The biennial Cameron lecture is held in memory of Professor Kenneth Cameron. Cameron was Head of English at the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ from 1984 to 1987, and was one of the leading figures in place-name study. In 1967, he became Director of the Survey of English Place-Names and moved the library and offices of the English Place-Name Society to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, where they remain, now housed in the Institute for Name-Studies. This year’s lecture is being held to coincide with the annual conference of the Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland.
Professor Lesley Abrams, Balliol College, Oxford
Scandinavians established themselves in a number of places outside their homelands during the Viking Age. This lecture will compare how place-names have been used in the construction of historical narratives about two of these locations, England and Normandy. Many factors – some institutional, some ideological – have helped to create contrasting attitudes to the impact of the Scandinavians. My lecture aims to explore these differences, focusing in particular on the role place-names have played in understanding the Scandinavian settlements in England and Normandy and on the forces affecting assessments of their historical value.
The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ NG7 2RD
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