The second report from our 2024 Bursary Prize winners comes from Hannah Evans (University of Liverpool). Hannah used her BAIS bursary to attend conferences in Iceland and France and disseminate her research findings:

The BAIS Bursary Prize 2024 facilitated my attendance at two academic conferences this year, where I had the opportunity to present my recent research. The first was The Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North, between April 11^th-13^th, at the University of Iceland in Reykjavík. The second was the Celtic Students Conference at the Université de Bretagne Occidentale from the 30^th May to the 1^st June in Brest, France, organised by the Association of Celtic Students.

My wider research focuses on women’s economic agency through the production and distribution of textiles in medieval Iceland and Ireland. At these two conferences I presented some early findings and thoughts related to textiles, exchange and symbolism in Icelandic and Irish literature (titled “Comparing textiles in medieval Irish and Old-Norse Icelandic literature” and “Different threads: textiles and exchange in medieval Irish and Old-Norse Icelandic literature”) to Norse and Celtic scholars, as well as members of the general public. I am grateful to BAIS for the funding and the opportunity to present my research at these conferences as it enabled me to bridge the gap in my research between the Norse and Celtic fields and network with fellow ECR’s. I was able to gain vital feedback on my research, particularly relating to the Irish content, which has been incredibly useful as I have been working on producing an article based on the papers presented at both conferences. Moreover, the Celtic Students Conference was especially important for future opportunities as I was able to connect with fellow students who I aim to collaborate with on projects such as publications and conferences.

Hannah is a PhD student at the University of Liverpool Institute of Irish Studies. Her project focuses on women’s economic agency in Viking Age Ireland, Iceland and Scandinavia. It is a comparative and interdisciplinary study using a range of sources including archaeology, material culture, and texts, and working through a specific framework of politics, culture, religion and environment. The aim of the project is to identify women’s roles, activities and influence within Viking age trade and economy.