Christian Cooijmans

Christian Cooijmans is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Oslo. His academic journey includes studies at Utrecht University, Trinity College Dublin, and the University of Edinburgh, where he earned his PhD in Scandinavian Studies in 2018. Prior to his current position, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Edinburgh's Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) and a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Liverpool.

• PhD in Scandinavian Studies – University of Edinburgh (2018)
• MSc in Medieval History – University of Edinburgh (2013)
• BA in Language and Culture Studies (Medieval and Celtic Studies Track) – Utrecht University (2012)

Cooijmans' research focuses on the reach and repercussions of Viking activity across the Frankish realm, as well as its subsequent premodern historiography. At the University of Oslo, his work examines how ideas and images of Viking Age martial ideologies are shaped and perpetuated across the present-day public sphere. His research spans multiple disciplines including archaeology, history, medieval studies, and cultural reception studies, with particular emphasis on Viking encampments, Frankish-Viking relations, Viking Age historiography, and the modern reception of Viking culture in media and popular imagination.

His publications reveal a consistent focus on the intersection of historical evidence and cultural memory, demonstrating how Viking activity shaped not only contemporary societies but also subsequent historical interpretations extending to modern popular representations. Cooijmans challenges simplistic notions of Viking culture, particularly questioning hypermasculine stereotypes and exploring more nuanced understandings of Viking societies through analysis of encampments, martial networks, and cultural transmission.

• Fellow, Higher Education Academy (FHEA), UK
• Fellow, Royal Historical Society (FRHistS), UK
• Fellow, Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA)
• Fellow, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (FSAScot)

Cooijmans serves as Committee Member/Editor for the Scottish Society for Northern Studies and is a member of the Viking Society for Northern Research and the Society of Authors. His public engagement includes significant contributions to BBC History Extra, The Conversation, and Epoch magazine, where he discusses Viking history and its contemporary relevance, bridging academic research with public understanding and challenging popular misconceptions about Viking Age societies.