Sveinsdóttir’s research project “The Materiality of Medieval Healing Rituals” entails a study of the Cultural History Museum‘s collection of medieval artefacts connected to illness and healing in the medieval period (including relics, lead amulets and anatomical votives).
The collection will be used as a case study to explore how the material culture at hand was used as a medium in healing rituals, including practices rooted in popular belief as well as miraculous healing, in order to reflect on how the medieval worldview shaped people’s relationships with their bodies as well as attitudes towards illness and impairments.
Background
Sveinsdóttir has a MSc (distinction) in archaeology from the University of Glasgow with a specialism in Material Culture & Artefact Studies. She has worked as a find’s specialist on numerous excavation projects at the Institute of Archaeology, Iceland as well as teaching at the Archaeology Department of the University of Iceland. Go to Sveinsdóttir's people page at KHM's website to read more.