Lara Harris, St Edmund's

Biographical Information

I am a third-year PhD student in the ASNC department at the University of Cambridge. I completed my MPhil at the ASNC department and my MA at the University of Aberdeen, with an Erasmus (Study Abroad) at the University of Oslo, where I also stayed for an internship at the Natural History Museum.

Alongside my studies, I work part-time at the English Faculty Library, where I have become known for my musical closing time announcements. I am currently curating an exhibition, Garden of Healing: Herbal Remedies and Gynaecological Care in Medieval Scandinavia, which will open in March 2025.

Outside academia, I am an avid language learner. I speak modern German, Swedish, Spanish, and Norwegian, and am currently studying intermediate French.

I am also a singer-songwriter creating pop music, inspired in part by my love for the Scandinavian, and particularly Swedish, pop music scene. 

Research Interests

My interests lie in medieval ethnobotany, the history of medicine, palaeography, and Scandinavian languages in the post-Old Norse High Middle Ages and the modern day. My thesis, "Herbal Treatments for Gynaecology in Medieval Scandinavia," explores the intersection of botanical and medical knowledge and women's healthcare in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland during the Middle Ages (1190-1550).

Selected Publications

Harris, Lara E.C. "Þistil, mistil, kistil: Plants of Death, Rebirth, and Magic in Medieval Scandinavian Runic Inscriptions." Scandinavian Studies 95, no. 2 (2023): 133-165.