The World of the Vikings

In this FIG, your study of the societal, literary, artistic, and religious expression of the medieval Scandinavians – often called Vikings – will be enhanced by exploring the living narratives and material cultures of people throughout the world. You will examine folklore as well as explore past societies through archaeology. Much of what we know of old Scandinavian culture comes from texts that were written after the introduction of Latin writing and Christianity to the region.
Our understanding of medieval Scandinavian culture integrates the techniques of your folklore studies in Folklore 100, a course which looks at the narrative and material culture of several different living social groups, and your archaeology studies in Anthropology 102, a course which looks at pre-historic world cultures using a more reconstructive approach. By learning about techniques and practices from both of these disciplines, you will gain a better understanding of how information about medieval Scandinavia has been obtained.