NFI4121 – The Poetic Edda - from the Oral to the Written
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
The course gives an overview over the preserved eddic poems.
Theories and methods of studying the eddic poetry as an oral tradition, are treated in the course.
The relationship between theories of oral and written communication is a central theme.
Learning outcome
The students are to acquire a profound knowledge of the preserved eddic poetry.
After the completion of the course they are to be able to read and interpret eddic poetry.
Further, the students are to gain solid understanding of the existing theories on oral transmission of the poems, and theories on the Verschriftlichung (literarisation) of the texts.
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
The minimum number of attendants for the course is 5.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
NFI4120 – Old Norse - Language and Texts, or equivalent.
Recommended previous knowledge
This course builds on previous knowledge equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree in Western-European Medieval Studies or another Bachelor’s Degree with a major within a discipline that covers the Viking or Nordic Medieval period. The course provides a study of Old Norse texts, and therefore one is to be able to work with the Old Norse language.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with MAS4121 – The Poetic Edda - from Orality to Literacy (discontinued).
Teaching
Group teaching in the form of seminars and individual tutorials and will amount to 20 hours in total.
The course is structured into blocks with lectures followed by group work in which students translate and comment on texts
Examination
At the end of the course, each student is to hand in a semester assignment, which the student has been working with throughout the whole semester.
The assignment will comprise of roughly 10 pages, of appr. 2300 keystrokes, excluding spaces, per page.
The semester assignment will form the base of the final grade, which will be given in alphabetical marks.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Resit an examination
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.