This knocker on the door of Durham Cathedral offers entrance to the world of Otter's Ransom; the original, now housed in the cathedral museum, offered Sanctuary to those fleeing the arm of secular law (Image Credit: Fee, Hannon, and Zoller 1999)

English 401: The Battle for Britain
Ancient Mythologies in Medieval British Literature

This knocker on the door of Durham Cathedral offers entrance to the world of Otter's Ransom; the original, now housed in the cathedral museum, offered Sanctuary to those fleeing the arm of secular law (Image Credit: Fee, Hannon, and Zoller 1999)

 
 
Assignment Schedule  
Fenrir swallows Odin at Ragnarok, from a Cross-slab at Andreas on the Isle of Man (Image Credit: Fee and Zoller 2000)

 

Assignment Due Dates

Week 2-Week 4 (9/03/08-9/17/08): Make Individual Appointment to Discuss Research Project and Site Report Topics with Instructor

Week 4 (9/24/08): Site(s) for Report Chosen

Week 5 (10/01/08): Topic for Research Project Chosen

Week 6 (10/08/08): Site Report Bibliography Assembled (3-5 Items)

Week 7 (10/15/08): First draft of Project Site Report DUE: ONE (1) Printed paper copy AND ONE (1) electronic version (sent as an email attachment) NO LATER than 6:30 PM.

Week 8 (10/22/08): Research Project Bibliography Assembled (10-12 Items); Site Quiz Constructed in consultation with the Peer Learning Associate, who will post this Site Quiz on the Project Pages.

Week 9 (10/29/08): Be prepared to discuss 3-5 specific ideas for Interactive Fiction Project and 3-5 relevant images from your site

Week 10 (11/05/08): Research Project Bibliography Annotated (25-50 Word Annotations)

Week 11 (11/12/08): Be prepared to demonstrate 3-5 aspects of Interactive Fiction Project

Week 12 (11/19/08): First draft of Interactive Fiction Project DUE: ONE (1) Printed paper copy AND ONE (1) electronic version (sent as an email attachment) NO LATER than 6:30 PM.

Week 13 (11/26/08): Thanksgiving Break--NO SEMINAR

Week 14 (12/03/08): Final draft of Project Site Report DUE: ONE (1) Printed paper copy AND ONE (1) electronic version (sent as an email attachment) NO LATER than 6:30 PM.

Week 15 (12/10/08): Final draft of Interactive Fiction Project DUE: ONE (1) Printed paper copy AND ONE (1) electronic version (sent as an email attachment) NO LATER than 6:30 PM.  IF Tips and Traps Paragraph DUE via email by Friday.

Finals Week (12/17/08): The Final Research Project is due on the Wednesday (Reading Day) of Finals Week: ONE (1) Printed paper copy AND ONE (1) electronic version (sent as an email attachment) are due in the grubby paws (and crowded in-box) of the instructor NO LATER than 6:30 PM on WEDNESDAY, December 17th, 2008.

Possible Research Topics


Sites for Reports Cross-Referenced by Categories

There is more to say about some sites than others, to be sure, so from the lesser-known sites the careful student might well choose two or three closely related ones, or sites in close proximity, in order to weave together an interesting Site Report, as well as to set the scene for an engaging Interactive Fiction Project. On the other hand, Andreas, Jarlshof, Lindisfarne, Maes Howe, and Maughold all are or could be the subject of books in and of themselves, and so each might require two or three students to do the job well. Take care, however: Each student must clear the subject of his or her Site Report with the instructor in advance, and in any case each student must produce an idependent work of the required length. It also would be wise for every student to cross-reference each individual site with relevant Icelandic sites, which are generally woven well into the fabric of the saga record, and about which, therefore, there is usually more to say. It is vital that the lesser-known sites are covered, of course, and most of the Icelandic sites already have written text provided for them, but that is not to say that an intelligent student would not weave information about the Althing at Thingvellir in Iceland, for example, into a discussion of any other Assembly site. Simply use the pull-down menus of the Medieval north Atlantic project to cross-refernce sites by category, etc. For the Interactive Fiction Project, on the other hand, it would be profitable if students split up the Icelandic sites, or worked collaboratively concerning these sites, in order to develop much more colorful and detailed narratives about related British sites. Included at the bottom are the titles of the videos available for various sites, in order to get a better idea of what some of the subject matter related to those sites might include.

Sites by Category

Stone Age and Prehistoric Sites:

Roman Sites: Iron Age and Celtic Sites: Anglo-Saxon Sites: British Viking Sites: Icelandic Saga Sites:

Videos by Title

Isle of Man Video Clips:

Shetland Video Clips:

Iceland Video Clips:

Copyright 1999-2009 Gettysburg College and Christopher R. Fee