SSNS Seminar – Dr Oisín Plumb – The Northern Isles and Scotland in the Anglo Saxon mappa mundi

The SSNS Seminar Series continues on 7th November with a talk by Dr Oisín Plumb titled ‘The Northern Isles and Scotland in the Anglo Saxon mappa mundi: mapping the north in a ‘book of elsewhere.’ This is a free, ticketed event; please register below.

Abstract:

The Anglo Saxon mappa mundi is a fascinating map within a fascinating manuscript- an eleventh century English tome charting the wonders of the world which has been described as a ‘book of elsewhere’. The map itself is notable for a depiction of Britain and Ireland which is at first glance strikingly similar to one we would recognise today. However, a closer look reveals that all is not a simple as it seems. An enormous Orcades dwarfs Scotland, and in part seems to be drawn on top of it. There are strange omissions from the annotations within Britain, and some of them seem to be in the wrong place. This talk will take a close look at the map and the manuscript it appears in. Why was the map created in this way and what was its creator trying to say about the northern world?

Bio:

Dr Oisín Plumb is originally from Edinburgh. He obtained his PhD on ‘Early Medieval Ecclesiastical migration from Northern Britain to Ireland’ from the University of Edinburgh in 2016. During this time, he also taught in both Celtic and Scottish Studies; and History Classics and Archaeology at Edinburgh. Prior to his doctoral research, he completed a degree in Medieval Celtic Studies, followed by a masters degree in medieval history, both in Edinburgh. His masters dissertation examined the engagement of the Iona community with astronomy, geography and unusual natural phenomena. He joined the Institute for Northern Studies as a lecturer in 2017. His monograph, Picts and Britons in the Early Medieval Irish Church: Travels west over the storm-swelled sea, was published by Brepols in 2020.

Registration below. Details for the Zoom meeting will be emailed in advance of the seminar.