AAP236   The Age of the Vikings   (20 credits)

Description

This module explores the archaeology and history of Scandinavia and the areas of Scandinavian colonisation between c.AD700 and 1100. It begins by examining the settlements, society, economy, belief systems and political structures of Scandinavian societies, and moves on to concentrate on those regions in which Scandinavians raided, traded and settled from the later eighth century - including England, Ireland, Scotland and the Isles, the Isle of Man, the North Atlantic and continental Europe (including Russia, France and the Low Countries). The key themes are ethnicity and cultural identity, the transformation of economic systems, the nature of belief systems, the impact of Christianity, the variability of gender identities and the construction of the past in the present. The challenges and benefits of combining diverse sources of evidence is an explicit focus of the module.

Reading List