Dr Matt Firth

The mailman's been, author copies are here - Remembering England: Cultural Memory in the Sagas of Icelanders. There's dragons, duels, berserks, poets, kings, battles, magic, memory theory...what's not to love? Tell your libraries (a bit expensive to buy yourself). www.routledge.com/Remembering-...

Who was Gunnhild, Mother of Kings? A little piece I wrote for Medievalists. Fascinating material survives about the notorious queen, from her alleged expertise in Saami magic to her role in tenth-century Norwegian politics. The challenge is working out what it tells us about the historical woman.

Gunnhild, Mother of Kings: What Do We Really Know About This Viking Age Queen?, by @mattfirth.bsky.social www.medievalists.net/2026/10/gunn... #medievalwomen #medieval #vikings

She lives! Proofs of my new book, 𝘎𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳, 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘐𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺, scheduled for open access publication in Feb 2027. So just in time for Gunnhild to make her small-screen debut in Prime Video's new 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘹𝘦 series. #medieval #medievalsky

She lives! Proofs of my new book, 𝘎𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳, 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘐𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺, scheduled for open access publication in Feb 2027. So just in time for Gunnhild to make her small-screen debut in Prime Video's new 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘹𝘦 series. #medieval #medievalsky

Very pleased to share that I've been promoted to Senior Research Fellow (Level C) at Flinders University, effective January 2027. Lots to look forward to next year: my biography of Gunnhildr, Mother of Kings, a research fellowship at the Bodleian Libraries, and hosting ANZAMEMS at Flinders!

Two of my books are currently 20% off direct from Routledge: 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴, 850–1000 and 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥: 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. Use code 26AFLY3 at checkout. Valid until 31 December 2026. Pretty sure it'll also work for any other Routledge book you may want...

Two of my books are currently 20% off direct from Routledge: 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴, 850–1000 and 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥: 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. Use code 26AFLY3 at checkout. Valid until 31 December 2026. Pretty sure it'll also work for any other Routledge book you may want...

What was the Danegeld, and what legacy did the English payments to the Vikings leave? I'm in The Conversation discussing exactly that (in under 800 words!). #medieval #medievalsky

It’s easy to say now that paying the Vikings to go away ‘didn’t work’. But this obscures the fact paying off one Viking band didn’t ensure another would stop coming.

What was the Danegeld, and what legacy did the English payments to the Vikings leave? I'm in The Conversation discussing exactly that (in under 800 words!). #medieval #medievalsky

Very grateful to the reviewer of my Gunnhildr book, both for the assessment that they 'can’t imagine anyone improving on this', and for the 4 pages of typo corrections! Now, I need a cover image. I've narrowed it to three strong options from Storm's Heimskringla, but which one? Opinions welcome.

Very grateful to the reviewer of my Gunnhildr book, both for the assessment that they 'can’t imagine anyone improving on this', and for the 4 pages of typo corrections! Now, I need a cover image. I've narrowed it to three strong options from Storm's Heimskringla, but which one? Opinions welcome.

CFP: IMC Leeds (5–8 July 2027) Conquest, Invasion, Colonisation: Experience and Memory in Early Medieval Britain. Keen for more papers on the experiences and legacies of conquest in early medieval Britain and Ireland. Abstracts to matthew.firth@flinders.edu.au by 31 August 2026.

Normally this would call for wine. But as I've ended the day with surgery for a complete distal bicep tendon rupture, Endone it is!

Very happy to have sent my 'minigraph' on Gunnhildr konungamóðir off to Arc Humanities yesterday. It’s written as a biography, but not a traditional one. I’ve brought together all the stories about Gunnhildr in medieval Scandinavian literature and followed them through her life, from youth to death.

Reminder! CFP: IMC Leeds (5–8 July 2027) Conquest, Invasion, Colonisation: Experience and Memory in Early Medieval Britain. Papers are invited for panels on the experiences and legacies of conquest in early medieval Britain and Ireland. Abstracts to matthew.firth@flinders.edu.au by 31 August 2026.

On the way home to Adelaide, but already planning a busy European summer in 2027! Pleased to be one of what ISSEME has declared to be 'a pretty formidable triad of keynote speakers' for their conference at Udine next year. Hope I can live up to the billing!

Tomorrow in IMC session 1325 at 4.30pm I'll be speaking about late medieval roll chronicles, the transition from Brut legend to early English history, and King Ecgberht's place in medieval English historical memory. I'll also be speaking in the royal studies round table at 7pm.

The @jaema.bsky.social conference is coming up at the end of September, to be hosted at University of Newcastle(Aus). Themed 'faces of the early medieval world', submissions are invited for in-person or online papers that speak to the topic in the broadest possible sense.

Out now in paperback! My book Remembering England: Cultural Memory in the Sagas of Icelanders is suddenly much more affordable. Especially as Routledge have it at 20% off with free shipping (25% for ebook). If you wanted to know what the sagas say about early medieval England, it's time to find out.

My book Early English Queens, 850-1000 pretty much does what it says on the cover! It's a biography-led exploration of how queenship developed in an important period of political evolution in England. And the book is currently 20% off with free shipping at Routledge (or 25% off for the ebook).

CFP: IMC Leeds (5–8 July 2027) Conquest, Invasion, Colonisation: Experience and Memory in Early Medieval Britain. Papers are invited for panels on the experiences and legacies of conquest in early medieval Britain and Ireland. Abstracts to matthew.firth@flinders.edu.au by 31 August 2026.

Ecgberht, first king of England. Well according to BL Add 63009 and about 15 other roll chronicles I've viewed this week anyway. This is a striking visual example though. The Roger of St Albans rolls are always a bit fancy...

Imagine getting this ambitious and then the portrait guy just doesn't show up. But the guy who paints the little churches did? In French, roll chronicle of popes, emperors, French and English kings. BL Harley Roll O 1.

Roll Chronicles. Increasingly struck by Ecgberht's centrality to the founding of England/English kingship in later medieval history writing. This is BL Add 8101 that dates to c. 1375. Ecgberht is the first blue roundel. Picking up on threads of research from last year.

Can anyone help me out with this one? The below passage is incorrect (or at least overstated) in regard to Germania. I suspect it is the same with Snorra Edda, but I cannot even work out what passage the author might be referring to. Any guesses? Am I wrong?

Can anyone help me out with this one? The below passage is incorrect (or at least overstated) in regard to Germania. I suspect it is the same with Snorra Edda, but I cannot even work out what passage the author might be referring to. Any guesses? Am I wrong?

News! Coming out in paperback: my book on Viking Age England, medieval Icelandic cultural memory, and the transmission of historical narrative across time and place. It's now much less unaffordable. You can pre-order - it's due out in June.

Officially released TODAY!!!

The hardcover of my edited collection, Pre-Conquest History and its Medieval Reception, is 60% off on the @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social website. So, if you wanted to read some fascinating studies of how the early English past was reinvented in a Norman world... boydellandbrewer.com/book/pre-con...

Delighted to say I've been awarded a 2026/27 Bodleian Libraries Humfrey Wanley visiting fellowship. I'll be looking at many, many copies of the prose Brut and their representations of the early English past. But not until Trinity term next year (this year's UK research trip is already planned).

Another review of my edited volume Pre-Conquest History and its Medieval Reception has just appeared. Menendez runs a thorough eye over each chapter: scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/ind... The ebook is downright affordable from @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social. boydellandbrewer.com/book/pre-con...

Yesterday's meeting couldn't even have been an email, because emails need content...

On the sidelines of #anza25 in Melbourne, it was wonderful for past, present, and incoming members of the Ceræ committee to meet in person and talk about our own research. L-R: @ohwowbee.bsky.social @mattfirth.bsky.social @mlcseah.bsky.social @ericasteiner.bsky.social Natasha Bailey Andrea Wait

Very pleased to have received a Flinders University Vice Chancellor's Award for Research last week. It's been a busy year of research and writing. Next projects: a biography of Gunnhildr konungamóðir (Arc, 2026/27) and a biography of Edgar the Peacemaker (Yale, 2027/28).

New issue of @parergon.bsky.social edited by @mattfirth.bsky.social, Dr Cassandra Schilling and me!

@flindersuniversity.bsky.social ARC DECRA Fellow in Medieval History, @mattfirth.bsky.social speaking at @anzamems.bsky.social on political friendships in Wessex!

Just in: the first review of my edited collection, Pre-Conquest History and its Medieval Reception: Writing England's Past. The reviewer states 'the variety of approaches and diverse materials discussed in this collection spark exciting possibilities and avenues for future research'. Perfect! (1/2)

The first review of Remembering England: Cultural Memory in the Sagas of Icelanders has appeared! In Dr Kennedy's positive (yet critical) assessment, it is 'almost unfailingly interesting and insightful' and 'scholars of the Íslendingasögur, and especially the skáldsögur, will 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 this book'. (1/2)

The challenges of packing to go to a conference...

Issue 42.2 is upon us! As some of you have noted, our book reviews are already available. Alongside the contents page for our special issue on England and the external world, and our frankly fabulous cover. Check out our website, articles available on Project Muse soon. parergon.org/index.php/pa...