Professor Emeritus Michael Barnes

Honorary Research Fellow

Institute for Northern Studies
University of the Highlands and Islands
Scott's House

Grainshore Road
Kirkwall
Orkney
KW15 1FL

d: +44 (0)1856 569300

Biography

Professor Michael Barnes is Emeritus Professor of Scandinavian Studies, University College London, and is known as one of the world’s foremost runologists and experts on the Scandinavian languages, in particular their history. He has previously held the post of editor and chief editor of Saga-Book, journal of the Viking Society for Northern Research for a number of years, and is currently an editor of NOWELE, North-Western European Language Evolution, as well as being a member of the editorial board for a range of other linguistic and philological journals. Professor Barnes has acted as member of various panels evaluating teaching and research as well as applications for professorships and other senior academic posts in Britain and Scandinavia. For his merits in the course of a long and distinguished career, he has been awarded the Knight of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon (1992); Honorary Doctorate, University of Uppsala (2002) and Knight 1st class of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (2008).

Research Interests

Professor Barnes’ many publications include A New Introduction to Old Norse I. Grammar (Viking Society, London 1999), Runes: A Handbook (2012, Boydell Press), The Runic Inscriptions of Viking Age Dublin - with an appendix on the runic inscriptions in Ireland outside Dublin (Royal Irish Academy, Dublin 1997, with J.R. Hagland and R.I. Page), and The Scandinavian Runic Inscriptions of Britain (Uppsala universitet, 2006, with R.I. Page).

Professor Barnes’ broad range of interest within Scandinavian linguistics and philology is shown for example by publications such as Old Scandinavian Texts (Dept. of Scandinavian Studies UCL, 1968), Draumkvæde, An Edition and Study (Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 1974), Faroese Language Studies (Novus Forlag, Oslo, 2001), and An Introduction to Scandinavian Phonetics (Alfabeta, Copenhagen, 2005 with A. Lindskog and T. Lundskær-Nielsen). In addition, his long list of publications includes some 100 articles, many in refereed journals, and some 40 book reviews, as well as various other forms of publication.

Of special relevance to Orkney and Shetland is his work on the now extinct Norn language and the runic inscriptions of the Northern Isles, with publications such as The Norn Language of Orkney and Shetland (Shetland Times, Lerwick 1998) and The Runic Inscriptions of Maeshowe, Orkney (Uppsala universitet, 1994).

Select publications

(with R.I. Page) The Scandinavian Runic Inscriptions of Britain. (Uppsala universitet 2006)

(with A. Lindskog and T. Lundskær-Nielsen) An Introduction to Scandinavian Phonetics. Alfabeta. (Copenhagen 2005)

Faroese Language Studies. (Novus Forlag, Oslo (2001)

A New Introduction to Old Norse I. Grammar. (Viking Society, London 1999)

The Norn Language of Orkney and Shetland. Shetland Times. (Lerwick 1998)

(with J.R. Hagland and R.I. Page) The Runic Inscriptions of Viking Age Dublin - with an appendix on the runic inscriptions in Ireland outside Dublin. (Royal Irish Academy, Dublin 1997)

The Runic Inscriptions of Maeshowe, Orkney. (Uppsala universitet 1994)

Draumkvæde, An Edition and Study. (Universitetsforlaget, Oslo 1974)

Old Scandinavian Texts. (Dept. of Scandinavian Studies UCL 1968)

In addition some 100 articles, many in refereed journals, and some 40 book reviews, as well as various other forms of publication.