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Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership - Student Profiles

 

Biography

I studied History at undergraduate level before completing an MPhil in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic on the topic ‘The Memory of the ‘Old North’ and the Presentation of Identity: a Comparative Study of Armes Prydein Vawr and the Historia Brittonum’. My doctoral thesis is focused on perceptions of peoples in early medieval Wales, developing my MPhil research to examine not only British/Welsh identity itself but also how Welsh writers treated other ‘peoples’, facilitating analysis of how they placed themselves within a wider context. Investigation of a broader European context is central, enabling examination of how Welsh writers located themselves and their audience within the framework of Britain, Europe and Christendom, alongside analysis of the transmission of ideas, and the relationship between developments in Wales and broader European trends. My research involves close analysis of a variety of Welsh sources (written in both Medieval Welsh and Latin), including poetry, chronicles, genealogies, and histories. My research requires close analysis of the content and context of these sources, as well as the sources used in their compilation.

Other academic interests

The history of Wales, Ireland, and northern Britain from the sixth to the twelfth centuries; Anglo-Saxon history (especially Anglo-Saxon and Welsh relations); social memory in medieval societies; prophetic and historical writing in medieval Wales; Carolingian history (especially historical writing and connections with Anglo-Saxon England and Wales). 

Department: Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic
Supervisor: Dr Fiona Edmonds
College: St John’s
AHRC Subject Area: History
Title of Thesis: Perceptions of Peoples in Early Medieval Wales
 Rebecca  Thomas

Affiliations