'King of Sweden, the Götar, and the Wends'.... What about the Finns? Swedish royal titulature changed over the centuries as the regions under Swedish rule shifted, yet despite centuries of rule over Finland, the Swedish royals did not include it in their titulature. Caroline Wilhelmsson of the University of Aberdeen explores this question in her … Continue reading What about the Finns? Investigating Finland’s absence from Swedish royal titulature
How did the figure of the milites - the sanctified warrior laymen of the church - grow out of medieval saints' lives? In her new article (now live on the Cerae website), Sofia Fagiolo tackles this question through the lens of two vitae – she introduces her article, and the inspiration for it, for us here… My … Continue reading The Soldier of Christ in Medieval Hagiography
How fluid is Icelandic place-lore; how do medieval narratives relate to modern folklore and local landscapes? These are just some of the questions Matthias Egeler explores in his new article (now live on the Cerae website). In this accompanying blog-post, Matthias introduces us to his interest in toponymy, in the intersections of landscapes and the … Continue reading Walking into mythology
What can Old Norse accounts of Fimbulvetr (‘Great Winter’) tell us about cultural memory of the 'dust veil' of 536 throughout Europe? In his new article (now live on the Cerae website), Andrea Maraschi explores just that; he introduces his research for us here. But more than that, writing from Italy in the midst of the … Continue reading Catastrophe, cultural memory, and the ‘dust veil’ of 536
How did an emperor's interest in collecting art connect with representations of his cultural and imperial legacy? In her new article (now live on the Cerae website), Miranda Lee Elston explores Rudolf II's fascination with the religious works of Albrecht Dürer – she introduces her article, and her research more widely, for us here… I am a Ph.D. … Continue reading Rudolf II and the Material Culture of the Holy Roman Empire
How was the classical historian Sallust read in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and what does this reveal about medieval moral thought? These are the questions Philippa Byrne asks in her new article (now live on the Cerae website). Philippa introduces it for us here on the blog, taking a look at how the research … Continue reading Reading Sallust in Medieval Political and Intellectual Culture
Should we consider the most ambitious Anglo-Saxon kings as reigning over ‘empires’, or are historians misusing that term? In his new article (now live on the Cerae website), Matt Firth examines ‘empires’ as a category of power in political theory and questions whether it is an appropriate term for the hegemonies of the Kings Æthelstan and Cnut... … Continue reading Æthelstan and Cnut – Emperors or Kings?
How did early medieval scholars interpret and adapt the histories of Imperial Rome? In her new article (now live on the Cerae website), Minjie Su explores the composition of, and intertextuality within, Vita Karoli Magni (The Life of Charlemagne) - she introduces it for us here... I find that, in order to write about the article … Continue reading Einhard and the Writing of Vita Karoli Magni
Here Dr. Jocelyn Hargrave of Monash University shares with us a fascinating insight into the connections between academia and publishing, and how working in both fields has informed her research. Her article "Aphra Behn: Cultural Translator and Editorial Intermediary" has just been published in Volume 4 of Cerae Journal. Editing, specifically, and making books, more … Continue reading Aphra Behn: Cultural Translator and Editorial Intermediary
With the publication of volume 4, 'Influence and Appropriation', we've asked our fantastic contributors to write a blog post about their work. First up is Jenny Smith, whose paper explores the influential power of metaphor in early modern literature. Her article can be found here: Necessary Abuse: the Mirror as Metaphor in the Sixteenth Century … Continue reading Metaphor and Meaning