Viking Stories: the Myths and the Realities

Catalog description

Who were the Vikings? The horn-helmed and bloodthirsty barbarians of the modern popular imagination bear little resemblance to the actual women and men who inhabited the northern reaches of Europe more than a thousand years ago. Yet the realities of their lives might be even more interesting. The word "viking" originally meant "fjord voyager" or "seafarer." In correct modern usage, it refers not to one but to many different Scandinavian and North Sea cultures and peoples, the vast majority of whom lived largely peaceful lives of farming, herding, and fishing. In this course, students will read a selection of the stories that these Viking cultures have left us — rich tales of distinct style and tone that offer a tantalizing glimpse of the imaginative worlds that the Viking people once inhabited. Like us, the peoples of the North Sea region worried over the safety of their families, the unpredictability of their environment, the politics of class and gender identity, and the role of spirituality in their daily existence. As a seminar, we will practice the art of analyzing literature in the service of studying culture, both theirs and our own. We will correct some of the more blatant misconceptions about the Vikings that exist today. And we will ponder the reasons for the overwhelming curiosity that the Vikings still inspire.