Mead Fellow Quin McGlame ’25 recently spoke with Ian King ‘18, who just finished his PhD at University of Cambridge in English early modern history. His PhD research examines sixteenth and seventeenth-century interest in the pre-Norman English past on the part of prominent lawyers and jurists. He returned to Trinity College on April 11th to lecture on Anglo-Saxon studies and modern racism, c. 1560-1620, sharing with the campus some of the research he did overseas. 
When asked why he was interested in Anglo-Saxon studies, Ian described reading Beowulf in old English in a course at Trinity and remembered being fascinated by the words that looked like they belonged in a JRR Tolkien book. He remained interested in this and soon wanted to learn more about the people who spoke this language. He also credited the History-300 course at Trinity as an exciting opportunity to do in-depth research into the people who spoke and used old English daily. He also described that this interest led him to the University of Cambridge, the premier university in the world for old English language studies. At Cambridge, he was surrounded by some of the most talented linguists in the world, and although daunting at first, he quickly acclimated to his studies and earned a MA in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic Studies. He then went on to do a PhD in History, which was fully funded by the Maitland Studentship in Legal History.
When asked about his lecture at Trinity, Ian admitted his nerves but was excited to share his research with the community that offered him so much during his undergraduate years. The main thing Ian was excited to talk about was the practical relevance of his research, and its influence on how we know the world today. He described that in early modern history, there was less of a national identity in England, but there was a cultural identity which had developed through the legal systems, also known as common law in England, which gave a sense of cultural uniqueness. He then described how these ideas transformed during England’s early empire and first contacts with people in North America, which then led to an idea of “English Supremacy” which soon turned into things like “White Supremacy” and imperialism. Germanizing the English Poster
When asked why it is important to study history in today’s world, Ian highlighted the importance of being able to understand how history has developed and how it informs and shapes the present world. Furthermore, he believes that studying history gives someone the ability to be more open to new ideas, even if it is new or conflicting with their own personal beliefs. He further remarked that we live in a world where trustworthy evidence and sound methodology are much harder to come by, and through studying history we gain critical insights to fully understand the present day.
