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Eleanor Parker (historian)

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For the American actress, see Eleanor Parker.

Eleanor Parker
NationalityBritish
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
ThesisAnglo-Scandinavian literature in post-Conquest England (2013)
Academic work
Notable works
  • Dragon Lords
  • Conquered
  • Winters in the World
Websiteaclerkofoxford.blogspot.com

Eleanor Catherine Parker is a British historian and medievalist.[1]

Career

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Parker studied Old and Middle English and Old Norse Literature at the University of Oxford. As of 2022 she is lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Brasenose College, Oxford, and was previously a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH).[1] She is a columnist at History Today.[2] In May 2018, she published her first book, Dragon Lords: The History and Legends of Viking England.[3][4] Her second book, Conquered: The Last Children of Anglo-Saxon England, was published in 2022,[5][6][7][8] and was selected by The Times as one of the best books of 2022.[9] Her third book, Winters in the World: A Journey through the Anglo-Saxon Year, was described by Kathryn Hughes as a "magical exploration of the weather literature left behind by the poets, scientists and historians of Anglo-Saxon Britain",[10] by Christopher Howse as "fascinating and authoritative",[11] and by Charlie Connelly as a "beautifully written account [which] transports us through each season in a deeply sensual manner".[12] It was selected by Dominic Sandbrook writing in The Times as one of the 25 best history books of 2022[13] and by Michael Wood as one of the 21 best books for history lovers in BBC History Magazine.[14] In a review for First Things Francis Young described the book as "a beguiling and compelling vision of sacred time" which "faithfully and richly portrays the distinctiveness of early Christian England".[15]

Parker started her blog, "A Clerk of Oxford", in 2008, whilst an undergraduate student at Oxford.[16] The blog won the 2015 Longman-History Today award for Digital History.[17] It was described as "unrivalled in bringing in outsiders to understand the reality of everything from the Dwarves' treasure to God's Darling" and "an orchard of golden apples" by Christopher Howse in The Daily Telegraph.[18] In 2019, Parker read from the Knútsdrápur, and interpreted its meaning, in a programme for BBC World Service.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Dr Eleanor Parker - Brasenose College, Oxford". www.bnc.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Eleanor Parker | History Today". www.historytoday.com. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  3. ^ Thurber, Bev (18 January 2019). "19.08.10 Parker, Dragon Lords". The Medieval Review. ISSN 1096-746X.
  4. ^ "Dragon Lords: Dr Eleanor Parker on England's Viking Myths and Ragnar Lothbrok | All About History". www.historyanswers.co.uk. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  5. ^ Carey, John (6 February 2022). "Conquered by Eleanor Parker review — Anglo-Saxon life after the Norman conquest". The Times. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  6. ^ Burghart, Alex (5 March 2022). "What the Anglo-Saxons made of 1066 and all that followed". The Spectator. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  7. ^ Foot, Sarah (19 August 2022). "Conquered: The last children of Anglo-Saxon England by Eleanor Parker". Church Times. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  8. ^ Ward, Emily J. (25 March 2022). "Altered fortunes". The Times Literary Supplement. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  9. ^ Holgate, Andrew; Millen, Robbie (4 March 2022). "The best books of 2022". The Times. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  10. ^ Hughes, Kathryn (25 August 2022). "Winters in the World by Eleanor Parker review – a dive into the Anglo-Saxon year". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  11. ^ Howse, Christopher (27 August 2022). "Sacred Mysteries: Tree and leaf in the green of the year and the fallow". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  12. ^ Connelly, Charlie (15 December 2022). "Tales from a lush life: the non-fiction books of the year". The New European. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  13. ^ DeGroot, Gerard; Sandbrook, Dominic (26 November 2022). "25 best history books of 2022". The Times. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  14. ^ Davies, Rhiannon (2 December 2022). "21 best books for history lovers: BBC History Magazine's Books of the Year 2022". BBC History. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  15. ^ Young, Francis (May 2023). "Briefly Noted". First Things. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  16. ^ "A Clerk of Oxford: About this blog". A Clerk of Oxford. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  17. ^ "A Clerk of Oxford | History Today". www.historytoday.com. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  18. ^ Howse, Christopher (4 July 2015). "A Clerk of Oxford's guide to a bright old world". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  19. ^ "BBC World Service – The Forum, Cnut: England's Viking king, The Viking's bloodthirsty Skaldic poetry". BBC. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
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