1407.13 - Eddic poem - Vǫluspá (MA)


Course number
1407.13
Title
Eddic poem - Vǫluspá (MA)
ECTS
10
Prerequisites
Students are required to have completed a BA in Faroese
Purpose
The course aims to introduce students to Norse Eddic poetry – age and origins, preservation, style and metre. The course will focus on the Eddic poem Völuspa in great detail.
Content
Eddic poetry can be classified by content into two categories: heroic poems and mythological poems. Most of our knowledge about the belief in the Norse gods, the Aesir, stems from the Eddic mythological poems. They are Snorri’s main source of information about this belief for his Edda. Völuspa (The Sibyl’s Prophecy) opens the Poetic Edda, and it is the most magnificent of all the mythological poems. Most researchers agree that it was composed in Iceland shortly before 1000 AD, the year Iceland was christened. The subject is presented as a vision revealed to a volva (a sibyl). She sees the whole world of giants, gods and men from the birth of the world and to its end, which they called Ragnarok, when both gods and men would perish and the world would be annihilated. Fate, to which the gods had to yield, is not blind, but fair, because the gods had committed misdeeds and the world was corrupted. Earth is purged by fire and water and one god, who is almighty, takes power over Earth reborn. The poet was undoubtedly influenced by Christian concepts in writing this, however, the overall poem is heathen and, although the poet describes the gods with almost human faults and defects, he still respects them. The gods heroically fight the evil and dark forces to their final breath. We will study Völuspa closely and read theses and articles about it.
Learning and teaching approaches
Lectures and student presentations.
Learning outcomes
Successful students can demonstrate the ability to: • account for the age and origin of the Eddic poems • account for the types of Norse metre • analyse terms and kennings • relate Eddic poetry to other old Germanic literature • translate, interpret and make linguistic comments regarding the entire Völuspa
Assessment method
Six-hour written examination
Examination
External
Marking scale
13-
Bibliography
Sigurður Norðdal: Völuspá. Reykjavik 1952. Eddadigte I. Ed. Jón Helgason. Copenhagen 1964. Eddadiktning i Kulturhistorisk leksiskon for nordisk middelalder, Vol. III. This entry contains references to further literature on the subject. Various articles on the subject. The required reading amounts to 1000 pages
Contact
Anfinnur Johansen