Leeds International Medieval Congress 2026 | 6 – 9 July
“New Perspectives on the Viking Diaspora”
Call for Papers, deadline – 18 August 2025
We are currently in a vibrant moment of interdisciplinary scholarship on the ‘Vikings’ and the global network they established. Scandinavian settlement across much of Northern Europe and beyond is increasingly being understood as a ‘Viking Diaspora’ of communities linked through shared elements of history, culture, and language. What was life like for Vikings outside of Scandinavia and how did they impact the many peoples and polities they interacted with, peacefully or otherwise?
This call seeks papers which offer a window into the current state of research on aspects of the Viking Diaspora in any relevant geographic region (e.g. Iceland and the North Atlantic, the British Isles, the Frankish Realm [esp. Normandy and Frisia], the Baltic, the Rus). We welcome proposals from those working in any discipline, including historical, literary, archaeological, and linguistic studies, as well as emerging evidence from STEM fields and beyond.
This series of sessions will be framed as a workshop in which works-in-progress and research updates are especially sought, we particularly encourage early career researchers to apply and share their work, including aspects of postgraduate studies. Talks will be 15-20 minutes at the IMC in Leeds, with the possibility of hybrid participation. The conference awards some bursaries to assist with costs.
Please submit a title for your paper and an abstract of no more than 200 words by 18 August to: jas309@cam.ac.uk and aeyeh19@nottingham.ac.uk