HI1526: VIKINGS! (2017-2018)

Last modified: 25 May 2018 11:16

Course Overview

This course introduces students to a period of warfare and pillage, political turmoil and social transformation, but also economic expansion and cultural innovation. In 795 Viking raiders mercilessly attacked the Christian monastic community on Iona in the Scottish western isles. From then on their activities extended from Denmark, Norway and Sweden out to Continental Europe, North America, Russia, and the Mediterranean Basin. Over time they became transformed from heathen raiders into Christianized settlers. In Iceland they created a republic which has remained Scandinavian in culture; elsewhere Britain, Ireland, and Russia, they adopted and modified the host culture. Download Course Guide

Course Details

Study Type	Undergraduate	Level	1
Term	Second Term	Credit Points	15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus	None.	Sustained Study	No
Co-ordinators	Dr Lisa Collinson

Qualification Prerequisites

Either Programme Level 1 or Programme Level 2

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

HI1018 Vikings! (Studied)
HI1020 Vikings! (Studied)
HI1025 Vikings! (Studied)

Are there a limited number of places available?

Course Description

This course analyses the so-called "Viking Age". It invites students to critically consider whether the concept of the "Viking" can be usefully applied in order to to understand the history of Europe and beyond in the period c. 800-1200.

This was a period of warfare and pillage, political turmoil and social transformation, but also economic expansion and cultural innovation. In 795 raiders attacked the Christian monastic community on Iona in the Scottish western isles. Their activities extended from Denmark, Norway and Sweden out to Continental Europe, North America, Russia, and the Mediterranean Basin. Over time they accepted Christian beliefs and gradually integrated into European society. In Iceland they created a republic which has remained Scandinavian in culture; elsewhere, for instance Britain, Ireland, and Russia, they adopted and modified the host culture. By the twelfth century, Christian national kingdoms had been created in Scandinavia. "Viking" cultures became fully integrated into the wider project of European Christianization, including active involvement in the Crusades. The Viking Age had come to an end.

The course will introduce students to a broad range of methods and approaches to primary sources, from archaeological remains and rune-stones to ships and bridges, and from legal texts and chronicles to praise-poetry and sagas. Scandinavian expansionism will be presented in the wider political context of Dark-Age Europe, rooted in the late-antique breakdown of Roman rule and the accompanying ‘barbarian’ incursions. Alongside the political developments students will be introduced to key aspects of so-called "Viking-Age" culture and society, which in turn helped shape the politics of the period. These include religions old and new, the relationship between law and blood-feud, the transition from oral to textual modes of commemoration and learning, the development of new maritime technologies, and the roles of women in society.

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers

Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); 2000 word essay (40%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Chairing discussions, individual classroom presentations, exercise of essay preparation, individual essay return.

Feedback

The students are offered the possibility of one-to one essay return with written comments, advice on improvements and if necessary information about learnings support; Class meetings, Mixed tutor and peer assessment by students.

Course Learning Outcomes