75362 - Gender and Violence in the Old Germanic Literatures

Learning outcomes

The student has deep knowledge about the fundamental social institutions of the Germanic peoples of the Late-antiquity and Middle Ages.The student possesses the direct knowledge of written sources which he/she reads in the original languages, he/she konws and is able to use the practical methodologies for the analysis and interpretation of the lietary texts through a linguistic and filological education.

Course contents

1st Semester (from 7th November): 6 CFU (30 hrs)

 

Ragnars saga (Ragnars saga Lódbrokar)

 

The Ragnars saga is part of the so-called fornaldarsögur (sagas of the ancient time), which were written during the 13th century but  were inspired by a heroic past whose deeds were placed even before the Icelandic colonization. Like all fornaldarsögur, the Ragnars saga - which is set in the 9th century - is a telling about heroism, fantastic elements, magic and paganism. Along the centuries, it has inspired many works, like the successful TVmovie series "Vikings". During the course, all the texts of the saga will be commented, in order to show uses and customs coming out from the saga, its cultural context, its rhetorical structure between prose and poetry.

Readings/Bibliography

- Saga di Ragnarr, introduzione e cura di Marcello Meli, Milano, Iperborea, 1993;

- McTurk, Rory, Studies in Ragnars saga loðbrókar and its Major Scandinavian Analogues, Oxford, The Society for the Study of Mediaeval Languages and Literature, 1991;

- Torfi Tulinius, Sagas of Icelandic Prehistory (fornaldarsögur) , in A Companion to Old Norse Literature and Culture, ed. by Rory McTurk, Malden (MA), Blackwell, 2007, pp. 447-461;

- Ashman Rowe, Elizabeth - Harris, Joseph, Short Prose Narrative (þáttr), in A Companion to Old Norse Literature and Culture, ed. by Rory McTurk, Malden (MA), Blackwell, 2007, pp. 462-478

- Bampi, Massimiliano, Le saghe norrene e la questione dei generi, in Intorno alle saghe norrene, a cura di Carla Falluomini, Alessandria, Edizione dell'Orso, 2014, pp. 89-105.

no-attendant students:

To the previous bibliography the following essays must be added:

- Clunies Ross, Maragaret, The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Norse-Icelandic Saga, Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2010;

- O'Donoughe, Heather, Old Norse-Icelandic Literature. A Short Introduction, Malden (MA), Blackwell, 2004

- Bjarni Einarsson, On the Role of Verse in Saga-Literature, in "Mediaeval Scandinavia", 7 (1974), pp. 118-125;

- Bjarni Guðnason. The Icelandic Sources of Saxo Grammaticus, in Saxo Grammaticus: A Medieval Author Between Norse and Latin Culture, ed. by Karsten Friis-Jensen, Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 1981. pp. 79-93.

Teaching methods

Lectures

Assessment methods

In light of the workshop organization of the course, the assessment will take into account the participation of the students in the classroom on the discussion of the proposed topics. In the examination some textual examples discussed in class (or very similar) will be object of the examination and will be orallydiscussed together with the theoretical knowledge gained . During the interview the methodological and critical skills acquired by the student will be evaluated . The student will be invited to discuss the texts covered during the course and to move within the sources and bibliographical material in order to be able to identify in them the useful information that will enable to illustrate the similarities and cultural areas of the discipline. The achievement of an organic vision of the issues addressed during the classes and their critical use, which demonstrate ownership of a mastery of expression and specific language, will be assessed with marks of excellence. Mechanical and / or mnemonic knowledge of matter, synthesis and analysis of non-articulating and / or correct language but not always appropriate will lead to discrete assessments; training gaps and / or inappropriate language - although in a context of minimal knowledge of the material - will lead to votes that will not exceed the sufficiency. Training gaps, inappropriate language, lack of guidance within the reference materials offered during the course will lead to failed assessments.

Teaching tools

Multimedial tools

Office hours

See the website of Alessandro Zironi