22/04/2025
CFP Mirator 1/26 special issue: Medieval studies in Finland. Eds. Sanna Supponen & Anna-Stina Hägglund
Medieval studies in Finland have a long tradition, dating back to the 17th century and the founding of the Royal Academy of Turku. Interest in Finland’s medieval past grew particularly during the 19th century, when the compilation of source editions began, which have been a vital support to generations of scholars. In the early 20th century, the Middle Ages also played an important role in shaping national identity. Since the 1990s, medieval studies in Finland have experienced renewed vitality, marked by the founding of the Society for Medieval Studies in Finland – Glossa in 1996. The newest generation of researchers has placed increasing emphasis on international perspectives, viewing the Finnish regions as part of the cultural sphere of the Baltic Sea and, more broadly, as an integral part of European history. Internationality has also been reflected in researchers’ work, where crossing borders, both physically and through research topics, has become increasingly common. At the same time, interest in re-enacting the Middle Ages has grown, alongside its use for political aims, in literary settings, and as a theme for fairs. The history of medieval studies includes strong personalities and highly varied interpretations of key events and phenomena. In honour of the 30th anniversary of the Society for Medieval Studies – Glossa, the theme of issue 1/26 of Mirator is medieval research in Finland.
We welcome article proposals from various fields of medieval studies, such as archaeology, art history, history, musicology, theology, and philology.
Possible themes may include:
▪︎ The significance and role of individual scholars in the formation of specific interpretations
▪︎ Thematic overviews of the research field of a particular phenomenon
▪︎ Teaching the Middle Ages in schools as well as in universities
▪︎ Medieval studies as part of the history of institutions such as libraries, archives, research units, or foundations
▪︎ The practice of medieval history as re-enactment and its various forms
▪︎ The use of medieval history, popular perceptions, and pseudohistory
▪︎ Internationalisation
Mirator (https://journal.fi/mirator) is a multilingual, peer-reviewed open access journal published by Glossa – the Society for Medieval Studies in Finland. In accordance with Mirator’s open access policy, all texts published in the journal are freely available (readable, downloadable, shareable, linkable) without any fee or special permission. The journal publishes articles in Finnish, Swedish, and English.
Please send a 250-word abstract and a short bio by June 16, 2025 to:
[email protected] and [email protected].
Final manuscripts must follow the journal’s author guidelines (https://journal.fi/mirator/about/submissions). All submissions will undergo peer review.
Important dates:
June 16, 2025: Deadline for abstracts
January 30, 2026: Deadline for full article
May/June 2026: Issue will be published
The launch of the thematic issue: ”Fighting for the East”, Mirator 25:1, ed. Kurt Villads Jensen, Jens E. Olesen & Kirsi Salonen 2025-03-20 The medieval history of the Baltic Sea region and Scandinavia is an entanglement of Germanic, Scandinavian, Finnic, Baltic and Slavic peoples who interacted...
