Viking Research Topics

by cespedes4therestivus

I have a paper proposal due this week for a 4000 level class. Last semester I focused on the validity of the Vinland Saga as well as the Greenlanders Saga. I was just wondering if you guys had any other ideas I should consider before I build on my paper from the last semester.

textandtrowel

There's lots out there! Building on your earlier Vinland Saga project, you might look at some of the things covered in James Barrett ed., Contact, Continuity, and Collapse (2003). You can see the table of contents here. I'm personally interested in the relationships between texts and archaeology, which this volume covers very well, and it also has some interesting stuff for Norse contacts with indigenous Americans. There's also a few things in it about seafaring, which I think is also well covered in Angelo Forte, et al., Viking Empires (2005).

But there's lots of other topics as well: colonization, settlement, seafaring, trade, warfare, religion, women, children, animals, slaves, buildings, tools, material culture, law, legends, and just about any other aspect of society you might be interested in. Maybe if you can narrow it down a bit more, we can help suggest a few things more specific to your interests.