Elizabeth Rowe received her BA magna cum laude, from Cornell University and her PhD from the same institution. Her life’s work began with her dissertation “Fables in the best of sagas: Studies in the genre of the Old Norse mythic-heroic saga”. A specialist in Medieval Icelandic and Norwegian history, Dr. Rowe is currently Professor of Scandinavian History and Head of the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic Studies, University of Cambridge in England. In addition to her post at Cambridge, she leads the medieval section of the International Manuscript Summer School (held alternately in Reykjavik and Copenhagen).
She is a prolific writer who has published numerous articles and encyclopedia entries, along with several books including, The Medieval Annals of Iceland, The Development of Flateyjarbók: Iceland and the Norwegian Dynastic Crisis of 1389 and Ragnarr Loðbrók in Medieval Icelandic Historiography, a study of a Viking hero known from Viking Age Old Norse poetry and sagas. She also has been a panelist or commentator on several programs on the Vikings including on BBC Radio and The History Channel. Dr. Rowe was Historical Consultant and writer for the video game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice that has won twenty awards, including five BAFTA Video Game awards. Her knowledge of both Icelandic history and the sagas makes her an exceptional leader.
