NFI4111 – Old Norse Palaeography and Codicology
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
This course gives an introduction to Old Norse script and its development from c. 1100 to 1550. Students will study manuscripts with various content and types of script. The course will also offer a brief introduction to manuscript production in the Middle Ages, the compilation of manuscripts and the scientific description of manuscripts in catalogues.
Finally, the manuscript culture, which is one of the characteristics of this period, will be treated from the perspective of European cultural history.
The course syllabus will vary; the reading list will consist of literature amounting to approximately 1,000 pages.
Learning outcome
Students will develop a capacity for reading medieval texts from the manuscripts and gain an understanding of the systems of abbreviation used by medieval scribes.
They will be able to distinguish various kinds of script and gain an understanding of how to determine the relative date and provenance of manuscripts from palaeographical and codicological data.
The course will also develop students’ capacity for analysis and independent thinking when it comes to primary sources.
Students will be given insights into what it means to do research in the field of palaeography and codicology and thus be provided with a basis on which to build their own work in the field.
The course will enable the students to summarize the research debate in an independent, well-considered way, both orally and in writing.
The focus will be on theory and method related to these issues.
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.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
A basic knowledge of Old Norse language comparable to the course NFI1101 - Norr?n grammatikk og eldre spr?khistorie is required.
Recommended previous knowledge
Experience of reading unnormalized texts in Old Norse, provided in the course NFI2130 – Norse Prose is recommended.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with NFI2120 – Old Norse Palaeography and Codicology.
- 5 credits overlap with NFI2100 – Norr?n paleografi og kodikologi (discontinued).
- 5 credits overlap with NFI4110 – Norr?n paleografi og kodikologi (discontinued).
Teaching
The teaching is given in seminars with 18 double lectures 36 hours in total. Excursions may also be part of the course.
One qualifying assignment has to be approved before the student may submit the semester assignment.
A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.
Approved compulsory activites are valid for the next two terms in which the course is offered
Examination
The student’s work will assessed on the basis of a semester assignment. The subject of the assignment will be agreed between the student and the teacher.
The assignment shall comprise 10 pages of approximately 2,300 keystrokes excluding spaces.
Language of examination
You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
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.
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.