Norwegian Saga

I have one more essay to write and then I have officially completed the coursework component of my degree. The only thing remaining is my actual thesis.

As I may have mentioned the essay topic is: “a new analysis of the status of woman in the institution of marriage in three sagas.” I plan to analyze Njal’s Saga, Gisli Sursson’s Saga, and Laxdala Saga to show how female characters were both more developed and independent than perhaps previous scholars have been willing to admit. The prevailing sentiment is that female characters in the sagas were dependent on males. I hope to at least meaningfully challenge that assumption.

The thesis of course isn’t going to be any such thing. My work is about social change in Iceland during the fall of what is called the “free state.” Iceland fell under the Norwegian crown in c.1264 and the preceding decades were a tumultuous time. Through the analysis of seven contemporary sagas I hope to chart the changes over this period.

Unfortunately these few writings are the only historical documents that remain of this time for this area. We don’t call them the dark ages for nothing. For this reason the work will be limited. No one can do anything about a lack of sources. Thankfully, the contemporary sagas, as they’re known, are largely accepted as historical. The family sagas for instance, like those I’m working with in my marriage essay are not believed to be historical.

My marriage essay has to be completed by Wednesday. I had planned to work a great deal on it over Christmas but that didn’t happen .

Anyway, that’s the update.

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and a happy new year. I’ve probably been too quiet again as of late. The honest truth is that writing for this blog has become more difficult for me lately for a few reasons none of which I will go into. However, one thing I do wish to say is that I’m not leaving anything juicy out. My life in Oslo has calmed somewhat and I have turned into a creature of routine to some degree. I wake up, I do my work, I go for a walk to nowhere in particular and I go to bed. On Saturdays I teach English. Since each of you knows this I don’t feel the need to constantly write about it.

But we did just have a big holiday and I can say a few words about that. I was in Canada from the 15th of December to the 11th of January. I had an incredibly wonderful time. The people in my life have become even more important to me than they were previously and I was graced with the presence of my best friends over the holidays. I got to spend time with my family with whom I always feel I can be my silly self. Sometimes there’s nothing so relaxing as sitting in front of the TV with the family. I never actually paid any attention to what was playing but it was the sitting together that made it worthwhile.

2009 was a busy year for me. I made a bunch of friends in my second and third semesters here. I learned a great deal from fellow students and professors. I changed my perspective on many things as a result of the events of 2009 and I think that was for the better. I also (re)learned how fast time flies. I am now beginning my fourth and final semester at the University of Oslo and while I look forward to it I also know that it will come quickly and that means that my time here as a student will come to a close.

I look to the future with excitement obviously and hope for all of the things that I’ve planned for myself but I cannot help but think about how much I will miss being a student here. As some of you may know I plan on moving to Norway permanently once I finish an MBA in Canada. So while I will be back in Norway it will not be as a student but as a working man lookin for the dollars (or kroners as they case may be). My point is that I have four more months in which to write my thesis and make my mark on the study of Icelandic medieval society. When I first arrived here I was so caught up in the strangeness of it all I missed the finer points of Norwegian life. I was too busy making my own noise to listen. I think more recently I’ve been able to do that. To listen to the thing that is Norway. I’ve never been immersed in a culture like this before and it’s intoxicating. 2009 has taught me how to be more patient in this way, to listen to the world around me.

Well, as I’ve got a few things planned yet I’m going to be writing about them. One is a planned journey to Trondheim, I’ve got a hike planned with a friend to Bergen, and I hope to hit the far north as well to see the midnight sun. Also on the list are Stockholm and Copenhagen. As the stories develop I will be writing them.

Thank you all for your support and patience with me.

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything substantial. So I’m going to try and make this post interesting. However, it won’t be so much about Norway as it will be about Italy.

Anne and I were in Milano from the 15-18 of November. I have a good friend who’s studying there for a semester and I’ve been periodically checking prices on plane tickets. When I found a round trip for two to Milan and back for $50 with RyanAir I couldn’t say no. Nevermind the fact that checking a piece of luggage cost $60.

Photos here.

Upon landing I immediately felt like I was back in Canada. If it weren’t for the Italian writing everywhere I’d have trouble thinking I was outside of North America. It was flat (a big change from Norway), the roads were wide, cars drove fast and didn’t watch for pedestrians, and it was congested. Not the quaint cozy, snuggle type of congested you find in Norway. I’m talking about the lots of people, lots of cars, and lots of buildings everywhere congested. Which was alright and somewhat welcoming to me as Norway sometimes makes me feel like I’m on a different planet with a tiny population.

The hotel room was nice, breakfast was included in the price which was 60 euro/night. The only problem was that the hotel was in a slightly questionable neighbourhood. Anne even went so far as to say she’d feel uncomfortable walking there alone at night. But, she wasn’t alone, and we didn’t really walk around much in the night.

The first evening we arrived late and only had time to eat. Michael took us to an eatery nearby where we had pizza. It was nothing like the stuff in Canada (or in Norway). Picture pita bread with fresh toppings. They have alcohol available almost everywhere so we also ordered wine. It was a bust though, tasted horrible. Though I didn’t speak out about it, none of us did, because our knowledge of wine is rather limited.

On the 16th the first thing we visited was the Duomo. Wiki says “Duomo is a generic Italian term for a cathedral church.” A cathedral of course is the seat of a bishop or archbishop in the catholic church. The cathedral in Milan is stunning. I cannot begin to imagine how people in 1386 could have conceived such a thing. Wiki says that the cathedral was completed in 1969. My little book about Milan says the finishing touches were added under Napoleon in 1813. Whenever it was finished there is no doubt it was a massive undertaking. Apparently it is the third largest cathedral in the world (however they arrived at that). It has more than 3500 statues on the exterior and is supported by 52 incredibly large columns inside. To add to that it has a statue of flayed St.Bartholomew by Marco d’Agrate. The statue shows him wearing his skin like a cloak of some sort, quite hideous. I was unable to get any photos of the inside because there were no cameras allowed. But that just means that you’ll have to go and see it.

To add to the structure’s awe-inspiring exterior, it’s possible to climb a the 50 or so metres to get on the roof. Now, I’m not exactly a fan of heights and the thought of climbing about on a roof that weights hundreds or thousands of tons (it’s all marble) supported by 500 year old construction made me incredibly nervous. However, I did have faith in both God and the engineers which is why I went. Though I didn’t get to the very top. Anne went went up there without me. The stairs were too close to the edge of the building.

After the duomo we went for a short walk through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It’s basically a covered avenue with some nice high end shops. Built c.1875.

Then my friend Michael took us for a walk through the town fortress. Milano was a powerhouse in its day and needed a fortress. The building still stands in fantastic shape and is open to the public. There is a museum which we didn’t get to visit on account of the lateness of the hour. Once again, I was very impressed with the scale and imagination of the builders. As a student of history I’m well aware there is a up-and-coming view over the last 20 years or so that humans in the past were much more similar to us than we commonly think. Every time I’m confronted with the evidence however, I’m still amazed. They could build massive structures! What a concept, they had the brains for it.

The day after on the 17th we went to the Pinacoteca di Brera. It’s an art gallery. It houses two famous pieces, The Kiss and Lamentation over the Dead Christ. The entire experience was amazing. Once again I was confronted with direct evidence of the willpower and determination (as well as skill and ability) of those that came before me.

We then visited the Leonardo DaVinci science and technology museum. It was a former cloister or monastery (I’m not sure what the difference is). It was shot up by Napoleon’s troops but restored. A very serene place. And of course it had models of DaVinci’s works.

We took a short visit to a very old church the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio. Apparently it was built sometime in c.379. Of course it has since been added and restored but I think some of the very old constructions were still visible. Of course I couldn’t tell for sure but it did look very old in some places.

Leaving Milan to bus back to the airport we left through the Stazione Centrale di Milano. The long time construction of the building meant that Benito Mussolini even had a say in what went into it despite it’s start year of 1906. So it is peppered with all kinds of fascist imagery and symbols.

Other than the Milan vacation I’ve been sitting at home reading and writing. I’ve got my Northern Crusades essay due on the 18th of December and my Marriage in the Sagas essay to complete for the middle of January. Everything is quite good for me and I’m enjoying the onset of winter here. The sun sets at about 4:30pm and it makes everything really cozy and sleepy. I love it.

Of course I wouldn’t forget the photos of the Milan trip (in case you missed them at the top). I hope you enjoy them.