Natalie Hopwood

Profile

I am a PhD candidate in the School of English and the Institute for Medieval Studies. My research is on monster encounters as traceable signs of the memory of literature within an intertextual analysis of Old Norse fornaldarsögur and riddarasögur, with a focus on dragons, dwarfs, and the undead. I examine previously understudied sagas, such as Göngu-Hrólfs saga, to emphasise their importance in the development of the monster encounter and of saga-writing more broadly. This builds off of my previous research on the figure of the Old Norse dragon in my undergraduate MA in Medieval History at the University of St Andrews (2017-21), and the undead episodes of Eyrbyggja saga in MPhil in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at the University of Cambridge (2021-22).

My research interests are monster studies and intertextuality, the memory of literature, and the concept of medieval fiction within Old Norse literature. I also work on the reception of Old Norse mythology, and other medieval literature, in modern media, particularly American comic books such as The Mighty Thor, The Demon, and The Sandman, and how they are representative of contemporary political and culture interests.

Outside of my research, I have been active in the medieval community through a series of voluntary roles and jobs. I am a Board Member for NECRON (Network of Early Career Researchers in Old Norse) for 2025-27 and the Graduate Student Representative for the International Society for the Study of Medievalism for 2026. I am a peer reviewer for the Leeds Postgraduate Review and the Supernatural Studies journal. In the 2023-24 academic year, I was an Editorial Assistant for the International Medieval Bibliography at Leeds, and am currently the Community Building Assistant for the Institute for Medieval Studies.

In 2025, I co-founded the Long Middle Ages Seminar Series at the University of Leeds, a PGR-led interdisciplinary seminar series for postgraduate students and early career researchers working on the late antique, medieval and early modern periods. The series provides a space for emerging researchers to trial their arguments and ideas, to receive constructive feedback on their research and to build meaningful connections with scholars across the disciplines of Arts and Humanities.

As of May 2026, I have a D1 Associate Fellowship for Professional Recognition in Student Education (PRiSE) from Advanced HE.

Research interests

• The supernatural in Old Norse literature

• Cultural use and impact of monsters and monstrosity

• Intertextuality in later medieval Old Norse sagas

• Reception of medieval literature in American comic books

• The use of Old Norse mythology and other medieval literature as propaganda tools twentieth-century comic books

Qualifications

• MPhil in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic (University of Cambridge, 2021-22)
• MA in Medieval History (University of St Andrews, 2017-2021)