Sagas of Icelanders

Culture in Iceland Education systems; The Education system in Iceland is similar to that of the United States. Iceland’s educational system is made up of four levels, and their mission is that everyone should have equal opportunities to acquire an education, regardless of sex, economic status, residential location, religion, possible handicap, and cultural or social background. The first level is Pre-school or nurseries which children ages 1-6 years old can attend. Much like the United States the

Stars were shining brightly in the clear night sky and water bubbled invitingly in the outdoor hot tub. However, reaching it meant opening the door and leaping across decking with the temperature at -14C. The reading had been displayed on roadside lights during our two-hour drive from Iceland’s main airport at Keflavik to reach the four-star, luxury Hotel Ranga. Now, as any of my friends would readily testify, I am a hot-house girl so the nearest I got to bearing any flesh was taking off my gloves

of Middle- Earth. The Hobbits, for example, are Tolkien's unique contribution to the world of Middle Earth. However the Hobbits are clearly based off of the Icelanders in the Njal's Saga. (Clair) There are many similarities between these two groups of peoples in the two stories. Many of these similarities are in habit. The Icelanders much like the Hobbits were fond of food and often were very proud of their ancestry and their belief in hospitality. Another similarity between the two groups

“The position of women in the Sagas is, indeed, higher than that which they enjoy in classical literature; but it is based on a purely commonsensible and unemphasized respect for the courage or prudence which some women, like some men, happen to possess. The Norsemen, in fact, treat their women not primarily as women but as people. It is an attitude which may lead in the fullness of time to an equal franchise or a Married Woman’s Property Act, but it has very little to do with romantic love.” The

France and Britain. The Swedish Vikings were from Russia. Regardless of region, Vikings are addressed as one group of people. Written documentation from this era, sagas specify the region of Vikings being recorded. The Vikings’ government was unlike any other at that time. In fact, there was no emperor, king, or lord. The only sagas found about Viking law were written late in the 10th century in Iceland. The people were governed by consensus, and legal issues were resolved by compromise and

“We see the attack through the eyes of the victims, who spread the word that the Vikings were bloody and violent. In fact, they were violent, but no more than anyone else at the time. Compared to Charlemagne’s armies, the Vikings were amateurs. The Vikings were actually just looking for better places to live and preferred not to kill or be killed for it. ” On June 8th 793ce foreign ships brought an unexpected surprise to the Lindisfarne monastery situated off the coast of England; the Northmen had

peoples within medieval Europe. …Some Scandinavianists have argued that in Iceland Europeans had a chance to experiment with social and political organizations unencumbered by the customs of the homeland; other scholars believe, however, that the Icelanders brought with them to the new land the customs of the old, including gender relations.” In 1990, Fordham University hosted a conference on gender and medieval society, focusing on the issue of feminist studies as a frame from which medieval

Loki is a complicated Norse pagan god associated with both the trickster archetype, and the devil. He helps the gods out of countless predicaments, yet he ultimately leads to their deaths. When most think of Loki, his monstrous children and role in Ragnarok come to mind. Recently, he has entered the collective consciousness due to his role as a villain in the popular Marvel movie, Thor. His changes in behavior can be explained by the influence of Christianity on Norse pagan religion. Loki had originally