Viking Age Scandinavia

During the Viking Age (c. 750-1050 AD), peoples from Scandinavia suddenly entered the scene of the world known at the time and were to leave their mark in European history. Beyond the clichés of the pagan warrior, raiding and plundering, the Viking Age stands as a dramatic but also formative period documented by a wealth of written accounts and archaeological remains. Sailors and explorers from Scandinavia discovered and colonized Iceland, Greenland and North America, hereby expanding the borders of the known world. They also contributed to the development of trading networks and to complex political games and alliances across Western and Eastern Europe, from Ireland to the Caliphate in Bagdad. At the same time, the societies in the Viking homelands, which later would become Denmark, Norway and Sweden, experienced fundamental cultural, religious and political transformations. In this course, we will explore the Viking age as a complex and multi-facetted phenomenon, to get closer to the roots of our never ceasing fascination for this page of European history.