Caitlin Ellis | University of Oslo (original) (raw)
Papers by Caitlin Ellis
Anglo-Danish Empire, 2022
The abiding stereotype of the Vikings has been of pagan warriors who were ignorant of, and hostil... more The abiding stereotype of the Vikings has been of pagan warriors who were ignorant of, and hostile to, Christianity. 1 This simplistic view, influenced by the rhetoric of writings from those being attacked by raiders, does not take into account developments over time or the fact that Christianity could be attractive or useful to some Scandinavians, particularly rulers. There has been increasing scholarly recognition that the Christianization of Scandinavia was a long process, involving the gradual build-up of familiarity with Christianitywhich resonates with some of the arguments belowthrough general contact and trade with Christians as well as through missionary activity. The focus has usually been on the conversion itself rather than on the establishment of church institutions. Debate has centered on the different influences on Christianization, whether from the continent, especially the see of Hamburg-Bremen, or from England, or from native impetus. The reality was that all these influences and factors played a role. Overall, as scholarship on the kingship of Cnut has traditionally either been somewhat Anglocentric or somewhat Scandinavia-centric, some increased communication between the two fields is desirablethe same can also be said of scholarship on his relations with the Church specifically. Some of the major works are discussed below. This chapter aims to view this aspect of Cnut's reign holistically, since national biases can give us only a partial, incomplete, picture. Such a divide can also be detected in the surviving sources, since the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Encomium Emmae Reginae emphasize Cnut's model Christian kingship, whereas Norse sources, particularly skaldic verse, depict him as a traditional Scandinavian ruler. There has also been an understandable trend in the scholarship for biographies of individual kings; this chapter will place Cnut in the broader context of his predecessors. It will also provide an overview of his relations with the Church, where others have focused on individual aspects (for example, Cnut's patronage of manuscript production).
Historical Research
Scholarly attention has focused on the explanation for raids at the start of the ‘Viking Age’, no... more Scholarly attention has focused on the explanation for raids at the start of the ‘Viking Age’, not on the motivations for royal expeditions of the eleventh century. This article examines Sven and Cnut’s invasion of England, the Norwegian prince Magnus Haraldsson’s presence in the Insular world, Harald harðráði’s attempted invasion of England, a series of failed Danish interventions in England, and Magnus Barelegs’s expeditions to Orkney and the Irish Sea region. It argues that Scandinavian kings and princes capitalized on political weaknesses in the Insular world, but their expansionist ambitions were often hampered by internal conditions in their own kingdoms.
Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern Europe
This thesis investigates the concept of 'diaspora' as it applies to the Scandinavian sett... more This thesis investigates the concept of 'diaspora' as it applies to the Scandinavian settlements of Orkney and Dublin in the eleventh century. Comparative analysis identifies how key differences in the settlements' location and make-up affected their dynamic, and even opportunistic, set of relationships with their Scandinavian 'homelands' and with their Insular neighbours. Drawing on archaeological and written evidence, and adopting an interdisciplinary approach, produces a more sophisticated and holistic examination of Orkney and Dublin's political, ecclesiastical, economic, and cultural connections, while helping to reveal when our source information is concentrated in a particular area, or lacking in another. As regards politics in Chapter One, Norwegian kings were only occasionally able to exert control over Orkney, but Scandinavia had even less direct political influence on Dublin. In the ecclesiastical sphere, explored in Chapter Two, it is shown that Dublin was the site of various cults but often looked to England for episcopal matters, while Orkney was influenced by both Scandinavia and northern Britain. Turning to economics in Chapter Three, little evidence of direct trade between the international commercial hub of Dublin and Scandinavia can be found, whereas Orkney's very location guaranteed economic interaction with Norway. When it comes to cultural matters in Chapter Four, it is argued that a hybrid urban identity may have been more significant and more prevalent than a Scandinavian one in Dublin. Unlike Dublin, Orkney remained, in many respects, on a cultural axis that stretched from Norway to Iceland. The definitions of 'diaspora' set out by Lesley Abrams and Judith Jesch in relation to Scandinavian settlements abroad are used as a point of reference. The findings of this thesis suggest that 'diaspora' is not a one-size-fits-all label, as diasporic features were not always transmitted directly in a straightforward fashion. Some Scandinavian features may have reached Dublin via England, with which i [...]
History Compass, 2021
The Vikings are an excellent example of the significance of cultural memory: from post-Viking-Age... more The Vikings are an excellent example of the significance of cultural memory: from post-Viking-Age sources to their rediscovery in the Victorian period to their popular appeal in current times. Ancestry is a key dimension as vikings could be dynasty founders or imbue a region with Scandinavian heritage. The importance of settlements remaining connected with Iceland and the Old Norse cultural milieu is highlighted. Archaeological evidence and non-Scandinavian sources can highlight the gaps in Norse memory, where specific events have been forgotten and some regions of the Viking world have received less attention than others. Stretching from America to Russia, the impact of postmedieval political events, of modern marketisation and of different scholarly approaches is also considered.
Viking and Medieval Scandinavia, 2020
Despite their shared ancestry with the Icelanders, it is evident that people of Scandinavian orig... more Despite their shared ancestry with the Icelanders, it is evident that people of Scandinavian origin in other settlements are not depicted monolithically in the Icelandic sagas. This article examine...
Notes and Queries, 2020
According to the Latin life of a Welsh saint, Orcadian fleets had been used by an eleventhcentury... more According to the Latin life of a Welsh saint, Orcadian fleets had been used by an eleventhcentury Welsh ruler on his raids in other parts of Wales. The date of the Life of St Gwynllyw's composition is unknown, perhaps the early twelfth century or later; John Reuben Davies suggests 1156. 1 The Life of St Gwynllyw relates that a king Gruffudd nauigauit ad Orcades insulas 'sailed to the Orkney Islands' and gathered twenty-four ships there that plunder along the river Usk, including the saint's church, and begin ad Orcades insulas et ad Hiberniam remeare ('to return to the Orkney Islands and to Ireland'). 2 This supposed brief alliance is significant as perhaps the only piece of evidence for direct interactions between medieval Welsh kings and the earldom of Orkney.
The English Historical Review, 2020
Religions, 2021
In recent years, the influence of Muslims and Islam on developments in medieval Europe has captur... more In recent years, the influence of Muslims and Islam on developments in medieval Europe has captured the attention of scholars and the general public alike. Nevertheless, ‘conversion’ to Islam remains a challenging subject for historical research and demands more transdisciplinary collaborations. This article examines early medieval interactions between Muslim Arabs and Northern and Eastern Europeans as a case study for whether some individuals in Northern Eurasia ‘converted’ to Islam. More importantly, we address some key examples and lines of evidence that demonstrate why the process of ‘conversion’ to Islam is not more visible in the historical and archaeological records of Northern Eurasia. We find that, despite the well-established evidence for economic exchanges between the Islamic World and Northern Eurasia, the historical and material records are much more complex, but not entirely silent, on the issue of religious change. We also conclude that religious connectivity and exch...
Leeds Studies in English, 2018
There has been very little scholarship on the transmission of the Snow White tale-type in medieva... more There has been very little scholarship on the transmission of the Snow White tale-type in medieval Icelandic literature, or in any pre-modern literature. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the close correspondences that Ála flekks saga (‘the saga of Áli flekkr’), an entertaining Icelandic saga probably written in the early fifteenth century, has with the key structural aspects of the Snow White tale-type. Although its Snow White connection has previously gone unnoticed, the saga seems to be the clearest Snow White variant in the corpus of extant medieval Icelandic literature.
Because of its close and numerous structural parallels to the Snow White tale-type, Ála flekks saga must be considered to represent the clearest Snow White variant in the extant corpus of medieval Icelandic literature. Furthermore, the saga must also be regarded as one of the earliest known literary Snow White variants in the world.
This article also discusses the álög (‘curse’) motif in Old Norse and its relationship to the Irish geis.
[Jonathan Y. H. Hui, Caitlin Ellis, James McIntosh and Katherine Marie Olley, ‘Ála flekks saga: A Snow White Variant from Late Medieval Iceland’, Leeds Studies in English, New Series XLIX (2018), 45–64]
Leeds Studies in English, 2018
A facing-page edition and translation of an Old Norse text Ála flekks saga (‘the saga of Áli flek... more A facing-page edition and translation of an Old Norse text Ála flekks saga (‘the saga of Áli flekkr’), with an introduction and apparatus. It is thought to have been composed around the early fifteenth century, placing it among the youngest medieval Icelandic romances.
It is the intention of the authors to provide a new and scholarly translation, freely accessible to academics, students and enthusiasts alike, in order to help the saga gain a wider audience and some long-overdue attention. This translation represents part of a recent wave of English translations of indigenous riddarasögur (‘sagas of knights’).
The introduction investigates motifs including the werewolf episode, Áli's dream, and Áli's fleck. It also discusses manuscripts and transmission.
Jonathan Y. H. Hui, Caitlin Ellis, James McIntosh, Katherine Marie Olley, William Norman and Kimberly Anderson, ‘Ála flekks saga: An Introduction, Text and Translation’, Leeds Studies in English New Series XLIX (2018) 1–43.
The Historian, 2018
This article considers the reputation and career of Alfred the Great, supposed first king of Engl... more This article considers the reputation and career of Alfred the Great, supposed first king of England, alongside the activities of the Viking Great Army in the ninth century. It examines Viking camps, military responses to the Vikings and the ideological responses in the form of a literary programme. It features the Alfred Jewel, the Watlington hoard and the text Ohthere's Voyage.
[Caitlin Ellis, 'Alfred versus the Viking Great Army', The Historian 139 (autumn 2018), 16–22]
Saga-Book of the Viking Society for Northern Research, 2019
This article provides a detailed examination of the sources for three main episodes in the life t... more This article provides a detailed examination of the sources for three main episodes in the life the Norwegian king Óláfr Tryggvason (r. 995–1000). It focuses on his career in the Insular world (that is, Britain, Ireland and the associated islands), as presented in the twelfth-century synoptic histories (Historia Norwegiae, Theodoricus monachus, and Ágrip af Nóregskonungasǫgum) and in the late twelfth- and thirteenth-century sagas, particularly Oddr Snorrason’s saga and Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla. These Scandinavian written sources are compared to continental and Insular ones, alongside a consideration of relevant archaeological and numismatic evidence. The three main episodes discussed are Óláfr's own conversion, which is claimed to have occurred in the Scilly Isles, his supposed marriage to a daughter of the king of Dublin, and his conversion of Orkney. The literary dimensions to these stories are noted and identifying specific models identified. It is concluded that Óláfr’s adventures in the Insular world were being used by these writers to suggest that he was ideally suited to become the first truly Christian king of Norway and their accounts should not be regarded as accurate.This article raises awareness of the challenges faced when trying to extract a historical personage from a legendary figure. [‘Reassessing the career of Óláfr Tryggvason in the Insular world’, Saga-Book of the Viking Society for Northern Research 43 (2019), 59–82.]
Quaestio Insularis, 2018
This article examines the slave trade through the lens of cultural interactions between different... more This article examines the slave trade through the lens of cultural interactions between different population groups in Britain and Ireland; it investigates how the resultant tensions impacted on their viewpoints of each other and, in particular, how their writers reported the taking and trading of slaves. This study will confine itself to the eleventh and twelfth centuries, when these tensions were heightened by conquests and the process of Europeanisation. The influence of these medieval tensions and perceptions on the way our available written sources discuss slavery must be considered. Viewpoints on the slave trade, and those involved in it, are especially foregrounded in source references to the trade being brought to an end. This article will critique the 'Viking' and 'Celtic' stereotypes of our sources, which have sometimes seeped into scholarship on the matter too. It will challenge the notion of Scandinavian-imported slavery, foisted upon Britain and Ireland, and analyse the biases of Anglo-Norman writers in their portrayals of 'Celtic' barbarians, particularly of Scottish forces at the Battle of the Standard in 1138.
Book Reviews by Caitlin Ellis
The Mediaeval Journal, 2020
Saga-Book of the Viking Society for Northern Research, 2019
Book review of W. B. Bartlett's 'King Cnut and the Viking Conquest of England 1016' (Stroud, 2017... more Book review of W. B. Bartlett's 'King Cnut and the Viking Conquest of England 1016' (Stroud, 2017).
[Saga-Book of the Viking Society for Northern Research 43 (2019), 147–9.]
Publications by Caitlin Ellis
Poésie et politique dans les mondes nordiques et normands médiévaux (IXe-XIIIe siècle), 2024
This chapter argues that later political events influenced the preservation of poetry and conside... more This chapter argues that later political events influenced the preservation of poetry and considers the interaction between the Viking and Norman diasporas. It is likely that more Norse skaldic verse was produced and performed in the Hebrides and Ireland but that it does not survive due to the weakening of the diaspora and decreased connections with Iceland. This contrasts to the earldom of Orkney’s strong skaldic tradition. There is limited French material from the study area as it was overtaken by English. The two main French poems from Ireland, La geste des Engleis en Yrlande, chronicling the Anglo-Norman invasion, and The Walling of New Ross represent a new community establishing itself. The only French poem from Scotland in this period, the Roman de Fergus, allows an outsider to join an aristocratic community, but at the expense of his previous identity and independence. The literary merits of this French poetry are only recently being recognised by modern scholars.
Anglo-Danish Empire, 2022
The abiding stereotype of the Vikings has been of pagan warriors who were ignorant of, and hostil... more The abiding stereotype of the Vikings has been of pagan warriors who were ignorant of, and hostile to, Christianity. 1 This simplistic view, influenced by the rhetoric of writings from those being attacked by raiders, does not take into account developments over time or the fact that Christianity could be attractive or useful to some Scandinavians, particularly rulers. There has been increasing scholarly recognition that the Christianization of Scandinavia was a long process, involving the gradual build-up of familiarity with Christianitywhich resonates with some of the arguments belowthrough general contact and trade with Christians as well as through missionary activity. The focus has usually been on the conversion itself rather than on the establishment of church institutions. Debate has centered on the different influences on Christianization, whether from the continent, especially the see of Hamburg-Bremen, or from England, or from native impetus. The reality was that all these influences and factors played a role. Overall, as scholarship on the kingship of Cnut has traditionally either been somewhat Anglocentric or somewhat Scandinavia-centric, some increased communication between the two fields is desirablethe same can also be said of scholarship on his relations with the Church specifically. Some of the major works are discussed below. This chapter aims to view this aspect of Cnut's reign holistically, since national biases can give us only a partial, incomplete, picture. Such a divide can also be detected in the surviving sources, since the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Encomium Emmae Reginae emphasize Cnut's model Christian kingship, whereas Norse sources, particularly skaldic verse, depict him as a traditional Scandinavian ruler. There has also been an understandable trend in the scholarship for biographies of individual kings; this chapter will place Cnut in the broader context of his predecessors. It will also provide an overview of his relations with the Church, where others have focused on individual aspects (for example, Cnut's patronage of manuscript production).
Historical Research
Scholarly attention has focused on the explanation for raids at the start of the ‘Viking Age’, no... more Scholarly attention has focused on the explanation for raids at the start of the ‘Viking Age’, not on the motivations for royal expeditions of the eleventh century. This article examines Sven and Cnut’s invasion of England, the Norwegian prince Magnus Haraldsson’s presence in the Insular world, Harald harðráði’s attempted invasion of England, a series of failed Danish interventions in England, and Magnus Barelegs’s expeditions to Orkney and the Irish Sea region. It argues that Scandinavian kings and princes capitalized on political weaknesses in the Insular world, but their expansionist ambitions were often hampered by internal conditions in their own kingdoms.
Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern Europe
This thesis investigates the concept of 'diaspora' as it applies to the Scandinavian sett... more This thesis investigates the concept of 'diaspora' as it applies to the Scandinavian settlements of Orkney and Dublin in the eleventh century. Comparative analysis identifies how key differences in the settlements' location and make-up affected their dynamic, and even opportunistic, set of relationships with their Scandinavian 'homelands' and with their Insular neighbours. Drawing on archaeological and written evidence, and adopting an interdisciplinary approach, produces a more sophisticated and holistic examination of Orkney and Dublin's political, ecclesiastical, economic, and cultural connections, while helping to reveal when our source information is concentrated in a particular area, or lacking in another. As regards politics in Chapter One, Norwegian kings were only occasionally able to exert control over Orkney, but Scandinavia had even less direct political influence on Dublin. In the ecclesiastical sphere, explored in Chapter Two, it is shown that Dublin was the site of various cults but often looked to England for episcopal matters, while Orkney was influenced by both Scandinavia and northern Britain. Turning to economics in Chapter Three, little evidence of direct trade between the international commercial hub of Dublin and Scandinavia can be found, whereas Orkney's very location guaranteed economic interaction with Norway. When it comes to cultural matters in Chapter Four, it is argued that a hybrid urban identity may have been more significant and more prevalent than a Scandinavian one in Dublin. Unlike Dublin, Orkney remained, in many respects, on a cultural axis that stretched from Norway to Iceland. The definitions of 'diaspora' set out by Lesley Abrams and Judith Jesch in relation to Scandinavian settlements abroad are used as a point of reference. The findings of this thesis suggest that 'diaspora' is not a one-size-fits-all label, as diasporic features were not always transmitted directly in a straightforward fashion. Some Scandinavian features may have reached Dublin via England, with which i [...]
History Compass, 2021
The Vikings are an excellent example of the significance of cultural memory: from post-Viking-Age... more The Vikings are an excellent example of the significance of cultural memory: from post-Viking-Age sources to their rediscovery in the Victorian period to their popular appeal in current times. Ancestry is a key dimension as vikings could be dynasty founders or imbue a region with Scandinavian heritage. The importance of settlements remaining connected with Iceland and the Old Norse cultural milieu is highlighted. Archaeological evidence and non-Scandinavian sources can highlight the gaps in Norse memory, where specific events have been forgotten and some regions of the Viking world have received less attention than others. Stretching from America to Russia, the impact of postmedieval political events, of modern marketisation and of different scholarly approaches is also considered.
Viking and Medieval Scandinavia, 2020
Despite their shared ancestry with the Icelanders, it is evident that people of Scandinavian orig... more Despite their shared ancestry with the Icelanders, it is evident that people of Scandinavian origin in other settlements are not depicted monolithically in the Icelandic sagas. This article examine...
Notes and Queries, 2020
According to the Latin life of a Welsh saint, Orcadian fleets had been used by an eleventhcentury... more According to the Latin life of a Welsh saint, Orcadian fleets had been used by an eleventhcentury Welsh ruler on his raids in other parts of Wales. The date of the Life of St Gwynllyw's composition is unknown, perhaps the early twelfth century or later; John Reuben Davies suggests 1156. 1 The Life of St Gwynllyw relates that a king Gruffudd nauigauit ad Orcades insulas 'sailed to the Orkney Islands' and gathered twenty-four ships there that plunder along the river Usk, including the saint's church, and begin ad Orcades insulas et ad Hiberniam remeare ('to return to the Orkney Islands and to Ireland'). 2 This supposed brief alliance is significant as perhaps the only piece of evidence for direct interactions between medieval Welsh kings and the earldom of Orkney.
The English Historical Review, 2020
Religions, 2021
In recent years, the influence of Muslims and Islam on developments in medieval Europe has captur... more In recent years, the influence of Muslims and Islam on developments in medieval Europe has captured the attention of scholars and the general public alike. Nevertheless, ‘conversion’ to Islam remains a challenging subject for historical research and demands more transdisciplinary collaborations. This article examines early medieval interactions between Muslim Arabs and Northern and Eastern Europeans as a case study for whether some individuals in Northern Eurasia ‘converted’ to Islam. More importantly, we address some key examples and lines of evidence that demonstrate why the process of ‘conversion’ to Islam is not more visible in the historical and archaeological records of Northern Eurasia. We find that, despite the well-established evidence for economic exchanges between the Islamic World and Northern Eurasia, the historical and material records are much more complex, but not entirely silent, on the issue of religious change. We also conclude that religious connectivity and exch...
Leeds Studies in English, 2018
There has been very little scholarship on the transmission of the Snow White tale-type in medieva... more There has been very little scholarship on the transmission of the Snow White tale-type in medieval Icelandic literature, or in any pre-modern literature. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the close correspondences that Ála flekks saga (‘the saga of Áli flekkr’), an entertaining Icelandic saga probably written in the early fifteenth century, has with the key structural aspects of the Snow White tale-type. Although its Snow White connection has previously gone unnoticed, the saga seems to be the clearest Snow White variant in the corpus of extant medieval Icelandic literature.
Because of its close and numerous structural parallels to the Snow White tale-type, Ála flekks saga must be considered to represent the clearest Snow White variant in the extant corpus of medieval Icelandic literature. Furthermore, the saga must also be regarded as one of the earliest known literary Snow White variants in the world.
This article also discusses the álög (‘curse’) motif in Old Norse and its relationship to the Irish geis.
[Jonathan Y. H. Hui, Caitlin Ellis, James McIntosh and Katherine Marie Olley, ‘Ála flekks saga: A Snow White Variant from Late Medieval Iceland’, Leeds Studies in English, New Series XLIX (2018), 45–64]
Leeds Studies in English, 2018
A facing-page edition and translation of an Old Norse text Ála flekks saga (‘the saga of Áli flek... more A facing-page edition and translation of an Old Norse text Ála flekks saga (‘the saga of Áli flekkr’), with an introduction and apparatus. It is thought to have been composed around the early fifteenth century, placing it among the youngest medieval Icelandic romances.
It is the intention of the authors to provide a new and scholarly translation, freely accessible to academics, students and enthusiasts alike, in order to help the saga gain a wider audience and some long-overdue attention. This translation represents part of a recent wave of English translations of indigenous riddarasögur (‘sagas of knights’).
The introduction investigates motifs including the werewolf episode, Áli's dream, and Áli's fleck. It also discusses manuscripts and transmission.
Jonathan Y. H. Hui, Caitlin Ellis, James McIntosh, Katherine Marie Olley, William Norman and Kimberly Anderson, ‘Ála flekks saga: An Introduction, Text and Translation’, Leeds Studies in English New Series XLIX (2018) 1–43.
The Historian, 2018
This article considers the reputation and career of Alfred the Great, supposed first king of Engl... more This article considers the reputation and career of Alfred the Great, supposed first king of England, alongside the activities of the Viking Great Army in the ninth century. It examines Viking camps, military responses to the Vikings and the ideological responses in the form of a literary programme. It features the Alfred Jewel, the Watlington hoard and the text Ohthere's Voyage.
[Caitlin Ellis, 'Alfred versus the Viking Great Army', The Historian 139 (autumn 2018), 16–22]
Saga-Book of the Viking Society for Northern Research, 2019
This article provides a detailed examination of the sources for three main episodes in the life t... more This article provides a detailed examination of the sources for three main episodes in the life the Norwegian king Óláfr Tryggvason (r. 995–1000). It focuses on his career in the Insular world (that is, Britain, Ireland and the associated islands), as presented in the twelfth-century synoptic histories (Historia Norwegiae, Theodoricus monachus, and Ágrip af Nóregskonungasǫgum) and in the late twelfth- and thirteenth-century sagas, particularly Oddr Snorrason’s saga and Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla. These Scandinavian written sources are compared to continental and Insular ones, alongside a consideration of relevant archaeological and numismatic evidence. The three main episodes discussed are Óláfr's own conversion, which is claimed to have occurred in the Scilly Isles, his supposed marriage to a daughter of the king of Dublin, and his conversion of Orkney. The literary dimensions to these stories are noted and identifying specific models identified. It is concluded that Óláfr’s adventures in the Insular world were being used by these writers to suggest that he was ideally suited to become the first truly Christian king of Norway and their accounts should not be regarded as accurate.This article raises awareness of the challenges faced when trying to extract a historical personage from a legendary figure. [‘Reassessing the career of Óláfr Tryggvason in the Insular world’, Saga-Book of the Viking Society for Northern Research 43 (2019), 59–82.]
Quaestio Insularis, 2018
This article examines the slave trade through the lens of cultural interactions between different... more This article examines the slave trade through the lens of cultural interactions between different population groups in Britain and Ireland; it investigates how the resultant tensions impacted on their viewpoints of each other and, in particular, how their writers reported the taking and trading of slaves. This study will confine itself to the eleventh and twelfth centuries, when these tensions were heightened by conquests and the process of Europeanisation. The influence of these medieval tensions and perceptions on the way our available written sources discuss slavery must be considered. Viewpoints on the slave trade, and those involved in it, are especially foregrounded in source references to the trade being brought to an end. This article will critique the 'Viking' and 'Celtic' stereotypes of our sources, which have sometimes seeped into scholarship on the matter too. It will challenge the notion of Scandinavian-imported slavery, foisted upon Britain and Ireland, and analyse the biases of Anglo-Norman writers in their portrayals of 'Celtic' barbarians, particularly of Scottish forces at the Battle of the Standard in 1138.
The Mediaeval Journal, 2020
Saga-Book of the Viking Society for Northern Research, 2019
Book review of W. B. Bartlett's 'King Cnut and the Viking Conquest of England 1016' (Stroud, 2017... more Book review of W. B. Bartlett's 'King Cnut and the Viking Conquest of England 1016' (Stroud, 2017).
[Saga-Book of the Viking Society for Northern Research 43 (2019), 147–9.]
Poésie et politique dans les mondes nordiques et normands médiévaux (IXe-XIIIe siècle), 2024
This chapter argues that later political events influenced the preservation of poetry and conside... more This chapter argues that later political events influenced the preservation of poetry and considers the interaction between the Viking and Norman diasporas. It is likely that more Norse skaldic verse was produced and performed in the Hebrides and Ireland but that it does not survive due to the weakening of the diaspora and decreased connections with Iceland. This contrasts to the earldom of Orkney’s strong skaldic tradition. There is limited French material from the study area as it was overtaken by English. The two main French poems from Ireland, La geste des Engleis en Yrlande, chronicling the Anglo-Norman invasion, and The Walling of New Ross represent a new community establishing itself. The only French poem from Scotland in this period, the Roman de Fergus, allows an outsider to join an aristocratic community, but at the expense of his previous identity and independence. The literary merits of this French poetry are only recently being recognised by modern scholars.
From Rus’ to Rímur Norse History, Culture, and Literature East and West, 2024
Within the rich corpus of extant medieval Icelandic sagas, Jóns saga leiksveins (The Saga of Jón ... more Within the rich corpus of extant medieval Icelandic sagas, Jóns saga
leiksveins (The Saga of Jón the Player) ranks as one of the least
known and least accessible. Also known as Jóns saga leikara—the
name given to it by seventeenth-century antiquarian and scholar
Árni Magnússon—the short tale is usually classified as a ridda-
rasaga (literally “saga of knights,” or chivalric saga); although, as
with many sagas within this category, it contains elements from
more genres than just romance. The saga is an entertaining tale
that freely adapts and combines disparate elements from a wide
range of source material, but to date it has received very little
attention from scholars within the field of medieval Icelandic
studies. The text and translation accompanying this article seek to redress this fundamental issue of accessibility by making the saga available to a
wider audience than before. It is our hope that, amid the increasing
scholarly interest in the late medieval Icelandic romances, and the
production of English translations of them, Jóns saga may be
evaluated in light of current and future analytical trends, be they
stemmatic, generic, literary, folkloric, gender studies, or others.
Borders and the Norman World: Frontiers and Boundaries in Medieval Europe, 2023
The Anglo-Norman or English Invasion of Ireland c. 1169 has been a significant dividing line in I... more The Anglo-Norman or English Invasion of Ireland c. 1169 has been a significant dividing line in Irish history, just as 1066 has been in English history. While such political watersheds serve as convenient tools of periodisation for historians, these historiographical borders can obscure continuities in networks and repeated patterns in interactions. Irish cultural and economic contacts with the Normans pre-dated the military incursions of c. 1169. Norman influences in Ireland, particularly in its Hiberno-Scandinavian trading towns, are in evidence certainly by the start of the twelfth century. This chapter concerns the period from 1066 to 1169, thereby focusing on Ireland and the Anglo-Normans, rather than links to Normandy itself.
In two initial case studies, Irish support for rebels against Anglo-Norman rulers will be considered: the support of Diarmait mac Máel na mBó, king of Leinster, for Harold Godwinson’s sons, and the connections between Muirchertach Ua Briain, king of Munster and high-king of Ireland, and Arnulf de Montgomery, which angered Henry I. These case studies illuminate the complex networks between Ireland and Britain in which the Normans were involved.
Ériu, 2023
This article examines a reference in the Annals of Inisfallen concerning material objects given b... more This article examines a reference in the Annals of Inisfallen concerning material objects given by Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó to Tairdelbach Ua Briain, or possibly taken by Tairdelbach from Diarmait. It considers the origins and transmissions of these objects, and in particular tries to identify the 'king of the Saxons' and how his standard came into Diarmait's possession, in the context of other similar objects in Ireland and beyond. Further, this article discusses the power dynamics between Diarmait and Tairdelbach, including notions of tuarastal, overlordship and alliance, by comparing this annalistic item to others that are similar and considering the wider political situation. This investigation sheds some light on annalistic reportage as well as on Irish kings' relationships both with the family of Harold Godwinson and with the Normans in England.
Religions, 2021
In recent years, the influence of Muslims and Islam on developments in medieval Europe has captur... more In recent years, the influence of Muslims and Islam on developments in medieval Europe has captured the attention of scholars and the general public alike. Nevertheless, ‘conversion’ to Islam remains a challenging subject for historical research and demands more transdisciplinary collaborations. This article examines early medieval interactions between Muslim Arabs and Northern and Eastern Europeans as a case study for whether some individuals in Northern Eurasia ‘converted’ to Islam. More importantly, we address some key examples and lines of evidence that demonstrate why the process of ‘conversion’ to Islam is not more visible in the historical and archaeological records of Northern Eurasia. We find that, despite the well-established evidence for economic exchanges between the Islamic World and Northern Eurasia, the historical and material records are much more complex, but not entirely silent, on the issue of religious change. We also conclude that religious connectivity and exchanges, including with Islam, were common in early medieval Northern Eurasia, even if it is difficult in most cases to identify conclusive instances of ‘conversion’ to Islam.