Mary O'Connor

Thesis title: Writing Landscapes of Power in Old Norse Literature, c.1200-1400

Supervisor: Dr Siân Grønlie

Research Interests: Old Norse-Icelandic literature; Old French literature; Anglo-Norman literature; medieval European romance; medieval Icelandic history; medieval Norwegian history; Old English and Middle English literature and history; medieval cartography studies; theories of space; landscape studies; eco-criticism; translation studies; courtliness; chivalry; kingship; honour; women.

Doctoral Research: 

The thirteenth century was a period of political transformation but also cultural and social change in Norway and in Iceland. King Hákon Hákonarson worked to strengthen the Norwegian monarchy and the Icelandic Commonwealth came to an end following Iceland's submission to the Norwegian crown in 1262-1264. My DPhil researches examines the ways in which translated literature may have been instrumentalised to disseminate new political and cultural ideologies to garner support for the Norwegian monarchy and the continued relevance of these new ideas of kingship in the centuries beyond Iceland's submission. I focus on the ideas centring on questions of kingship, chivalric service and the role of aristocratic women in the Old Norse translations of Chrétien de Troyes' romances, Erec et Enide, Yvain, and Perceval or Le Conte du Graal. 

About Me:

I am a scholar of medieval literature and translation theory as I work on the movement of ideas from Old French into Old Norse-Icelandic from the thirteenth century onwards. In my approach I bring together literary history and translation theory to offer new models of understanding the dynamic changes and innovations introduced to texts when they reached medieval Norway and Iceland and the potential ways these new texts participated in and shaped the political discourse of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in the Medieval North.

Originally from Ireland, I completed a BA in English and History at University College Dublin where I was an Ad Astra Academic Scholar. During my undergraduate degree I was awarded the McGuinn Scholarship which allowed me to study for a year at Villanova University close to Philadelphia. Upon completing my undergraduate, I then came to Oxford where I completed an MPhil in Medieval English.

My research project is supported by the Clarendon Fund Scholarship in partnership Balliol College where I am a Foley-Béjar Scholar.

Teaching:

In 2025-2026 I am teaching FHS II (Literature in English, c. 1350-1550) at St Edmund's Hall. I am also the Graduate Teaching Assistant for the FHS Paper 6 option in Old Norse.

I have also taught on various outreach programmes including the Queen's Translation Exchange, UNIQ, and the Old Norse Storytelling Project.

Public Engagement:

I have produced a podcast episode for the Multi-Cultural Middle Ages series hosted by the Medieval Academy of America. This is a general introduction to the world of medieval Norse romance translations and titled "French Fantasies in the Medieval North: Translating Old French Romances at the Court of King Hákon Hákonarson of Norway".

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0y6UZtp8UEEPzjt4egpbwT?si=e85a5cfa3b264f9d

I have also worked as a guest lecture in Old Norse Studies and crew on sailing ships around the North Atlantic sea area.

Book Reviews:

Ecocriticism and Old Norse Studies: Nature and the Environment in Old Norse Literature and Culture. Edited by Reinhard Hennig, Emily Lethbridge and Michael Schulte. Brepols: Turnhout, 2023. Pp. 312. In Saga-Book 48 (2024)