This course will introduce students to the Middle Ages as a subject and to the interdisciplinary nature of the study of the period. Through three units, students will encounter a range of historical, literary, and visual material from medieval Britain and Northern Europe: the Anglo-Saxons and their culture in context (449-1066); the Vikings and their influence (c. 800-1100), in the British Isles and elsewhere; and Britain as one element of a cross-Channel Norman kingdom during the renascence of the twelfth century. This focus on a specific area will enable us to observe continuity and change over time. The course will regularly consider the transit of material objects, people, and ideas, within Northern Europe and to and from other parts of the world.
In their at-home assignments students will have opportunities to pursue specific topics and fields of their choosing in greater depth. A midterm and final will cover the course readings.
Texts will be drawn from The Anglo-Saxon World, ed. Kevin Crossley-Holland; Sagas of the Icelanders, intr. Jane Smiley; and Marie de France: Poetry, trans. and ed. Dorothy Gilbert.
