Historical Conference

Dr Marc Morris

Dr Marc Morris is an historian who specializes in the Middle Ages. He is the author of numerous books about medieval England, including the bestselling The Norman Conquest (Hutchinson 2012) and critically acclaimed biographies of Edward I and King John. His most recent book, The Anglo Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England (Hutchinson, 2021) was as Sunday Times bestseller which received widespread praise from the likes of Dan Snow, Ian Hislop, Bernard Cornwell and James O’Brien.

Dr Morris presented the highly acclaimed six-part series Castle for Channel 4 and wrote its accompanying book (now published in paperback by Hutchinson). He has also contributed to many television programmes, radio shows and podcasts. He has recently consulted on history series for BBC1 and Channel 5, and writes regularly for History Today and BBC History Magazine.

A fellow of Royal Historical Society and an honorary fellow of the Historical Association, Marc speaks regularly to schools, historical societies and literary festivals. He also leads tours of historical sites in Britain and France.

Professor Rory Naismith

Professor Naismith studied as an undergraduate and graduate at Trinity College, Cambridge, between 2002 and 2009. In the latter year he completed a doctoral dissertation on ‘Coinage and History in Southern England c. 750-865’. It has since been published by Cambridge University Press and the British Numismatic Society.

In October 2009 he took up a position as a Junior Research Fellow at Clare College, Cambridge. From October 2012 until September 2014, he was a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, also in the University of Cambridge.

In October 2014 he took up a position as a Mellon Research Associate, based jointly in the Faculty of History, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, Division of Archaeology and the Fitzwilliam Museum.

Since September 2015 he has been a lecturer in early medieval British history at King’s College London and in 2019 he returned to the University of Cambridge, where he is now Professor of Early Medieval English History.

Professor Alex Woolf

Professor Alex Woolf holds a BA in Medieval History and Medieval English and an M.Phil. in Archaeology. Prior to taking up his current post at the University of St Andrews, in 2001, he had held lecturing posts in Archaeology at the University of Wales Lampeter (1995-7) and in Celtic and Early Scottish History and Culture at the University of Edinburgh (1997-2001). In 2010 he was awarded a Ph.D. by portfolio from the University of St Andrews for his work on Politics and Identity in Early Medieval Scotland.

His main interests lie in the history of Britain and Ireland before the coming of the Normans with a bias towards the earlier part of the period, c.400-900. Particular interests include ethnic interaction and language shift, the development of political structures, and social and economic history.

Professor Michael Wood

Michael is an acclaimed historian, broadcaster, and author whose groundbreaking work has shaped the field of public history for over four decades. He has produced more than 120 historical documentaries and written a series of bestselling books, engaging millions with his compelling narratives of the ancient, medieval, and modern worlds. A pioneer in historical storytelling, his signature blend of scholarship and accessibility has earned him widespread recognition as one of Britain’s most effective communicators of the past.

Michael’s accolades include an OBE for services to public history and broadcasting, the British Academy President’s Medal, and the Historical Association’s Medlicott Medal. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries, and the Royal Society of Arts, and continues to serve on several cultural and academic boards. He has also received numerous honorary degrees in recognition of his work.

His contributions exemplify the vital role historians play in public education, cultural preservation, and civic dialogue. Michael read History at Oriel College, Oxford, and did postgraduate research in Anglo-Saxon history before moving into journalism and television.