Dr Jake Stattel
Departmental and College Responsibilities
Rosamund Chambers Research Fellow at Girton College, University of Cambridge
College Lecturer teaching historical subjects in ASNC and medieval papers within the Faculty of History, including Outline 2: The British Isles in the Middle Ages
Academic Interests
I am early medieval historian who primarilly draws from legal sources in order to understand how past societies defined themselves and excluded outsiders. My current postdoctoral project combines legal history with our growing understanding of the ‘Vikings’ in Europe and beyond. This project will use new approaches and wider sources of evidence to open a window into early legal practice both in Scandinavia and across the Viking Diaspora.
Much of my work has revolved around the ‘Danelaw’, a term used by medieval writers in reference to legal differences which distinguished the regions of England conquered and settled by Viking armies. In new analyses of fragmentary sources, and with comparisons with Scandinavian records, I have outlined unique legal practices and cultural ideas in the Danelaw which help us understand the influence of the Vikings and their Anglo-Scandinavian descendants on the nascent Kingdom of England. My article ‘Legal Culture in the Danelaw’ has won three ‘best article of the year’ awards, from the Medieval Academy, the American Society for Legal History, and the Intl. Society for the Study of Early Medieval England.
I recently completed my PhD in History at Cambridge with a thesis on the law of the Danelaw and the legal influence of Scandinavians in England. I am currently developing a monograph which investigates and evaluates the Scandinavian legacies in English common law. I also hold an MPhil from Cambridge and a BA with Teaching Certification from Swarthmore College (Pennsylvania).
I have been a visiting Associate in the Harvard Department of History and in Autumn 2026 will be an International Visiting Researcher at the Centre for the World in the Viking Age (WiVA), Uppsala University.
Selected Publications