Intro Old Norse

4 credits · Undergraduate

Introduces undergraduate students to the grammar of the vernacular written language of Iceland and Norway in the Middle Ages. Linguistic mastery is emphasized. By the end of the semester students should be able to read saga style Old Norse prose texts in normalized orthography with the help of a dictionary. To this end, lectures will lay out the morphology of the Old Norse language systematically and thoroughly. In addition to the lectures, much of the in-class time will be devoted to translating and close reading of extracts of Old Norse texts.