Jon Vidar Sigurdsson

Jon Vidar Sigurdsson is a Professor and Head of Department in the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History at the University of Oslo, where he has served since September 2006 and assumed departmental leadership in January 2021. His distinguished career includes previous appointments as Associate Professor at both the University of Bergen (1991-1994) and the University of Oslo (1995 onwards), and Director of the Centre for Viking and Medieval Studies (2002-2004).

His educational background features a BA in history and Icelandic literature from the University of Iceland (1984), a Cand. Philol from the University of Bergen (1987), and a PhD from the University of Bergen (1993). Prior to his academic career, he worked at the Directorate for Cultural Heritage in Bergen.

Professor Sigurdsson's research focuses on Viking Age and Medieval Scandinavian societies, with particular expertise in political culture, Old Norse religion, Christianization processes, church history, saga literature, social structures, and gender studies. His current major project examines Nordic 'civil wars' in the High Middle Ages through cross-disciplinary and comparative analysis.

His extensive publication record reveals consistent scholarly focus on Icelandic political structures, chieftaincy systems, and religious transformations, with recent work expanding into comparative civil war studies, saint cults, and medieval standardization processes. His research demonstrates methodological sophistication through interdisciplinary approaches that bridge historical analysis with archaeological, anthropological, and literary perspectives.

• Major scholarly contributions include 'Chieftains and Power in the Icelandic Commonwealth' (1999)
• 'Den vennlige vikingen. Vennskapets makt i Norge og på Island ca. 900-1300' (2010)
• Co-edited volumes including 'Medieval and Modern Civil Wars' (2021)
• Leadership of the 'Nordic Elites in Transformation' research series

As department head, he oversees academic programs and research initiatives that position the department as a leading center for Nordic historical studies. His scholarly influence extends through numerous PhD supervisions, editorial board memberships, and international collaborations that have shaped contemporary understanding of medieval Scandinavian societies.