HI2526: VIKINGS: AN INTRODUCTION (2022-2023)

Last modified: 31 Jul 2023 11:19

Course Overview

The year 793: a surprise viking attack on the peaceful monastic island of Lindisfarne. This raid is often considered to mark the beginning of the so-called Viking Age, a time of turbulence and transformation with repercussions throughout Europe and beyond. This period saw violence and warfare, cultural contact and religious conversion, political overhaul, and literary and artistic creativity. As well as critically interrogating the concepts of the ‘viking’ and the ‘Viking Age’, this course provides an introduction to key themes and topics in the study of early Scandinavia, c. 800-1200.

Course Details

Study Type	Undergraduate	Level	2
Term	Second Term	Credit Points	15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus	Aberdeen	Sustained Study	No
Co-ordinators	Sorry, we don't have a record of any course coordinators.

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

Any Undergraduate Programme
Programme Level 2

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

HI2026 Vikings: an Introduction (Studied)

Are there a limited number of places available?

Course Description

This course introduces students to key themes and topics in the study of Viking Age and medieval Scandinavia, c. 800-1200, through critical analysis of primary and secondary sources. Weekly lectures plus secondary reading assignments will allow you to study topics such as: pre-Christian myth and religion; gender roles; law and social organisation; the viking expansion into the British and Irish Isles and North Atlantic; cultural production; conversion and Christianization. Tutorials will allow you to get to grips in more detail with primary sources ranging from archaeological finds and rune-stones to legal texts, chronicles, poetry, myths and sagas, and to talk through interpretative positions and debates taken by scholars in the field.

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

There are no assessments for this course.

Formative Assessment