Sources Flashcards
1
Q
Ágrip af Nóregskonugasögum
A
- Work is a history of the kings og Norway in Old Norse written by an unknown writer c. 1190
- Survives in an Icelandic MS from the 13th c.
- Along with the Historia Norvegiae it is one of the Norwegian synoptic histories
- It has a very detailed description of events around Nidaros, so it is thought to have been composed in that region
2
Q
Ælfric’s ‘De Falsis Dis’
A
- Ælfric of Eynsham- c. 955- c. 1010 was an English abbot and prolific writer
- He served to condem the heathen practices that had survived into Christian times
3
Q
Theodoricus Monarchus
A
- Theodoricus was a 12th-century Norwegian Benedictine monk, perhaps at the Nidarholm Abbey
- Theodoric wrote a brief history of the kings of Norway in Latin, sometime between 1177 and 1188. The work covers Norwegian history from the reign of the 9th century King Haraldr hárfagri up to the death of King Sigurd the Crusader in 1130.
4
Q
Alcuin’s ‘The Life of St Willibrord’
A
- In 782 Alciun was appointed head of Charlemagne’s school at Aachen and became a leading member of that select circle who supported the emperor in his efforts to reeducate Europe.
- Willibrord c. 658 –739 was a Northumbrian missionary saint, known as the “Apostle to the Frisians” in the modern Netherlands. He became the first Bishop of Utrecht
5
Q
Widukind of Corvey
A
- Widukind of Corvey (c. 925 – after 973) was a medieval Saxon chronicler who is an important chronicle of 10th-century Germany during the rule of the Ottonian dynasty.
- Influenced by the Roman historian Sallust
6
Q
Thietmar of Merseberg
A
- Thietmar, 975 – 1018, Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death, was an important chronicler recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian (Saxon) dynasty
- His work was composed 1012-18 and covers the period between 908 and 1018
- He provides an account of Danish sacrifice of Lejre every 9 years in the 11th century in which he describes idols of Odin, Thor, and Freyr being present and mentions the sacrifice of animals
7
Q
The Brunnby Runestone
A
- memorial inscription runestone from Uppland, Sweden
- has been dated as being carved approximately during the period of 1070 to 1100
- The runic text states that the stone was raised by two sons as a memorial to their father Vígi.
- The inscription consists of runic text on a serpent that circles and then becomes intertwined in the center of the design under a Christian cross.
- The runic inscription was carved and signed by runemasters named Öpir and Bjorn
8
Q
What does Theodoricus Monarchus say?
A
FOR THE CHRISTIANISATION OF NORWAY
- Monachus says nothing of Hakon’s attempt to Christianise Norway, preferring instead to place greater emphasis on the actions of Olaf Tryggvason and Olaf Haraldsson.
- He also says that Tryggvason had a priest with him from Flanders- highlights that Denmark and England weren’t the only foreign powers with influence
FOR THE CHRISTIANISATION OF ICELAND
- Theodoricus Monachus implies that divine intervention is the reason for conversion, as opposed to Icelandic law
9
Q
The Dynna Runestone
A
- Inscription from Gran, Norway of a woman named Gunnvor who raised the stone in memory of her daughter, Astridr.
- The stone was erected ca. AD 1040 – 1050, and its imagery is considered among the first Christian pictorial art in Norway.
- Crude images depict biblical images including the nativity scene
- Although the Dynna Stone uses Christian imagery and text, the stone was raised among the old family grave mounds, an indication of cultic continuity even after the conversion to Christianity
10
Q
Einhard
A
Einhard lived 775 – 840 and was a Frankish scholar and courtier.
- His main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the Vita Karoli Magni.
11
Q
Eyrbyggja Saga
A
- 13th century Icelandic saga
- The saga is characterized by a distinct interest in old lore, rituals, pagan practices and superstitions.
- Sections of the Eyrbyggja Saga have survived in fragments from the 13th century and in numerous manuscripts from the 14th century.
12
Q
Hákonarmál
A
- Hákonarmál is a skaldic poem which the skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir composed about the fall of the Norwegian king Hákon the Good at the battle of Fitjar and his reception in Valhalla.
- The poem emulates Eiríksmál and is intended to depict the Christian Hákon as a friend to the pagan gods
13
Q
Jomsvikinga Saga
A
- Icelandic saga composed by an anonymous Icelander. The Saga was composed in Iceland during the 13th century. It exists in several manuscripts which vary from each other.
- There are many different versions and translations of the saga.
14
Q
Kristni Saga
A
- Kristni saga (the book of Christianity) is an Old Norse account of the christianisation of Iceland in the 10th century and of some later church history.
- probably written in the early or mid-13th century, as it is dependent on the Latin biography of King Olaf Tryggvason written in the last decade of the 12th century and also on Ari.
- Likely by Sturla Thortharson too
15
Q
The Liber Eliensis
A
- The Liber Eliensis is a 12th-century English chronicle and history, written in Latin written at the Abbey of Ely
