Fraser Miller

About me

Research interests include: 

• Medieval History
• Medieval Law
• Early State Formation
• Society and the Law
• Societal Exclusion

Current Research

As part of the Space & Place in the Humanities Doctoral School, my thesis project investigates the interplay between laws, society and space in the Medieval Nordic countries during the period 1200-1350CE. At this time, the Scandinavian kingdoms were becoming increasingly consolidated under king and Church, and the Icelandic Commonwealth, after decades of civil strife, fell under the dominion of the Norwegian king. This process of transition is part of what makes this period so interesting, but due to the reality of surviving source material it is also the earliest period practical for a comparative study of legal material in the medieval Scandinavian kingdoms.

Adopting a comparative method, the thesis conducts an exploration of peace legislation as found in the various provincial and national lawcodes extant, with specific focus placed on the different spaces that fell under the protection of the peace. The disparity of other types of sources from the region during this period means that a comparative study incorporating a more diverse body of source material is methodologically difficult, and for this reason it is the laws that this study will primarily utilize. By exploring how medieval Scandinavians judicialized space, a better understanding can be achieved of which spaces held particular cultural importance in the medieval North, as well as how law, culture and society work in tandem to produce the spaces we ultimately inhabit.