Learning outcome

Students will gain basic knowledge of and insight into:

• The process of political unification and state formation in Norway and the other Scandinavian countries
• The relation and interaction between the Viking Age and Medieval Scandinavian kingdoms
• The impact of the Viking Age Scandinavians on their neighbours and the integration of the Nordic countries into Christian Europe
• Social, cultural and economic developments in Scandinavia AD 700 – AD 1500

Course Description

The course addresses the following main topics:

• Sources for Viking Age and Medieval Scandinavian history and culture
• Lands and peoples in Scandinavia
• The political history of the Scandinavian kingdoms until c. AD 1540
• The Pagan religion of the Scandinavians
• Christianization and Church Organization
• Agriculture and landownership
• Towns and trade
• Family and inheritance
• Women: Ideal and reality
• Saga literature, art and architecture
• The demographic crisis of the Late Middle Ages
• The reformation in the Nordic countries

Teaching and Learning Methods

Lectures and tutorials, and a mandatory excursion / field trip

Assessment Methods

Midterm examination: semester essay (40%)

Final examination: written 4-hour examination (60%)

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean