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Welcome to my blog!

Hello, my name is Tristan and I'm a first-year history PhD researcher at Oxford.

The aim of this blog is to share my research and wider history on the early medieval world, help give any advice on applying to university and explaining about Oxford, and generally expanding engagement with the Humanities.

So if you fall under any of those categories, why not fill out the subscription box below to stay up to date.

The Blog

Start here, or explore the Blog tab above for the latest posts

An Oxford Historian

Jun 4, 20222 min read

Boyo-wulf: Beowulf in Cork Slang

Beowulf's fame in modern culture has led to its constant reinterpretation through the process of translation. Each translation is the...

What can nicknames tell us about history?

An Oxford Historian

Jun 4, 20225 min read

What can nicknames tell us about history?

Recently, St Cross College ran their yearly history prize. This involved, among other things, producing a plain English explanation of...

An Oxford Historian

May 22, 20222 min read

Electronic Beowulf

A wonderful resource for exploring the manuscript culture behind the single surviving version of the epic poem Beowulf. This week I...

An Oxford Historian

May 17, 20222 min read

Key to English Place-Names

One of the crucial aspects of historical onomastics is the question of place-names - how did places get their names, why have some names...

Crossing Boundaries - Insular metalwork in 'Viking' Scandinavia

An Oxford Historian

May 1, 20224 min read

Crossing Boundaries - Insular metalwork in 'Viking' Scandinavia

How did the Insular metalwork that we find in 'Viking Age' Scandinavia get there? What might the social and cultural significance of...

An Oxford Historian

Apr 24, 20222 min read

Bayeux Tapestry Online - resource

The best (and free!) resource to explore the Bayeux Tapestry, the Bayeux Museum's website provides a wonderful chance to explore the work...

Nicknames of 'Disability' in Early Medieval England

An Oxford Historian

Apr 23, 20221 min read

Nicknames of 'Disability' in Early Medieval England

Last term I attended a confernce put on by the American Names Society to present a paper based on my current PhD work on early medieval...

An Oxford Historian

Mar 27, 20224 min read

'Anglo-Saxon' boat burials - why?

The burial at Sutton Hoo Mound 1 is England's most famous archaeological site, and contains a body buried in a magnificent ship. But why...

An Oxford Historian

Mar 25, 20223 min read

The Gladstone Link | Library Review

The punishment of the sins of historians, the Gladstone Link combines all the worst features of Oxford's libraries into one gloriously...

Westfield Farm - a high-status 'Anglo-Saxon' female burial

An Oxford Historian

Feb 21, 20223 min read

Westfield Farm - a high-status 'Anglo-Saxon' female burial

The Westfield Farm (Ely) cemetery represents a crucial yet under-appreciated piece of 'Anglo-Saxon' funerary archaeology - a cemetery...

An Oxford Historian

Jan 28, 20222 min read

Old English Poetry in Fascimile

After a hiatus, we're returning to a weekly series highlighting a set of resources to learn about early medieval England. This week we...

An Oxford Historian

Dec 21, 20211 min read

The 'Viking' World - Artefact Database

The Swedish History Museum in Stockholm hosts the world's largest collection of Viking artefacts, which tell an impressive story of life,...

Oxbridge History Interviews - tips and advice

An Oxford Historian

Dec 13, 20217 min read

Oxbridge History Interviews - tips and advice

This year's interviews are drawing to an end, and so I thought I'd write up some of the advice I compiled this year for people asking...

'Viking' Nicknames in Landnámabók - my first publication!

An Oxford Historian

Nov 29, 20211 min read

'Viking' Nicknames in Landnámabók - my first publication!

Last year I attended the 10th Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North. Based in Iceland's capital Reykjavik, this...

The 'Viking' Settlement of Northumbria: Large and Archaeologically Distinctive, or Invisible?

An Oxford Historian

Nov 24, 202122 min read

The 'Viking' Settlement of Northumbria: Large and Archaeologically Distinctive, or Invisible?

Contrasting views of the Scandinavian settlement of the Northumbrian 'Danelaw' have emerged in the historiography of the period....

Monty Python and the Holy Grail: A Review

An Oxford Historian

Nov 15, 20213 min read

Monty Python and the Holy Grail: A Review

★★★★★ The classic Arthurian comedy, Monty Python and the Holy Grail remains as strong today as ever. Its wild historical accuracy is a...

An Oxford Historian

Nov 15, 20214 min read

Hamilton: A Review

★★★★☆ The smash-hit musical made available to the world, Hamilton tells the story of the ill-fated founding father through hip-hop. But...

An Oxford Historian

Nov 12, 20213 min read

Apollo 11: A Review

★★★★★ Apollo 11 provides a breath-taking look back at the mission to put a man on the moon. Composed of remastered contemporary footage,...

An Oxford Historian

Nov 11, 20213 min read

Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb: A Review

★★★★☆ A must-watch for archaeology enthusiasts, or anyone with a love of the history of Egypt, this stunningly-shot documentary takes us...

An Oxford Historian

Nov 11, 20213 min read

The Dig: A Review

★★★★☆ Beautifully shot and movingly emotional, The Dig is an impressive example of how the process of history and archaeology can be...

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