their vision so at the same time the show cannot be perceived as a historical record. To substantiate such a thesis, the author devotes the main part of the article to the presentation of numerous historically doubtful or disputed traits which can be found in the Vikings series such as the problem of dates and personages, dubious geography and locations, anachronistic armour, description of the temple of Uppsala or the bloody-eagle rite. Viking women-warriors and ships are also discussed. The conclusion stresses the real phenomena showed in this tele- vision feature. KEY WORDS Vikings, history, historical fiction, popular culture 1 In this article I would generally like to follow the narrower definition of myth as a narration or story and as the term is popularly understood – i.e. a widely held belief, a fic- tion or an exaggerated or idealized conception – Słownik etnologiczny – terminy ogólne, red. Z. Staszczak, Warszawa–Poznań 1987; Oxford Dictionaries, [online] http://www.ox- forddictionaries.com/definition/english/myth [accessed: 30.05.2015].
    [Show full text]