MEMG Medieval and Early Modern Group

The group brings together researchers from various disciplines in the humanities who are specialists in the Middle Ages and early modern times. The group organises research seminars and other activities to promote interest in and collaboration on common topics and research questions.

MEMG Medieval and Early Modern Group is an interdisciplinary meeting place for researchers within and outside Miun's humanities who work with the Middle Ages and early modern times. Such specialisations are becoming increasingly rare in the research community today and there is a need to safeguard competence and specialisation.

There is also a need to create arenas and contact surfaces between researchers who belong to different disciplines where researchers with such a specialisation are a small minority, in subjects that are sometimes already small. An important goal of the group is also to bridge some of the traditional chronology that divides Europe's history two arbitrary chronological blocs, despite the fact that there is strong continuity between them.

What's in the works

Symposium, 4–5 December.

Historia Sancti Olai – a Swedish vernacular chronicle about a Norwegian royal saint. The symposium brings together scholars from Swedish and Norwegian universities to discuss new findings in the fields of medieval historiography and hagiography, recently published in Erik Opsahl och Henrik Ågren (eds.), Sankt Olav och grannfolken : En svensk rimkrönika om en norsk helgonkung, Opuscula Historica Upsaliensia 64, 2025.

Previous activities

28 April, 15:00–17:00 (M301)

Erika Kihlman, Associate Professor of Latin at Stockholm University, presents two projects: "'Medieval Grammar Teaching in Vienna' and 'Latin Manuscripts at The National Library'.

We also remind you of the Higher Seminar in History, which meets the next day (29/4), at 15.15, where Andreas Hellerstedt presents a background text for the project "Animal rights and human duties 1680–1760".

6 February, 16:00–18:00 (M301)

Peter Sjökvist (Uppsala University/Carolina Rediviva), presents his new book "Looted Libraries: Looted Books – The Swedish Case" (Brill).

We also remind you of the Higher Seminar in History that meets on the same day, at 2.15 p.m., where Luke Kelly presents a draft chapter on book donations to the Cathedral Library in Gloucester during the 17th century.

25 November, 15.30–17.00 (M301).

Ingvar Sjöblom (Department of Military History, The Swedish Defence University), "The Reformation of Military Pastoral Care in the Swedish Navy. Priests and pastoral care 1527–1570". The text (in Swedish) will be distributed before the seminar.

9 December, 15:00–16:30 (M408).

A discussion of Stephen Greenblatt, Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics, New York/London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2018.

Thursday 28 September, 14.30. The Humanities Room (M 408).

MEMG will be visited by Prof. Erik Opsahl, historian at NTNU in Trondheim. Opsahl leads NTNU's faculty of humanities' initiative in medieval research, the Medieval Centre, and presents under the title "From the Mostratinget (1024) to Christian IV's Norwegian Law (1604). The idea of St. Olav's law through 600 years".

12 June, 14.00 in room M408.

MEMG was visited by Dr. Lena Oetzel (Paris Lodron Universität Salzburg), who presented her research under the title: "'That we don't know, how to pay for our upkeeping.' – Talking about finances and clientele relations at the Westphalian peace congress". Oetzel's research revolves around formal and informal practice in the history of diplomacy, with a particular focus on the Westphalian peace negotiations. She has also written several books and articles on princely legitimation and criticism of rulers in early modern England.