Matthew Delvaux is a historian whose work brings new sources into conversation with the grand narratives of the Middle Ages. He is particularly concerned with problems of materiality, intertextuality, and statistical approaches to texts and artifacts. He is currently at work on his first book, focused on the lives of viking captives trafficked out of Western Europe and into the slave markets of Central Asia. This project advances textual and material approaches to reveal how marginalized people connected the medieval and Islamic worlds together during a time commonly seen as a period of divergence. In published articles, Delvaux has focused on exploring these same connections through the movement of Viking-Age necklace beads.

Delvaux received his Ph.D. in medieval history from Boston College. He holds an M.A. in medieval history and a certificate in medieval archaeology from the University of Florida. He has participated in archaeological excavations in Florida, Massachusetts, and Sweden. His publications include articles found in Early Medieval Europe, the Journal of Glass Studies, and Beads: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers. His research has been supported by the American-Scandinavian Foundation and the Medieval Academy of America. He previously received a B.S. in history and foreign languages from the United States Military Academy and served as a cavalry officer in the United States Army.

In fall 2021, Delvaux will be co-teaching in the Humanities Sequence “Approaches to Western Culture from Antiquity to the Middle Ages.” In the spring, he will teach a course on diversity and difference in the early Middle Ages.

Photo credit: Sameer A. Khan / Fotobuddy