Essay Title: ‘The incorporation of Norse mythological material in Beowulf is nothing more than a random assortment of half-remembered stories.’ Discuss.
Slides from three lectures introducing undergraduate students to Old Norse, with the main points of grammar covered as well as exercises to accompany the explanations. Includes a passage from Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða for translation. Used in Old…
This is the syllabus for a course on pre-Christian religion/s in the Viking Age, which I taught in the spring of 2014. It was part of a two-semester 'valgfag' programme at Aarhus University titled "Viking Studies", so the students (drawn from a range…
Notes produced by Rebecca Merkelbach for an introductory lecture at Cambridge on Gísla saga Súrssonar (one of the Sagas of Icelanders dealing with the outlaw Gísli ).
A handout produced by Rebecca Merkelbach to accompany an introductory lecture at Cambridge on Gísla saga Súrssonar (one of the Sagas of Icelanders dealing the outlaw figure Gísli).
Handout on Laxdœla saga saga (The Saga of the People of Laxárdalr) by Joanne Shortt Butler, including extracts from the saga, a family tree and reading list.
A short handout produced by Joanne Shortt Butler on the topic of Ari Thorgilsson’s Book of the Icelanders and Icelandic Identity, including a short reading list, questions, and a glossary of terms and characters.
A handout produced by Joanne Shortt Butler on the origins of sagas: composition and tradition, including a timeline, extracts from sagas, and a reading list.
A handout produced by Joanne Shortt Butler on the Old Norse literature topic of 'The Saga of Hrafnkel Frey’s Godi', including background reading, questions to think about, and a glossary of terms and letters.
A useful introductory essay on Skaldic Poetry by Dr Debbie Potts, produced as part of the 'Modern Poets on Viking Poetry' Project and hosted by ASNC at Cambridge.
A brief general introduction to what little we know about music in the Viking Age, including literary references, finds of instruments and some audio clips of reconstructed instruments. Includes some references for further reading.
Every evening around 9pm GMT I read from 'Vikings: Raids. Culture. Legacy' book by Roderick Dale and Marjolein Stern, with permission from Carlton Publishing. Come and join me on Periscope for the live reading of the book: Twitter: @GBVQuest
An activity sheet for primary school students intended to follow up a visit to Dublinia: Experience Viking and Medieval Dublin. The activity sheet can be freely downloaded…