Scottish Society for Northern Studies

10/06/2026

Book launch - 25 June

Following SSNS's recent publication of its edited volume in honour of the late Dr Anna Ritchie, a launch event will be organised on Thursday 25 June from 15:30pm in Edinburgh.

Please join us to celebrate, remember, and raise a glass to Anna Ritchie and her work as archaeologist, author, and lifelong advocate of Scotland’s premodern history and heritage.

All welcome!

Details: 25 June - 15:30 to 17:45. Room 1.06 (Project Room), School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures, University of Edinburgh, 50 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LH.

09/06/2026

Gabriel Francis-Dehqani recently went on a trip to Sweden in the Hjorted Art and Music Festival (LUMA) with the Komuna Collective. This trip was funded by the CoScan Trust Fund which SSNS has contributed to as a member society. The full article on the trip can be found on CoScan's Travel Award page: https://www.coscan.org.uk/travel-award/

To follow Gabriel's amazing projects, please visit his website: https://www.gabrielfd.com/

We are thrilled to know that Gabriel's trip was a positive one. The success of the trip once again emphasises the importance of travel awards to researchers and creators.

Photo Credit: Gabriel Francis-Dehqan

01/06/2026

Timothy Liam Waters is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Center for Folklore Studies at The Ohio State University. His research focuses on literary materialisms, generative AI, and folkloric reception in the Old Norse literary corpus.

Please click on the image to sign up for this free, online seminar!

Stephen will explore why so many of the crucial incidents leading to the downfall of the Norse line of northern Scottish jarls in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.

30/05/2026

The Norse in the North 2026 (Mind and Body) was held on 15th May 2026 at the University of Leeds and organized by Natalie Hopwood, Daniel Coultas, Sif Brookes, and Chris Latham. Please click below to read about this fantastic conference funding by the SSNS Conference Grant.

A summary by Natalie Hopwood on the conference Norse in the North: Mind and Body at the University of Leeds.

22/05/2026

Call for Papers for the 4th Old Norse Poetry in Performance Conference, which will be taking place in Oxford on 26–27 October 2026. Abstracts of 250-300 words should be sent along with a short biographical note to [email protected] by 30 June 2026.

18/05/2026

The SHR is pleased to announce the call for the 2026 Early Career Researcher Article Prize.

The Prize is intended to promote the careers of ECRs, and especially those from social groups who remain under-represented in the SHR’s author profile, by providing an opportunity to publish in a leading peer-reviewed journal. The winning entry/entries will be published in the journal and receive a £500 award.

The deadline is Tuesday, 8 September at 5pm.

The Prize is intended to promote the careers of ECRs, and especially those from social groups who remain under-represented in the SHR’s author profile, by providing an opportunity to publish in a leading peer-reviewed journal. The winning entry/entries will be published in the journal and receive ...

18/05/2026

Looking for funding a publication or conference? We have grants of all shapes and sizes for researchers who are interested. Please submit your applications by 22nd June. Follow the link below for details.

Funding In accordance with its aims and objectives, the Society offers a variety of bursaries to eligible students and scholars at any stage in their career, regardless of country of residence or institutional affiliation. Opportunities include grants for fieldwork, publication, as well as funding f...

13/05/2026

Anna’s extensive and enduring contributions to the field of archaeology, particularly on the topic of prehistoric and early medieval Scotland, were celebrated at the Common Ground conference, jointly hosted by the Scottish Society for Northern Studies and the Pictish Arts Society in 2022. That conference also led to the volume Common Ground in Scottish Archaeology, published last year in honour of Anna and her work, edited by Kelly Kilpatrick.

12/05/2026

Exciting news! Andrew Orr's book, "The Flight of the Vikings", is now available for purchase. After three successful hardback issues, the book is in paperback. It has achieved widespread five-start acclain from the press, media, and historians alike.

When the full might of N**i Germany descended without warning upon neutral Norway in April 1940, many brave Norwegians wanted to escape to Britain to…

12/05/2026

https://www.ssns.org.uk/featured/ssns-funding-sacred-networks-university-of-college-dublin/
Sacred Networks: New Perspectives on Hagiography and Saints’ Cults in the Celtic and Norse Worlds was held on 1-2 May at University College Dublin, and was organised by the Celtic Hagiography Network and Norse Hagiography Network. This conferenfe was supported by the SSNS funding body.

A summary by Dr Courtney Selvage on the conference Sacred Networks: New Perspectives on Hagiography and Saints’ Cults in the Celtic and Norse Worlds. The conference was held on 1-2 May at University College Dublin and was supported by SSNS.