ICEL 3330: Sagas in Translation

University of Manitoba Course

Winter 2024

The Icelandic sagas tell stories of outlaws, blood feuds, and epic Viking battles. They also contain evidence of Norse pagan practices, the arrival of Christianity in Northern Europe, as well as the earliest documented contact between Europeans and North America’s Indigenous peoples. In this course, students will explore numerous Icelandic sagas through a variety of literary, historical, and cultural contexts. This course consists of a study of the sagas based on original sources in English translation.

The provided material is a survey of Icelandic sagas from the legendary and Viking Age tales to the relatively contemporaneous sagas. Materials are provided in digital form from open access sources and no textbooks are required. Students are encouraged to focus their coursework on elements in which they are individually interested. A small class size of no more than 10 students offers an opportunity for broad written feedback and one on one consultation and individualised assignments coordinated directly with the instructor. The nearly 3 hour class block may seem long but attention is paid to using time wisely. This is a seminar course where students are expected to engage in classroom discussion, but classes may be shorter to allow students more flexibility. They are encouraged to use this time to work on their individual assignments, seek one one one consultation, or use the Icelandic Collection at the library.