Congratulations to CMS Alumnus Samuel Cardwell (PhD 2023), who has been awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship with The British Academy for his project, The Beginnings of Biblical Interpretation in Northumbria, c.650-800, to be held at his current institution, the University of Nottingham.
Abstract
"Between the establishment of Christianity in the early seventh century and the death of Alcuin in 804 there was a remarkable period of cultural production in the kingdom of Northumbria, particularly in the field of biblical exegesis – the interpretation of the Bible through commentary, glossing, paraphrase and translation. While the biblical commentaries of the Northumbrian monk Bede have received much scholarly attention, no one has yet produced a comprehensive study of the broader development of biblical interpretation in this kingdom. My project will address this gap by offering a complete reassessment of the totality of exegetical material produced in or strongly influenced by Northumbria before the Viking Age, including recently discovered and previously unstudied material. The research will set Bede’s writings in their proper context and shed light on larger problems in early English history, including the process of Christianisation and the shifting nature of ecclesiastical and intellectual authority."
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Samuel has also recently been shortlisted for the 2024 CAGS / ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award, and has received a monetary prize for having one of the top two dissertations in this competition at the University of Toronto. Congratulations on all your accomplishments, Samuel!