St Magnus Conference Keynote Speakers Confirmed: Viking Researcher Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson & Scottish Poet Laureate, Professor Peter MacKay
Exciting news! The UHI Institute for Northern Studies has confirmed the keynote speakers for the 7th International St Magnus Conference. Join us on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, to hear Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson from Uppsala University deliver her inspiring keynote address. Then don’t miss Scottish Poet Laureate, Professor Peter MacKay from St Andrews University on Thursday, April 16, 2026.
Charlotte is a core member of the World in the Viking Age (WIVA) Centre of Excellence at Uppsala University. She serves as a researcher and co-investigator for the Viking Phenomenon research project, where she coordinates the sub-project Viking Economics. This project aims to explore the economy and organisation of Viking raids and their impact on shaping Scandinavian identities. Key issues addressed include the structure of the raids, the role of women, and the significance of slave-taking and trafficking, both during raids and in society as a whole.
Charlotte studied at the Archaeological Research Laboratory at Stockholm University, where she presented her PhD thesis in 2006 on the Birka Warrior, exploring the material culture of a martial society. With a background in field archaeology, she has served as a senior curator at the Swedish History Museum (SHM) and has held research fellowships at SHM, Stockholm University, and the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum (RGZM) in Mainz. Her previous research projects have focused on themes such as warfare, identity, mobility, and material culture in Late Iron Age and Viking Age societies. Most recently, she contributed to the interdisciplinary ATLAS project, which aims to uncover human prehistory in present-day Sweden by integrating archaeology, physical anthropology, and genetics.
Charlotte recently appeared on the BBC News World Service discussing whether our modern-day gender biases influence the way we look at women’s lives in ancient societies.
Our second keynote speaker, Professor Peter Mackay, is a Professor of Literature in the School of English at St Andrews University. Originally from the Isle of Lewis, he specialises in Scottish and Irish literature from 1800 onwards, particularly in Scottish Gaelic literature.
In 2024, Peter was appointed as the Scottish Makar (or poet laureate). He is the first Gaelic poet to hold this position. The role is authorised by the Scottish Parliament and can be traced back to the medieval period when poets were appointed by the royal court and expected to compose works for significant occasions.
He has authored two monographs: This Strange Loneliness: Heaney's Wordsworth (McGill-Queen's 2021) and Sorley MacLean (RIISS 2010).
Dr. Mackay edited an anthology with Iain S. MacPherson, titled An Leabhar Liath: 500 Years of Gaelic Love and Transgressive Verse (Luath 2015), which won both the Donald Meek Prize for Gaelic literature and the Saltire Scottish Research Book of the Year. He also co-edited another anthology with Jo MacDonald, 100 Dàn as Fheàrr Leinn / 100 Favourite Gaelic Poems, which received the Duais Ruaraidh MhicThòmais in 2021.
His poetry collections, Gu Leòr / Galore (Acair 2015) and Nàdur de / Some Kind of(Acair 2020), were shortlisted for the Saltire Scottish Poetry Book of the Year, with Nàdur de also making the longlist for the Highland Book Prize. As an AHRC/BBC Next Generation Thinker, he frequently appears on Radio 3 and BBC Radio nan Gàidheal as a broadcaster.
Originally from the Isle of Lewis, he is an expert in Scottish and Irish literature from 1800 onwards, and especially in Scottish Gaelic literature. He has written two monographs, This Strange Loneliness: Heaney's Wordsworth (McGill-Queen's 2021) and Sorley MacLean (RIISS 2010). An anthology he edited with Iain S MacPherson, An Leabhar Liath: 500 years of Gaelic Love and Transgressive Verse (Luath 2015) won the Donald Meek Prize for Gaelic literature and the Saltire Scottish Research Book of the Year; another anthology co-edited with Jo MacDonald, 100 Dàn as Fheàrr Leinn / 100 Favourite Gaelic Poems, won the Duais Ruaraidh MhicThòmais in 2021. His poetry collections Gu Leòr / Galore (Acair 2015) and Nàdur de / Some Kind of (Acair 2020) were shortlisted for the Saltire Scottish Poetry Book of the Year; Nàdur de was also longlisted for the Highland Book Prize. An AHRC / BBC Next Generation Thinker, he is a frequent broadcaster on Radio 3 and BBC Radio nan Gàidheal.