Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from?
Born and raised in India, I started my academic journey at Durham with a BA in English and History. I then moved to Cambridge for an MPhil in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, to Madrid to teach for a year, and finally to Oxford for my current DPhil in Old Norse-Icelandic literature.
What brought you to your current university?
I came to Oxford for its large and vibrant Old Norse community within an even larger medieval community – though, when it came down to making a choice, the funding certainly didn’t hurt! I’m very grateful for the AHRC OOC-DTP and Lincoln College Kingsgate allowing me to do what I do here.
What is your favorite aspect pertaining to the medieval/early modern period?
I specialise in Old Norse-Icelandic literature and what I love the most about its texts is how utterly ridiculous they can get, no matter the genre. Even when literarily, philosophically, or theologically deeply sophisticated, these texts still manage to produce some of the most entertaining nonsense out there. This makes them such a great entry point into literature in general!
What is your research focus?
I work on dogs in Old Norse-Icelandic literature, focusing on their narrative functions in different genres of texts.
In brief, what will you be discussing in your seminar talk?
In my seminar talk, I will be giving a broad introduction to the wide range of practical functions dogs may have performed in medieval Iceland and Scandinavia, from guards and hunters to entertainers and companions, by looking at a range of literary, historical, and archaeological sources.
What is your favorite piece of art/text from the medieval/early modern eras?
A combination of art and text, the illuminated Getty Tondal manuscript (Les visions du chevalier Tondal) has an absolutely fantastic collection of miniatures by Simon Marmion, including a particularly delightful Lucifer on fol. 30v with a wonderful backstory…
If you could choose any one figure from medieval/early modern history to spend a weekend vacation with, who would it be, why would you choose them, and where would you go?
I would choose the dog-king Saurr from one of the Old Norse kings’ sagas (let’s just choose to believe that these sagas are all totally historically accurate). Saurr was magically given the ability to speak one human word in between three barks. I’d maybe take him on some kind of beach holiday, giving him a break from his royal duties, and hopefully try to pick his brain on both historical matters and canine ones.
Medieval and Early Modern Student Association 