*Please note that this course will run only if two or more students enroll.
Course Description: This is a semi-intensive, twice-per-week reading course for students who have some experience with Old Norse, and are ready to spend a semester focused on translating a single, relatively short saga. Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss is one of the most interesting and well-known of the ‘post-classical’ family sagas: sagas written in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries which take place in Iceland, and are known for blending together and playing with conventions and ideas from existing genres in often fascinating and entertaining ways. Bárðar saga is the sweeping multi-generational story of a half-troll named Bárðr, raised in the mountains of central Norway, who settles on the Snæfellsnes peninsula in western Iceland, and becomes a kind of local demi-god or guardian spirit in the area. The second half of the saga follows the adventures and ordeals of Bárðr’s son Gestr. Among the notable features of Bárðar saga are its tragic and religious elements: the story of Bárðr’s daughter Helga and her journey to Greenland, the arrival of Christianity and the grim end of the saga, and Barðr’s confrontation with the god Thor.
In addition to engaging in a guided translation of the saga, students will have the opportunity to read and learn about saga’s larger context: its use of and intersection with other Old Norse texts, its place in the landscape and folklore of Iceland, and the scholarly discourses about the saga. Upon completion of the course students will have deep expertise in this unique and fascinating story, greater confidence in their own Old Norse language skill, and a deeper insight into the culture and literature of medieval Iceland.
DETAILS
Level: Students need to have had some experience with Old Norse grammar and translation, and be willing to hit the ground running reading a saga in the original language from the beginning of the course. However, we will be reading an English-language translation alongside the original, and students will be able to adjust the pace of their translation according to their own skill level.
Textbook: Instructor will provide basic materials. For the sake of accessibility, we will be using the 1860 Guðbrandur Vigfússon edition of Bárðar saga; there is also an open access version of the saga in modern Icelandic orthography, but students are encouraged to purchase the Íslenzk fornrit edition of the saga (In Harðar saga, Ízlenzk fornrit XIII) if they can find a copy. The instructor will provided scans of English translation(s), but students are encouraged to pick up their own copy of Icelandic Histories and Romances, translated by Ralph O’Connor, since it is relatively cheap and widely available.
Sections capped at: 5 students. If the course is sold-out, please fill out this waiting-list form.
When
Tuesdays, Fridays, 4:30-5:30p.m. U.S. Eastern Time
Cost
$500
