HIST2521: From Vikings to Crusaders: the Formation of the Scandinavian Kingdoms, c. 900-1200

• A pass mark in at least ONE level one module in History.

• None

• None

• To introduce students to the political, social, religious and cultural history of Scandinavia in the high middle ages.
• To engage students with a source material surviving from Scandinavia in the high middle ages including literary and legal sources.
• To explore the relationship between religion and politics and the process of state formation in Scandinavia in the high middle ages.

• In the period between around 900 and 1200, Scandinavia underwent a remarkable transformation. Norse paganism gave way to Christianity. Peaceful contacts with the rest of Europe increased. Latin literacy arrived, and with it documentary culture and political bureaucracy. Royal government became increasingly centralised. The Scandinavians, as a German chronicler had it, were adjust[ing] themselves to other nations (Arnold of Lbeck). But there were limits to the Europeanisation of Scandinavia. Provincial jurisdictions remained relatively independent from central government. Political culture was still remarkably violent: kings were murdered or killed in battle to a degree unparalleled elsewhere in the West. Viking raids of previous centuries were rivalled in intensity and violence by the exploitative, missionary warfare in the southern and eastern Baltic, the so-called Northern Crusades. In this module we will explore the formation of the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and their journey from loose confederations ruled by pirate-kings to Christian monarchies which participated enthusiastically in the religious, military, and intellectual culture of Western Europe.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• A deeper understanding of the interaction between religion and politics (church and state) in northern Europe in the central middle ages.
• An awareness of key themes such as state formation, Europeanisation, literate government, and Christian holy war in the central middle ages.
• An ability to appreciate and evaluate a variety of sources, ranging from the great sagas to law codes and charters.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Subject specific skills for this module can be viewed at: http://www.dur.ac.uk/history.internal/local/ModuleProformaMap/

Key Skills:

• Key skills for this module can be viewed http://www.dur.ac.uk/history.internal/local/ModuleProformaMap/

• Student learning is facilitated by a combination of the following teaching methods:
• lectures to set the foundations for further study and to provide the basis for the acquisition of subject specific knowledge. Lectures provide a broad framework which defines individual module content, introducing students to themes, debates and interpretations. In this environment, students are given the opportunity to develop skills in listening, selective note-taking and reflection;
• seminars to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject-specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals.
• Assessment:
• Examinations test students' ability to work under pressure, to prepare for examinations and direct their own programme of revision and learning, and develop key time management skills. The examination gives students the opportunity to develop relevant life skills such as the ability to produce coherent, reasoned and supported arguments under pressure. Students will be examined on subject specific knowledge;
• Summative coursework will test students ability to communicate ideas in writing, present clear and cogent arguments succinctly and show appropriate critical skills as relevant to the particular module.

Formative work done in preparation for and during seminars, including oral and written work as appropriate to the module. The summative coursework will have a formative element by allowing students to develop ideas and arguments for the examination and to practice writing to similar word limits.

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