Nicknames

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.

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The Blog

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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...

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...

'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...

An Oxford Historian

Jul 5, 20213 min read

St Anskar, 'Apostle of the North'

This week we look at the Vita Ansgarii, the Life of Anskar - a hagiographical account of the Frankish mission to convert the 'Vikings' in...

Herman Contractus - Early Medieval Disability

An Oxford Historian

Jul 4, 20212 min read

Herman Contractus - Early Medieval Disability

How did people in the early medieval period understand 'disability' and physical difference? This weeks Nickname of the Week focuses on...

An Oxford Historian

Jun 13, 20212 min read

Nickname of the Week - Onund 'Treefoot'

The second installment in the Nickname of the Week series we take a look at Onund 'Treefoot', a disabled Viking from the Sagas, whose...

Nickname of the Week - Simo 'White Death' Häyhä

An Oxford Historian

Jun 5, 20212 min read

Nickname of the Week - Simo 'White Death' Häyhä

In a new weekly series Nickname of the Week, focusing on historic nicknames and their origins, we take a look at the Second World War and...

An Oxford Historian

Jun 5, 20212 min read

Nickname of the Week

This week I'm starting a new blog series - Nickname of the Week. In my research, I'm interested primarily in how nicknames work socially....

An Oxford Historian

May 1, 20213 min read

Rude 'Viking' Nicknames

'Viking' nicknames are often shocking and offensive to the modern reader. In a continuation from previous articles, here are a number of...

Icelandic 'Viking' Nicknames - My First Conference Paper

An Oxford Historian

Apr 21, 20211 min read

Icelandic 'Viking' Nicknames - My First Conference Paper

This last week I was fortunate enough to give a presentation at The Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North, a wonderful...

An Oxford Historian

Feb 21, 20212 min read

Early Medieval Occupational Bynames

Another consistent theme in early medieval English naming is the presence of bynames/nicknames that reflect occupation and work. Not only...

An Oxford Historian

Feb 13, 20213 min read

Early Medieval Nicknames #2

After many requests, here is the next installment of nicknames! This is part of a series - check back at the past articles on...

An Oxford Historian

Feb 6, 20213 min read

Anglo-Saxon Royal Nicknames

One of the most commonly acknowledged forms of historical nicknames are those applied to monarchs - Charles the Bald, Bloody Mary, Robert...

Obscene and Offensive Early Medieval Nicknames

An Oxford Historian

Jan 16, 20213 min read

Obscene and Offensive Early Medieval Nicknames

FAIR WARNING - there are some naughty words below. One of the remarkable features of Early Medieval nicknames is their shock factor. The...

An Oxford Historian

Jan 9, 20215 min read

Viking Nicknames in Landnámabók

#ComissionsEarned (This post includes Amazon Affiliate links)* As a continuation from my previous post about Anglo-Saxon nicknames, I...

An Oxford Historian

Jan 2, 20213 min read

'Anglo-Saxon' Nicknames

What do 'Anglo-Saxon' nicknames look like, and what sources do they appear in? What trends and themes emerge? Understanding Nicknames My...

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