Academic background and research interests
My academic background lies in the interdisciplinary study of the medieval world, drawing on approaches from Nordic archaeology, art history, history, and literary studies (John Cabot University, Rome; University of York; University of Oslo). In my PhD dissertation (University of Oslo, 2010), I focused on the translation and transmission of texts in the manuscript cultures of France, Norway, and Iceland, c. 1200-1500. I have done research and published on:
- Literature, book-history and manuscript culture in Norway and Iceland, c. 1200-1500
- Writing, composition and reading in medieval manuscript culture
- Old Norse translations and translation studies
- Intellectual culture, pedagogy, and attitudes to knowledge in Old Norse culture
- Cognition, theory of mind, and mentalizing in Old Norse literature and culture
- Environmental humanities/ Eco-criticism and Old Norse studies
- The role of literature in times of crises
- Interdisciplinarity and medieval studies
Current and previous positions
2026–dd: Professor in Old Norse Philology/ Medieval Studies, University of Oslo
2025–dd: Head of Research at ILN
2023–2025: Associate Professor in Old Norse Philology/ Medieval Studies, UiO/ILN
2018–2023: Research Professor at Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU)
2015–2017: Research Director at NIKU
2012–2013: Research Fellow, Center for Advanced Studies, Oslo
2011–2015: Postdoc Fellow, ILN, UiO
Teaching
NFI1320: Norrøn litteratur 1/ Nordisk litteratur fram til 1500 (V24)
NFI2130: Norrøn prosa (H23, H24)
NFI4120: Old Norse Language and Texts (H23)
VMS4100: Philological Theory and Method (V24)
NFI4080: Supervised Self-Study in Medieval Studies (H24, on Old Norse translations)
ILN2303/4303: Writing, Nature, and Eco-Emotions (V26)
NOR1304: Lesing før og nå (H26)
PhD supervision
2026‒ dd: co-supervisor for Kathrine Emilie Haarseth (main supervisor Ane Ohrvik)
2025‒ dd: main supervisor for Josh Burgoyne, 'Paradise Found: Environmental Rhetoric in the Vínland Sagas' ((Eco-emotions project)
2017–2022: main supervisor for Karen Langsholt Holmqvist, ‘A personality set in stone. Portrayals of the literate self in medieval epigraphic texts’ (The Self project), UiO/NIKU
2017–2019: co-supervisor for Katharina Heinz, ‘Teach, Inspire, Move: Applied Medieval Rhetoric,’ UiO
On-going research projects
- Minds, Cognitive Ecologies, and Old Norse Literary Artefacts, Palgrave McMillan, 2026 (forthcoming)
- Eco-Emotions and the Elements in Old Norse Literature (2024-2028)
- Collective Listening and Reading Aloud (CLARA): Pilot study on collective reading aloud, Medieval Festival, Oslo 2026.
Editorial boards
Member of editorial board of the book series The Medieval Translator/ Traduire au Moyen Âge, Brepols.
Member of advisory board of LAB - Literature across Boundaries. Current Approaches to Ancient and Medieval Texts.
Member of advisory board of The Journal of Manuscript and Text Cultures
Academy memberships
Member of The Young Academy of Norway (AYF), 2017–2021







