German 1500:
Germanic Myths,
Legends, and Sagas

Fall Term 2004 (05-1). August 30 - December 10, 2004.

• Instructor for lectures and Monday recitations:
  Dr. Elizabeth Ernst
  Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures
  University of Pittsburgh
  Office hours: MW 12:00 - 1:00 and by appointment, CL 1401
  Email: Trithemius1@aol.com
• Instructor for Wednesday/Friday recitations:
  ____________
  Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures
  Phone: 412 624-5909
  ____________
  Office hours: ____________

• Recitation Sections:
  M: CRN 13248, 11:00-11:50 AM, CL 332
  W: CRN 13249, 4:00-4:50 PM, CL 112
  F: CRN 13250, 3:00-3:50 PM, CL 151
  F: CRN 19402, 1:00-1:50 PM, CL 226
  F: CRN 19403, 2:00-2:50 PM, CL 249

  NEW THIS SEMESTER! Guest speaker (Oct. 5); Museum Tour: "The Bog People of Ancient Northern Europe" (Nov. 9); and Supplemental Websites (additional texts, video, and interactive materials).

• Course web site: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/ger1500.html

After the second week, the cycle of recitation material will begin on Monday and repeat on Wednesdays and Fridays.

As you will benefit from a high level of participation in your recitation section, attendance there is mandatory. More than two unexcused absences will result in the total 1500 course grade being lowered by 10%.

Daily participation will be graded on the following scale:

• 0 = absent
• 7 = present but does not contribute
• 8 = average, contributes once
• 9 = above average, contributes twice
• 10 = exceptional, contributes three times or more

Disability Statement

If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and the Office of Disability Resources and Services, 216 William Pitt Union (412) 648-7890 (412) 383-7355 (TTY) as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your diability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.

Reading and viewing assignments

Monday, Aug. 29.

• General introduction. The storytellers and the gods.
• Assignment: Examine this website carefully, then print out the syllabus (complete with assigned texts and visuals). This should take you approximately one half hour. Scan related links.
• Other recommended sites for next class preparation (with interactive media, very comprehensive): www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/index/shtml (Comprehensive Norse links) home.ix.netcom.com/~kyamazak/lk-norse.htm

Wednesday, Aug. 31.

Introduction (continued).
• Recommended site (with interactive model): http://home.earthlink.net/~9worlds/asgard.html

Monday, Sept. 5.

• Labor Day. No classes.
• If scheduled for Monday recitations, please attend either on Wednesday or Friday this week.

Wednesday, Sept. 7.

• Norse Creation Myth from Snorri's Edda.
• Yggdrasil. A short poem by H. C. Andersen about the mythical ash tree beneath which the Norse gods held court.
• Origin of the Underground People, folk legends from Iceland, the German Island of Amrum in the North Sea, and from the Erzgebirge Mountains.
• Recommended site (Norse gods): www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~cherryne/myth.cgi/Figures.html

• For this week's recitations: Hávamál: The Words of Odin the High One. Proverbs and wisdom from the Elder or Poetic Edda.
• Recommended sites (Eddas): Wild Huntsman Legends. Some of these widely disseminated tales may be survivals of stories about Odin (also known as Wodan) from Germanic mythology.
• Gambara and the Longbeards (Langobards). A clever woman, with the help of the goddess Frea (Frigg), tricks Wodan (Odin) into blessing her tribe with victory.
• Recommended site (Wild Hunt): http://www.vinland.org/heathen/mt/wildhunt.html

• For this week's recitations:
  • Ostara's Home Page. Information about the Germanic goddess of springtime.
  • Gefion's Home Page. This site contains two accounts, both written by Snorri Sturlason, the 13th-century Icelandic writer, describing how the Æsir goddess Gefion (also spelled Gefjon) created the Danish island of Sjælland (Zealand) by plowing out an enormous field from the Kingdom of Sweden.
  • Ertha, the Germanic Earth Goddess. The account, written by Tacitus in the year 98, of a north German deity variously named Ertha, Hertha, Nerthus, or Mother Earth. She may be related to the folkloric figures known as Bertha or Frau Holle.
  • Hertha Lake, a legend about the heathen deity Hertha. This may be the earth goddess mentioned by Tacitus in his Germania, written in the year 98.
  • Recommended sites (Goddesses): http://www..sympatico.cd/chartreuse/AvatarsoftheGoddess/Norse; (Tacitus): www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/tacitus1.html

Wednesday, Sept. 14.

• Thor's Home Page.
• Thor's Hammer Möllnir. Please study all the photographs at this location. The headings include "Thor's hammer amulets," "Soapstone mold," and "Thor's hammer / Christian crucifix mold."
• Thor and the Midgard Serpent from Snorri's Edda.
• The Lay of Thrym from the Poetic Edda.

Monday, Sept. 19.

• Superstitions. Supernatural beliefs prevelant in northern Europe as late as the mid nineteenth century. Many of these superstitions have their roots in the ancient religions of the Celts, Germans, and Slavs.

• For this week's recitations:
  • Review for exam 1.
  • Master Builder Legends from Scandinavia, Geramny, and Austria.
  • The Name of the Helper. Folktales of type 500, in which a mysterious and threatening helper is defeated when the hero or heroine discovers his name.

Wednesday, Sept. 21.

• Stone Monuments, legends about ancient alters, graves, megaliths, menhirs, mounds, pictographs, runestones, picture stones, standing stones, and other such monuments from the past. Read all the legends contained at this site.
• Dolmens in Denmark. A collection of photographs.
• The Merseburg Incantations. Two magic poems from pre-Christian Germany.
  1. The first poem describes the activities of valkyrie-like sorceresses called "the Idisi" who have the power to bind or to free battling warriors. Following the narrative are the words of a brief incantation or charm chanted to free captured warriors.
  2. The second poem tells how a number of goddesses unsuccessfully attempt to cure the injured leg of Balder's horse. Wodan, with his unfailing magic, knows the right charm, and the horse is healed. The narrative concludes with the actual words of an incantation used to heal broken limbs.
• Charms against sprains from the Orkney and Shetland Islands. These charms closely resemble the second of the Merseburg Incantations.
• Balder's Home Page. Be sure to read the account of "The Death of Balder" published at this site.

• Recommended sites (Incantations): www.harbornet.com/folks/theedrich/hive/Medieval/charts.htm (Runes): http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/

Monday, Monday, Sept. 26.

• Beowulf, chapters 1-27.

• For this week's recitations: review.

• Recommended site (Beowulf): htp://www.humanities.mcmastr.ca/~beowulf/main.html

Wednesday, Wednesday, Sept. 28.

• Beowulf, chapters 27-42.

Monday, Oct. 3.

• Exam 1.

• For this week's recitations:
  • Faust Legends. Stories about mortals who enter into contracts with the demonic powers.
  • Tannhäuser, the legend of the medieval German knight who found refuge in the Mountain of Venus, the pagan goddess of love.
  • Recommended site (Faust): www.mystical-www.co.uk/faust.htm

Wednesday, Oct. 6.

• Guest speaker: Dr. Klaus Vogelgsang, (Dept. of Medieval Studies, University of Augsburg): "The Nibelung and the Heroic Tradition."

Monday, Oct. 10.

• Werewolf Legends from Germany, from collections published, for the most part, in 19th century Germany.
• Recommended site (Werewolves): www.mythology.com/bookofwerewolves.html

• For this week's recitations:
  • Water Spirit Legends. Stories about mermaids, nixies, and other supernatural creatures that live in the water.

Wednesday, Oct. 12.

• Night-Mares, legends about Mares, Alps, and other such spirits that cause nightmares.
• "The Nightmare" by the Swiss-English artist Henry Fuseli (1741-1825). Notice the demon seated on the dreamer's chest in this famous painting.

Monday, Oct. 17.

• German Changeling Legends. Stories from German-speaking countries about how fairies, trolls, elves, and devils kidnap human children, leaving their own demonic offspring in their place.
• Abducted by Aliens. The aliens in these legends are not men from outer space but the underground folk: fairies, trolls, elves, and the like.
• Midwife (or Godparent) for the Elves. A human helps deliver an elf-woman's baby, or serves as the elf-child's godparent. Stories of this type are found throughout northern Europe, and are classified as migratory legend type 5070 or Aarne-Thompson folktale type 476*.

• For this week's recitations:
  • Hildebrandslied.
  • Recommended sites: (Audio file) www.uni- tuebingen.de/mediaevstik/materialen/hildebrant.htm; (View text) titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcs/germ/ahd/hildrd/hilde.htm
  • Amleth, Prince of Denmark, from the Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus. This account, written about 1185 but based on older oral tradition, describes the same players and events that were immortalized by William Shakespeare in his The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, written about 1602.

Wednesday, Oct. 19.

• Njal's Saga, chapters 1-18.

• Recommended sites: (Iceland, Sagas): http://www.iceland.is/history-and-culture/Arts/Literature/nr/84; (Sagas, Cornell): http://visindavefur.hi.is/svar.asp?id=4813; (Njal's Saga): http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/n/nj.htm

Monday, Oct. 24.

• Njal's Saga, chapters 19-45.

• For this week's recitations: Review for exam 2.

Wednesday, Oct. 26.

• Njal's Saga, chapters 46-75.

Monday, Oct. 31.

• Njal's Saga, chapters 76-120.

• For this week's recitations: Review for exam 2.
• Recommended sites: (Human sacrifice, archeology. film in German): www.br.-online.de/wissen-bildung/thema/mumien/moorleichen.xml; (Tollund Man) www.silkeborgmuseum.dk/ Windeby (animated, picture gallery, German); www.zdf.de/ZDFde/inhalt/4/0,1872,2143076,00.html

Wednesday, Nov. 2.

• Njal's Saga, chapters 121-132.
• Thangbrand the Priest Goes to Iceland from the Heimskringla of Snorri Sturluson.
• Recommended site (Icelandic law): http://www.editors-wastebasket.org/nexx/pro/njallaw.html

Monday, Nov. 7.

• Exam 2.

• For this week's recitations:
  • The Heathen Temple at Uppsala by Adam of Bremen. A description, written between 1072 and 1076, of the Norse temple dedicated to the gods Thor, Wotan (Odin), and Frey.
  • Saint Boniface and the Oak of Donar [Thor]. A Christian missionary cuts down a tree sacred to the German heathens.
  • Human Sacrifice in Legends and Myths. Read all the legends contained at this site.

Wednesday, Nov. 9.

• FIELD TRIP: CARNEGIE MUSEUM- BOG PEOPLE OF ANCIENT NORTHERN EUROPE. Guided Tours. 12:00 and 1:00. Please sign up for time TWO WEEKS before tour begins. We will meet outside the main entrance (facing parking lot) at 11:50 and 12:50. Lecture will not be held today.

Monday, Nov. 14.

• The Saga of the Volsungs, chapters 1-28.
• Recommended site (Sigurd/Volsung): www.legends.dm.net/sagas

• For this week's recitations:
  • Sleeping Hero Legends. Read all the legends contained at this site.

Wednesday, Nov. 16.

• The Saga of the Volsungs, chapters 29-44.

Monday, Nov. 21.

• The Nibelungenlied, chapters 1-15.
• Recommended site: (Nibelung) http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com.Nibelung

• Note: There are no recitations the week of Thanksgiving break.

Wednesday, Nov. 23 - Friday, Nov. 25.

• Thanksgiving break.

Monday, Nov. 28.

• The Nibelungenlied, chapters 16-22.

• For this week's recitations: Film and discussion.

Wednesday, Nov. 31.

• The Nibelungenlied, chapters 23-28.
• Recommended site: (Thirteenth Warrior, Fadlan text) http://www.uib.no/jais/v003ht/montgo1.htm

Monday, December 5.

• The Nibelungenlied, chapters 29-34.

• For this week's recitations: Review.

Wednesday, December 7.

• The Nibelungenlied, chapters 35-39.

Wednesday, Dec. 14, 12:00 - 1:50 p.m.

• Final exam, CL G-24.

Supplemental World Wide Web Sites

Click on one of the items below for a cyberleap into the world of mythology and storytelling.

General Background

• Germanic Myths, Legends, and Sagas. Background information and links to sites related to this course.
• An electronic library of Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts.
• Indo-European Folk and Fairy Tales.

Specialized Topics

• The Gods' and Goddesses' Home Pages
• Balder's Home Page.
• Frey's Home Page. Under construction.
• Gefion's Home Page.
• Odin's Home Page. Under construction.
• Ostara's Home Page.
• Thor's Home Page.

Vikings in America. Information about the Norse settlement in Vinland, including photographs of the reconstructed way station at L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, Canada.

Viking Ship Home Page. Illustrations, stories, facts, and links concerning the ship culture of the Vikings.

Summary of Pictorial Materials

After viewing a picture, you can return to this site by pressing the "Back" button on your browser.

Course description

• We remember their gods in the names of days (Wodan's-day, Thor's-day, and Frigga's-day); we celebrate, with an altered purpose, their great festivals at winter solstice and onset of spring; we use such disparate terms from their language as "law," "ransack," and "berserk"; and we name athletic teams after their intrepid pirates the Vikings; but still we know relatively little about the complex culture of ancient northern Europeans.
• This course will present a cultural survey from about 500 B.C. to about 1500 A.D. of this folk. Our sources will be the people's own cultural artifacts: archaeological and anthropological findings, written sagas, oral ballads, traditional legends, customs, superstitions, place names, and language expressions. The course's aim is to show how these artifacts reflect the cultural and personal values of the people who created and used them.
• Topics covered will include social organization, distribution of labor and wealth, the position of women and children in family and society, and the uses of supernatural beliefs to achieve worldly goals. Where appropriate, parallels will be drawn between modern northern European values and their formative myths from the distant past.
• No prerequisites: All readings are in English.
• Assignments and grading: Course readings will include Beowulf, the Nibelungenlied, selections from Icelandic sagas, the Eddas, migratory legends, and passages from Tacitus, Saxo, and other ancient historians. Two midterms, and a final exam will contribute respectively 25%, 30% and 35% to the final grade. Recitation performance contributes 10%. Regular attendance is expected.
• Estimated class size: 100 students.
• This course is normally offered every semester.
• German 1500 satisifies the College of Arts and Sciences requirement under the designation foreign culture -- regional.

Required texts

• Selected materials from the World Wide Web.
• The Nibelungenlied. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044137-9.
• The Saga of the Volsungs. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-06904-8.
• Njal's Saga. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044103-4.
• Beowulf. Bantam. ISBN 0-553-21347-4.

Course requirements

• Regular classroom attendance.
• Timely fulfillment of reading assignments.
• Three multiple-choice examinations.
• If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accomodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and the Office of Disability Resources and Services, 216 William Pitt Union, (412) 648-7890 (412) 383-7355 (TTY) as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accomodations for this course.

Grading

• Examination 1: 25% or 30%.
• Examination 2: 25% or 30%. (The lower of the first two examinations will count 25%; the higher, 30%.
• Examination 3: 35%.
• Recitation: 10%

Penalties

• Unless make-up arrangements are made in advance, a missed examination will be assigned a score of 20%.

Revised August 29, 2005.