Pål Berg Svenungsen

Field of work

Associate Professor of History, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (Campus Sogndal) 

"I love the Middle Ages - the most important millennium in human history!"

My research focuses on Norwegian and European medieval history, i.e. the period from ca. 500-1500. My interests range widely from Vikings, trade, travel, cultural encounters and discoveries to war, political culture, national unification, religion and crusades. It is especially the emergence and development of the European crusade movement that much of my research has focused on. In addition to this, I love to hate how the Middle Ages are portrayed in films, TV series, literature and in computer games or used and abused by political actors and groups.  

I am very keen to disseminate both my own and others' research on history to the general public, whether it is through serious articles and lectures, or more loosely via podcasts or social media - especially through the use of LEGO! More history to the people!  

From 1 January 2025, I took over as head of the Research Group for Humanities and Social Sciences at HVL. For a link to the research group, see here. 

Research interests:

Scandinavian and European Middle Ages, the European Crusade Movement, the Viking Age, political culture in the Middle Ages, historiography, use of history, microhistory, digital history teaching. 
 

Research blog:

The Medieval Blog (visit page)

Storytelling (in Lego):

The Lego Medievalist on Instagram (visit here)

Podcast participation:

- Historical Celebrities (NRK): Saladin - victorious sultan (1 epsiode), link.

- The Norwegian Defence Museum: Everything was better before (1 episode about Norwegian crusaders), link.

- Wow‽ (2 epsiodes: about southern filling and holy foreskins), link.

- Verdibørsen on NRK (3 epsiodes about crusades), link.

- Stories That Changed the World (1 epsiode on the First Crusade), link.

Published books:

A brief introduction to the Crusades (2020), see link

Courses I teach 

• HI101 History 500-1500 Introduction to Norwegian and International History
• SA603 History in Society (course coordinator)
• SA572 History of Childhood and Youth
• SA605 Historical Practice 
• SA606 Historical Methods
• SA612 Global History
• SA523 Bachelor's Thesis in History, Supervisor

Self-developed specialization courses:

• SA610 Political Culture in Middle Age (specialization)
• SA613 The World of the Vikings (in-depth)

Researching

• Norwegian and European Middle Ages
• The European Crusade Movement
• Political culture
• State formation processes
• Use of history
• Digital teaching in history
• Historiography

Research groups and networks

• Research Group for the Humanities and Social Sciences
• The Medieval Cluster, UiB
• The Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East (SSCLE)