Judith Jesch FBA, FRHistS, FSA, FSA Scot is a British scholar specializing in Old Norse language and literature, runology, and the Viking Age. Her research focuses on runic inscriptions, skaldic poetry, gender in Viking Age societies, and Scandinavian settlement in Britain. She served as Professor of Viking Age Studies at the University of Nottingham until 2025, where she played a central role in developing interdisciplinary approaches to early medieval studies. Jesch is the author of influential works including *Women in the Viking Age*, *Ships and Men in the Late Viking Age*, and *The Viking Diaspora*. She chairs the international Runic Advisory Group and serves as president of the English Place-Name Society, contributing to the study of linguistic heritage and historical geography.