Contact
Areas of expertise
Biography
I completed my doctoral studies in Nordic History at the Department of History, Åbo Akademi University, defending my thesis in 2022. My research focused on the establishment and activities of the Birgittine Order (Ordo Sanctissimi Salvatoris), founded by Saint Birgitta in the mid-14th century, across the Baltic Sea region during the 15th century. I specifically examined the foundation processes and interactions of three Birgittine monasteries—Mariendal near Tallinn, Marienkrone at Stralsund, and Nådendal (Naantali) near Turku—analyzing how these monastic communities adapted to and influenced their local societies.
From 2021 to 2024, I have been a postdoctoral researcher with the "Lived Religion in Medieval Finland" project at Tampere University, funded by the Swedish Literature Society in Finland (Svenska Litteratursällskapet, SLS). My research within this project focused on the veneration of saints and everyday life in late medieval Finland, with a particular emphasis on references to saints' feast days in charter dates.
In 2024, I initiated my own research project as a postdoctoral researcher at the Swedish Literature Society, affiliated with the Department of Cultural History at the University of Turku. I am an active member of the Turku Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (TUCEMEMS) and the Tampere Centre for Classical, Medieval, and Early Modern Studies (Trivium). Additionally, I serve as the president of Glossa ry, the national association of medievalists in Finland.
Teaching
I teach at the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, and Tampere University. I'm giving specialized lectures and courses in medieval history at the BA and MA levels. Additionally, I teach the course "The Use of History and Memory Culture" at the Open University at Åbo Akademi and serve as a supervising instructor for the same course in the Faculty of Arts, Psychology, and Theology at Åbo Akademi.
Research
My research interests center on donations and the interactions between monastic communities and local societies, with a particular focus on the role of donations in the culture of remembrance upheld by the female religious. My current project "Lived Remembrance around Female Monasteries in Late Medieval Sweden" (2024-2026), funded by the Swedish Literature Society in Finland, investigates the role of women in commissioning and maintaining remembrance practices for their kin. I specifically examine the role of foster/adopted daughters sent to monastic communities and their responsibilities in caring for the families of their foster parents.
Additionally, I explore the material aspects of remembrance culture through the pious networks established by last wills, where testators directed their interests towards various religious institutions. I am also studying wills as interregional documents that encompassed beneficiaries in multiple locations, particularly through the wills of Hanseatic merchants and their support of urban religious communities across the Baltic Sea region.
One of my main fields of expertise is the Birgittine Order and its establishment across Europe in the 15th century. I have studied the monasteries of the Order from the regional perspective of Northern Europe and investigated the role of regional and local actors in the foundation and support of Birgittine monasteries.