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I just graduated with a degree in Viking Studies, AMA (ask me anything)

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Original post by jsccsx1
Why didn't you apply for UCL? or if you did, why did you not choose to go there?


Which course at UCL? I wouldn't want to study in London, far too expensive to live there. I liked Nottingham campus and I liked the course structure.
Reply 101
I take it your degree didn't require my assistance? :getmecoat:
Original post by Messalina
Which course at UCL? I wouldn't want to study in London, far too expensive to live there. I liked Nottingham campus and I liked the course structure.


Viking Studies
Original post by Messalina
I am forever norsing a hangover from all the mead that fills my drinking horn!

I didn't get much of a night out though, I'd already moved away from Nottingham to London for my new job by the time I received my grades and I don't know many people here expect my middle aged colleagues. Need to find me a mead hall!


Is you life like skyrim?
Original post by jsccsx1
Viking Studies


There were no other courses in Viking Studies when I applied for Nottingham in 2009.

Original post by shahbaz
Is you life like skyrim?


I endeavour to make it as much like skyrim as possible. I really, really love skyrim. Almost too much. :colondollar:
Original post by Messalina
There were no other courses in Viking Studies when I applied for Nottingham in 2009.



I endeavour to make it as much like skyrim as possible. I really, really love skyrim. Almost too much. :colondollar:


Yeah same its where I get all my viking information from, my favorite character would be Jarl balgruuf.

But yeah, you could work for bethesda on their elder scroll series.
Original post by Messalina
There were no other courses in Viking Studies when I applied for Nottingham in 2009.


Hi - I was also going to ask what made you pick Notts over UCL. UCL definitely did do Viking Studies in 2009 - pretty sure they've been doing it since at least the 90s.

I've seen a number of people on TSR pick Notts over UCL for Viking Studies and I just wondered what the appeal was. For me UCL has the edge because they have a year abroad and allow you to study the modern Scandinavian languages as well as Old Norse.
Original post by Messalina
As the title says. I have recently graduated with a degree in Viking Studies (that is the title of my degree) from the University of Nottingham. Ask me anything! :smile:

How do you feel about Thor being portrayed as a female by Marvel? And how how prominent were the vikings/ The Great Heathen army in the area of Nottingham?
Original post by Samual
Hi - I was also going to ask what made you pick Notts over UCL. UCL definitely did do Viking Studies in 2009 - pretty sure they've been doing it since at least the 90s.

I've seen a number of people on TSR pick Notts over UCL for Viking Studies and I just wondered what the appeal was. For me UCL has the edge because they have a year abroad and allow you to study the modern Scandinavian languages as well as Old Norse.


Well I never knew they had a course there, before I even decided on my course I knew I didn't want to study in London so that's probably why I didn't look. You have the option of a year abroad at Nottingham and you can also do modern foreign languages (including Scandinavian ones) alongside your studies if you wish. So I don't see any reason why UCL would be better. I'm happy with the degree I chose. Also looking at UCL it is a 4 year course, so there's an extra year of funding to worry about, and the focus seems to be much more on Scandinavia, whereas my degree had a real focus on Anglo-Saxon England as well as Scandinavia.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Reece Sure
How do you feel about Thor being portrayed as a female by Marvel? And how how prominent were the vikings/ The Great Heathen army in the area of Nottingham?


I'm not much of a fan of comics, nor the way Thor is depicted by Marvel anyway. So the change is just being met by a shrug from me really. I'd rather see more original female characters (maybe based on other Norse gods? That'd be cool!) instead of female depictions of already established male characters. She-hulk comes to mind.

From my knowledge there wasn't too much in the way of Great Heathen army activity in Nottinghamshire, but that's mostly because nobody has excavated anything to prove they were there. There was a lot in neighbouring counties like Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire though, especially in Torksey and Ripon. If you're interested this is a good article on it: http://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/viking-torksey-inside-the-great-armys-winter-camp.htm
Original post by Messalina
I'm not much of a fan of comics, nor the way Thor is depicted by Marvel anyway. So the change is just being met by a shrug from me really. I'd rather see more original female characters (maybe based on other Norse gods? That'd be cool!) instead of female depictions of already established male characters. She-hulk comes to mind.

From my knowledge there wasn't too much in the way of Great Heathen army activity in Nottinghamshire, but that's mostly because nobody has excavated anything to prove they were there. There was a lot in neighbouring counties like Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire though, especially in Torksey and Ripon. If you're interested this is a good article on it: http://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/viking-torksey-inside-the-great-armys-winter-camp.htm

Awesome informative. I don't suppose you'd know the liklihood of integration of the vikings with the local populations in times of peace, and the chances of settling in the area? I have only done very limited reading, and from sketchy sources a best (history is a pain like that, so close yet so far to knowing what happened), although they suggested that it could well be feasible. Whats your opinion?
Original post by Reece Sure
Awesome informative. I don't suppose you'd know the liklihood of integration of the vikings with the local populations in times of peace, and the chances of settling in the area? I have only done very limited reading, and from sketchy sources a best (history is a pain like that, so close yet so far to knowing what happened), although they suggested that it could well be feasible. Whats your opinion?


Well there isn't much in the way of literary evidence other than the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, so integration is limited to genetic studies and such. Other than the initial raiders, many Scandinavian settlers were traders and looking to make a new life for themselves, not just driven by conflict. I think that integration was very extensive - look at the place names of England that have Scandinavian origins (like Scunthorpe for example). There are so many, surely for those to develop the Scandinavians had to stick around, name the place, keep calling it that and take elements from the local Anglo Saxon language along with it?
Original post by Messalina
Well I never knew they had a course there, before I even decided on my course I knew I didn't want to study in London so that's probably why I didn't look. You have the option of a year abroad at Nottingham and you can also do modern foreign languages (including Scandinavian ones) alongside your studies if you wish. So I don't see any reason why UCL would be better. I'm happy with the degree I chose. Also looking at UCL it is a 4 year course, so there's an extra year of funding to worry about, and the focus seems to be much more on Scandinavia, whereas my degree had a real focus on Anglo-Saxon England as well as Scandinavia.


Which modern languages can you do on the Nottingham Viking degree? I had a look at the modules and I couldn't see any. I think the advantage of the UCL degree is that you study modern and medieval Scandinavian languages simultaneously for all four years, and the year abroad is compulsory so you get extra funding to pay for it. The fact that UCL not only offers Old Norse but also Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese and even Finnish (not Viking, but whatever) sets it apart in my opinion. I don't mean to suggest that Nottingham's degree isn't good, but I think it is better suited for people who aren't as interested in languages.
Original post by Samual
Which modern languages can you do on the Nottingham Viking degree? I had a look at the modules and I couldn't see any. I think the advantage of the UCL degree is that you study modern and medieval Scandinavian languages simultaneously for all four years, and the year abroad is compulsory so you get extra funding to pay for it. The fact that UCL not only offers Old Norse but also Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese and even Finnish (not Viking, but whatever) sets it apart in my opinion. I don't mean to suggest that Nottingham's degree isn't good, but I think it is better suited for people who aren't as interested in languages.


It's not directly part of the course, but all Nottingham undergrads have the chance to take a MFL module each year as one of their optional modules. I opted not to so that I could use those credits on what I felt were more relevant modules, but a classmate took Swedish I believe. And that's cool, by all means go and study at UCL, different strokes for different folks. Having looked at the UCL prospectus I think I still would have chosen Nottingham, I prefer what I did there. I have a good grounding in the old languages (old english, old norse) which I feel were more relevant to me than modern foreign languages. The MARS MA at UCL does look interesting though, I would have loved to do manuscript work.
Sounds like a really interesting degree!! Can you speak any modern Scandinavian languages? I've read that modern Icelandic and old Norse are very similar
Original post by TheTechN1304
Sounds like a really interesting degree!! Can you speak any modern Scandinavian languages? I've read that modern Icelandic and old Norse are very similar


I can kind of work out what some modern icelandic words are, thanks to my old norse knowledge. But I can't speak any modern languages other than english - I'm not much of a language person and I had the chance to study them if I wanted, but I felt I already had enough on my plate with my degree :smile:
Reply 116
Have you heard of this new trend of single women in the UK buying viking sperm in order to have tall , blue eyed kids ? I have very limited knowledge of viking history (I do know they didn't wear the stupid horned helmets though) but from what I've heard women all around Europe were already enjoying that much desired viking DNA a thousand years ago without even paying for it. What's your opinion on that? Thx.
Original post by StevieA
Have you heard of this new trend of single women in the UK buying viking sperm in order to have tall , blue eyed kids ? I have very limited knowledge of viking history (I do know they didn't wear the stupid horned helmets though) but from what I've heard women all around Europe were already enjoying that much desired viking DNA a thousand years ago without even paying for it. What's your opinion on that? Thx.


Source please, otherwise you're a massive troll.
Original post by Messalina
Source please, otherwise you're a massive troll.


Invasion of the Viking babies. There was a programme on Radio 4 a few weeks ago about it.
Original post by Samual
Invasion of the Viking babies. There was a programme on Radio 4 a few weeks ago about it.


That sounds more like an easy availability of sperm donors in that country as opposed to racial bias. The people they interviewed appeared to have trouble finding sperm donors in the UK. Not all men in Denmark are blonde, tall and blue eyed.

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