Assistant Professor
B.A. (Hons), Queen’s University, Canada
B.Ed., Queen’s University, Canada
M.St., University of Oxford, UK
D.Phil., University of Oxford, UK
E-mail: matthew.roby@msvu.ca
Teaching and Research Interests
Medieval languages and literatures, especially Old English, Middle English, and Old Norse-Icelandic. Additional interests include the pan-European romance tradition; medieval conceptions of sex and gender; medieval conceptions of childhood, adolescence, and old age; medieval depictions of the paranormal and monstrous; medievalism, especially William Morris and J.R.R. Tolkien; Modern Icelandic language, literature, and culture; and pedagogy.
Publications
Editions and Translations
(With Ármann Jakobsson) The Poetic Edda (New York: Norton, forthcoming).
‘Merlínússpá’, in Kathy Cawsey and Elizabeth Edwards, eds., The Broadview Anthology of Medieval Arthurian Literature (Peterborough: Broadview, 2023), 184–90.
Articles and Book Chapters
‘Female Sexual Consent and Culpability in Old Norse-Icelandic Literature: The “Bedtrick” in Adonias saga and its Sources’, Medieval Feminist Forum, forthcoming.
‘Old Age, Gender, and the Life Course’, in Lucie Laumonier and Joel Rosenthal, eds., A Cultural History of Old Age in the Medieval Era (500-1400) (London: Bloomsbury, forthcoming).
‘The Negation of Male Sexual Volition in Old Norse-Icelandic Depictions of Rape: The Case of Adonias saga’, in Joonas Ahola, Jesse Barber, Frog, and Karolina Kouvola, eds., Pre-Print Papers of the 18th International Saga Conference (Helsinki: University of Helsinki, 2022), 274–80.
‘The “Troll-Girl Revelation” Motif: Female Infantile Sexuality and Pedophilia in Hálfdanar saga Brönufóstra and Jökuls þáttr Búasonar’, Scandinavian Studies 93.4 (2021), 553–85.
‘Menopausal Marvels: Elderly Female Sexuality in the Fróðárundur of Eyrbyggja saga’, Saga-Book 44 (2020), 139–66.
‘Male Sexual Maturation and the “Temporary Troll Lover” Trope’, in Gareth Evans and Jess Hancock, eds., Old Norse Masculinities (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2020), 37–57.
‘Eating People and Feeling Sorry: Cannibals, Contrition, and the Didactic Donestre in the Old English Wonders of the East and Latin Mirabilia’, in Ruth Wehlau, ed., Darkness, Depression, and Descent in Anglo-Saxon England (Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Press, 2019), 167–205.
Conference Presentations
‘The Negation of Male Sexual Volition in Old Norse-Icelandic Depictions of Rape: The Case of Adonias saga’, Published Conference Paper (Pre-Print Papers), 18th International Saga Conference, Universities of Helsinki and Tallinn, Helsinki and Tallinn, 2022.
‘Sexual Consent in the Medieval Icelandic Romance Tradition’, Invited Academic Lecture, Centre for Medieval Studies Online Lecture Series, University of Toronto, Toronto, 2022.
‘Male Agency and Accountability in Old Norse-Icelandic Portrayals of Sexual Assault’, Unpublished Conference Paper, Medieval Consent: A Critical Symposium, University of Oxford, Oxford, 2021.
‘Trolls and the Troubles of Growing up Female in Medieval Iceland’, Invited Public Lecture, Queen’s English Department Research Forum, Queen’s University, Kingston, 2018.
‘Till (un)Death Do Us Part: Post-Menopausal Sexualities and Revenant Partners in Eyrbyggja saga’, Unpublished Conference Paper, 17th International Saga Conference, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, 2018.
‘The Troll as Rehearsal Bride: Exploring Young Love and Lust in Ketils saga hængs and Other Medieval Icelandic Sagas’, Invited Academic Lecture, Old Norse in Oxford Research Seminar, University of Oxford, Oxford, 2017.
‘Trolls, Pre-Marital Mistresses, and ‘Puppy Love’ in Ketils saga hængs’, Unpublished Conference Paper, Leeds International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, Leeds, 2017.
‘Eating People and Feeling Sorry: Cannibals, Contrition, and the Didactic Donestre in the Old English Wonders of the East and Latin Mirabilia’, Unpublished Conference Paper, Canadian Society of Medievalists Annual Conference, Ryerson University, Toronto, 2017.
‘Showers of Abject Blood: Middle-Aged Seduction and Menopausal Symbolism in Eyrbyggja Saga’, Unpublished Conference Paper, Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies Annual Conference, Minneapolis, 2017.
‘“Skamm hafi þínar systr”: Promiscuous Troll Children and Female Infantile Sexuality in Icelandic Legendary Sagas’, Invited Public Lecture, Midland Viking Symposium, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, 2017.
‘Night Riders and Sexual Predators: Female Hypersexuality and Male Rape in Eyrbyggja Saga’, Unpublished Conference Paper, Northern and Early Medieval Interdisciplinary Conference Series, University College London, London, 2016.
‘“Ekki annað en hestskökull”: Sex and Old Age in Völsa þáttr and Ásmundar saga flagðagæfu’, Unpublished Conference Paper, Bergen Postgraduate Symposium in Old Norse Studies, University of Bergen, Bergen, 2016.
‘Carnal Cadavers: Depictions of Sexual Assault by Ghosts in the Íslendingasögur’, Unpublished Conference Paper, Gender and Medieval Studies Conference, University of Hull, Hull, 2016.
‘Sex and the Supernatural in the Icelandic Family Sagas’, Invited Public Lecture, Queen’s Medieval Seminar Series, Queen’s University, Kingston, 2015.
Popular Publications and Appearances
‘Saga Stories’ Video Series with The Reykjavík Grapevine:
‘Grettis saga: The Outlaw among the Puffins’, YouTube video, The Reykjavík Grapevine, https://youtu.be/-xUb-DeHbCQ, 2021.
‘Witches and Wonders in Eyrbyggja saga’, YouTube video, The Reykjavík Grapevine, https://youtu.be/tfaBNZFZ_zY, 2021.
‘Zombies and Berserks in Eyrbyggja saga’, YouTube video, The Reykjavík Grapevine, https://youtu.be/0hNseMRMKoA, 2021.
‘Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss’, YouTube video, The Reykjavík Grapevine, https://youtu.be/1Rehdppk8d0, 2021.
‘Harðar saga’, YouTube video, The Reykjavík Grapevine, https://youtu.be/ju5ksjj6nds, 2021.
‘Volcanoes in the Sagas’, YouTube video, The Reykjavík Grapevine, https://youtu.be/kZxShsGf99I, 2021.
‘Njáls saga’, YouTube video, The Reykjavík Grapevine, https://youtu.be/74JhshYgP2A, 2021.
‘Flóamanna saga’, YouTube video, The Reykjavík Grapevine, https://youtu.be/d0ks7LhmY_E, 2021.
‘Egils saga’, YouTube video, The Reykjavík Grapevine, https://youtu.be/j4KtddmStfY, 2020.
‘Þingvellir’, YouTube video, The Reykjavík Grapevine, https://youtu.be/3MBJNSJ1wiI, 2020.
Podcast interviews:
‘Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Njáls saga’, Interview, Lit with Charles, 2023.
‘Sex and the Sagas’, Interview, Medieval Grad Podcast: Official Podcast of Medievalists.net, 2022.
‘Sagas and Gender’, Interview, Medieval Grad Podcast: Official Podcast of Medievalists.net, 2022.
‘Monmouth Translated into Eddic Prophecy’, Interview, Eavesdropping on Arthurians, 2020.