Professor Dr. Roland Scheel
Current affiliations
- Professorship of Scandinavian studies (Prof. Scheel)
- Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics"
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Scandinavian historiography and hagiography in the Middle Ages
- Saga literature
- Legal history
- Historical semantics
- Romanesque art in Scandinavia
- Byzantium at the time of the Crusades
- Cultural transfer in medieval Europe
- The notion of the “Viking” and Norse mythology in European modernity
Academic Education | |
| 12/2008 - 05/2014 | Doctorate: “Scandinavia and Byzantium: Conditions and consequences of medieval cultural relations” |
| 04/2003 - 11/2008 | Studies in medieval and modern history and in Scandinavian studies, University of Frankfurt am Main; MA: “Scandinavia and Western Europe in the 12th century: Cultural contacts and historical consciousness in Denmark, Iceland and Norway” |
| 08/2007 - 12/2007 | Studies, University of Copenhagen |
Work Experience | |
| since 10/2022 | Professorship in Scandinavian studies, University of Münster |
| 04/2020 - 09/2022 | Acting professorship in Scandinavian studies, University of Göttingen |
| 01/2015 - 03/2020 | Junior professorship in Scandinavian medieval studies, University of Göttingen |
| 03/2014 - 12/2014 | Research assistant in the project “Computational historical semantics” (http://comphistsem.org/home.html), Department of History, University of Frankfurt am Main, led by Prof. Dr. Bernhard Jussen |
| 10/2011 - 07/2013 | Scholarship from the German Academic Scholarship Foundation |
| 10/2010 - 10/2011 | Research assistant in older Scandinavian studies, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, University of Frankfurt am Main |
| 12/2008 - 10/2010 | Research assistant in the project “‘Grikkland’ and ‘Varangia’: Byzantine-Scandinavian cultural contacts in the High Middle Ages”; part of the German Research Foundation project “Integration and disintegration of cultures in the European Middle Ages”, led by Prof. Dr. Wolfram Brandes |
Functions and Memberships | |
| since 03/2017 | Member, Advisory board, Medievalists’ Society (Mediävistenverband) |
| since 11/2016 | Member, Brackweder Working Group for Medieval Research (Arbeitskreis für Mittelalterforschung) |
| since 01/2015 | Member, Association of German-speaking Scandinavian Studies (Fachverband Skandinavistik) |
Appointments | |
| 10/2022 | Offer to a Professorship for Skandinavistik, University of Münster (accepted) |
Publications
Scheel, Roland In: Heizmann, Wilhelm (eds.), The Virgin Mary. Utzverlag. Research article (book contribution) | |
Scheel, Roland In: Shepard, Jonathan; Frankopan, Peter; Cameron, Averil (eds.), Byzantine Spheres: The Byzantine Commonwealth Re-evaluated. Oxford: (kein Verlag angegeben). Research article (book contribution) | |
Sahm, Heike; Langeslag, Paul; Scheel, Roland; Schwarzbach-Dobson; Michael (eds.) (2025) Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder Verlag. Text book (edited collection) | |
Langeslag, Paul; Sahm, Heike; Scheel, Roland (2025) Review article (book contribution) | |
Scheel, Roland (2025) Review article (book contribution) |
Projects
Duration: 23/04/2026 - 24/04/2026 Funded by: Fritz Thyssen Foundation - Support of Conferences Type of project: Scientific Event | |
Duration: 01/05/2023 - 31/12/2025 | 1st Funding period Funded by: DFG - Cluster of Excellence Type of project: Subproject in DFG-joint project hosted at University of Münster |
Talks
| Pagan Law? Imagining Pre-Christian Origins and Contents of Legal Norms in Medieval Scandinavia Scheel, Roland (07/11/2025) Imagining Nordic Paganism: Cultural Memories and Scholarly Thought since the Middle Ages, Universität Münster Type of talk: scientific talk | |
| Könige und Skalden – Transformation von Herrschaft und sozialem Status in Skandinavien Scheel, Roland (09/10/2025) Herbsttagung des Konstanzer Arbeitskreises für mittelalterliche Geschichte, Reichenau Type of talk: scientific talk | |
| From Pirate to Cultural Archetype: The Changing Concepts Behind the Term ‘Viking’ Scheel, Roland (01/09/2025) Gastvortrag, Universidade Estadual de Londrina Type of talk: scientific talk | |
| Facets of Otherness: Scaling proximity and distance in Kings’ Sagas and Saxo Scheel, Roland (01/08/2025) Saga Conference, Katowice Type of talk: scientific talk | |
| Geschichte erzählen, Gesetze evaluieren: Recht und Literatur im mittelalterlichen Skandinavien Scheel, Roland (02/05/2025) Rechtshistorisches Abendgespräch, Institut für Rechtsgeschichte, Universität Münster Type of talk: scientific talk |
Prizes
| Dissertationspreis des Stiftungsfonds Kopper der Stiftung pro universitate 2015 Awarded by: Goethe-Universität Frankfurt Award given to: Scheel, Roland Announced at: 16/07/2015 | Date of awarding: 16/07/2015 Type of distinction: Research award or other distinction | |
| Barbara und Piergiuseppe Scardigli-Preis für die kleinen geisteswissenschaftlichen Fächer 2015 Awarded by: Goethe-Universität Frankfurt Award given to: Scheel, Roland Announced at: 02/07/2015 | Date of awarding: 02/07/2015 Type of distinction: Research award or other distinction | |
| Examenspreis des Stiftungsfonds Kopper der Stiftung pro universitate 2009 Awarded by: Goethe-Universität Frankfurt Award given to: Scheel, R. Announced at: 16/07/2009 | Date of awarding: 16/07/2009 Type of distinction: Research award or other distinction |
Doctorates
| [Working title] Paganisierungen: Erinnertes Heidentum als Element skandinavischer und europäischer Identitäten Candidate: Hauke, Simon | Supervisors: Scheel, Roland Period of time: 01/05/2023 - today Doctoral examination procedure finished at: Doctoral examination procedure at University of Münster | |
| [Working title] „Mér þótti á Íslandi til tínt smátt ok stórt, satt ok logit.“´Geschichtsverständnis und literarische Bedeutungsgewebe in Sturla Þórðarsons Íslendinga saga Candidate: Peter, Malina | Supervisors: Scheel, Roland Period of time: 01/03/2023 - today Doctoral examination procedure finished at: Doctoral examination procedure at University of Münster | |
| [Working title] Von Indien bis Island. Quellen importierten Erzählguts in der mittelalterlichen
Literatur Skandinaviens Candidate: Herting, David | Supervisors: Oberlies, Thomas; Scheel, Roland Period of time: 01/12/2022 - today Doctoral examination procedure finished at: Doctoral examination procedure at another university (NOT University of Münster) | |
| [Working title] Mythos ‚Wikinger‘ – Konzeption und Rückwirkung auf die museale Ausstellungspraxis Candidate: Lichtenstein, Franziska | Supervisors: Scheel, Roland; Hoff, Karin Period of time: 01/10/2018 - today Doctoral examination procedure finished at: Doctoral examination procedure at another university (NOT University of Münster) | |
| Zur Darstellung von Macht in der Vatnsdœla saga und anderen ausgewählten isländischen Familiensagas Candidate: Tellmann, Stephan | Supervisors: Scheel, Roland; Kramarz-Bein, Susanne | Reviewers: Scheel, Roland, Kramarz-Bein, Susanne Period of time: 01/10/2016 - today Doctoral examination procedure finished at: Doctoral examination procedure at University of Münster |