Casual Academic
College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Matthew is a PhD Candidate in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, researching cultural memory, historical narrative, and Anglo-Scandinavian acculturation in the tenth-thirteenth centuries. With research specialities in the history of early medieval England and in Scandinavian saga literature, he has published numerous articles on various aspects of society and culture in England and Scandinavia in the Middle Ages, and their intersections. He is currently working on his first monograph, a biographical study of English queens-consort in the years 850-1000, scheduled for publication the Routledge Lives of Royal Women series.
Matthew is the current editor of Cerae Journal, an assistant editor of the Brepols published series East Central Europe, 476–1795, the reviews editor for the Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association (AEMA), and an AEMA committee member..
Most recent publications:
Matthew Firth, 'On the Dating of the Norse Siege of Chester', Notes and Queries 69 (no. 1, 2022), 1-4.
Matthew Firth, 'Deconstructing the Female Antagonist of the Coronation Scandal in B’s Vita Dunstani', English Studies 103 (2022).
Matthew Firth, 'The Character of the Treacherous Woman in the passiones of Early Medieval English Royal Martyrs,' Royal Studies Journal 7 (no. 1, 2020), 1-21.
Bachelor of Arts, Religion, University of Sydney (2003)
Master of History, University of New England (2017)
Graduate Certificate in Arts, Classical Languages, University of New England (2018)
2021 Horizon Award Platinum (Professional Engagement Award, Flinders University)
2020 Best HDR Publication - Runner Up (Flinders University)
2019 Society for Court Studies Essay Prize
2019 The Mediæval Journal Essay Prize - Proxime accessit
2018 New England Award (Professional Engagement Award, University of New England)
2017 Cerae Journal Essay Prize – Best Postgraduate/ECR Paper (Volume 3)
Lecturer
ENGL2133 Vikings and Anglo Saxon Literature (2020)
ENGL2147 Medieval Myths: The Origins of Modern Fantasy (2022)
Tutor
ENGL1101 The Art of Storytelling (2021, 2022)
ENGL2147 Medieval Myths: The Origins of Modern Fantasy (2022)
HIST2009 Nazi Germany: Its Origins and Nature, 1870-1945 (2021)
Marking
ENGL1101 The Art of Storytelling (2021, 2022)
ENGL2146 The Gothic Tradition (2020)
ENGL2147 Medieval Myths: The Origins of Modern Fantasy (2022)
HIST2009 Nazi Germany: Its Origins and Nature, 1870-1945 (2021)