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Course begins August 13, 2025
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Live sessions from 1:00 - 3:00pm Eastern U.S. time each week
Session 1
Society and Aspects of Daily Life
This session introduces how Scandinavian society was structured and how people lived. Just who was a viking? What did they wear or do for fun? Were there shieldmaidens? The discussion includes social classes, gender, and the importance of family. We’ll also touch on basics such as housing, food, healing, and other facets of daily life.
Session 2
Politics and Power
This week we talk politics and legal/judicial systems with particular emphasis on the Alþingi assembly in Iceland. Vikings were led by chieftains who wielded power but only within a system of reciprocity with their fellow free farmers that was constantly being negotiated. Political power was not absolute. Learn why one scholar has called their system a “proto-democracy.”
Session 3
Expansion into the Wider World
Week three covers the raiding and trading that vikings are famous for. They expanded out from Scandinavia in unprecedented numbers and in many directions. The reasons why and how they accomplished their goals are still debated by historians. But there is no doubt they made contact with many cultures and their presence was widely felt.
Session 4
Norse Language and Art
This session examines traditional language and art. Old Norse and the runic alphabet dominated in a time when oral culture and storytelling were hallmarks of viking life. We’ll discuss literary forms like sagas and poetry, as well as runic inscriptions. Their art was part of a wider Germanic tradition focusing on form and function. We will examine the materials, methods, and primary styles of the period.
Session 5
Norse Mythology and Pre-Christian Worldview
This time the discussion turns to the worldview of pre-Christian Scandinavia. Vikings were polytheistic and had a very complex cosmology. Gods, goddesses, giants, dwarves, and elves…and that only scratches the surface. Learn the basics of this interesting system we call “Norse Mythology.”
Session 6
The Coming of Christianity to the Norse World
The series ends with an important cultural shift during the Viking Age when Scandinavians abandoned their traditional polytheism and became Christian like the rest of Western Europe. Learn the reasons why they ultimately converted and how that affected what it meant to be a “viking.”
Meet Your Instructor
Terri Barnes
Terri Barnes is a medievalist historian from Portland, Oregon, who has been teaching college/university History courses since 2004. She is also a post-graduate researcher at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Scotland. Her primary area of historical research and teaching is medieval Northern Europe, with particular emphasis on the history of Scandinavia during the Viking Age. She has a popular podcast, "Vikingology: The Art and Science of the Viking Age," where she and her cohost interview top scholars about all things Viking, and she can also be found on her YouTube channel "Shieldmaiden in the Kitchen" where she combines her love of food, cooking, and history.
“This is such an interesting class and with a professor who I'm convinced was born to teach it. Any student interested in Viking history should count themselves lucky to learn from her! She is so knowledgeable about the subject yet approachable and nonjudgmental about student questions. That is to say, Professor Barnes creates the perfect learning environment for learning about history.”
“You're in good hands with Prof. Terri Barnes. She is a master teacher whose classes on the Viking Age fill in a flash, and a sensitive and insightful interpreter of the medieval Scandinavian past. I have learned a great deal from her. You will, too.”
Dr. John Ott, Portland State University
“Her passion for the material and for scholarship in general is incredibly contagious.”
“I have always liked history, but until her classes, I had no idea that I loved history.”
“Let Terri Barnes be your guide to the Vikings! This course has it all – covering the Viking Age holistically from the Vikings’ idea of a good time back home in Scandinavia, to their shocking raids on English monasteries, and their intrepid transatlantic voyages that saw them reach the eastern shores of North America. An accomplished teacher of Scandinavian history and a published author in the field of Viking Studies, Terri expertly shows how English chronicles, Icelandic sagas, Arab travelogues, and recent archaeological and scientific discoveries can be woven together to tell an unprecedentedly vivid story of the Vikings.”
Dr. Davide Zori, Baylor University
“Terri keeps the class fresh and fun with each week being a different aspect or particular theme of Viking culture or life. Taking this Viking History class was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had.”
“Professor Barnes's passion for her subject creates an extremely fun and enriching learning environment. Her Viking History class is worth every amount of money and energy I used for it.”