Skip to main content

Staff profile

Overview

Mr William Raybould

The aristocracy and royal power in Scandinavia 900-1300

B.A. (Honours) UC Davis, M.A. Durham University

Affiliations
AffiliationRoom numberTelephone
The aristocracy and royal power in Scandinavia 900-1300 in the Department of History  

Biography

I am currently studying the development of the aristocracy and their relationship with the king within Scandinavia, largely focusing on the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden and Denmark as well as Iceland from the years 900-1300. 

I studied History and Political Science at the University of California Davis, and received my M.A. in Medieval History from Durham University in 2017. My M.A. dissertation examined the functioning of local legal practices, namely the system of hundred courts, in late Anglo-Saxon England. I explored how kinship and lordship networks influenced the process of justice at assemblies, and I also extensively examined the contemporary law codes and other legal sources to show the diffuse nature of legal power and knowledge in late Anglo-Saxon England.

Research interests

  • Medieval Scandinavia and Iceland
  • Medieval Law
  • The Aristocracy and Society
  • Saga Literature