Biography:Tom Licence

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Short description: British historian

Tom Oliver Licence[1] FSA, FRHistS, is a British historian specialising in the period 950–1200, with an additional interest in Victorian consumer waste. He is Professor of Medieval History and Literature at the University of East Anglia[2] and a former director of the Centre of East Anglian Studies.[3]

Education

Licence attended Westcliff High School for Boys and has an MA in history (2002), MPhil in medieval history (2003) and a PhD (2006) from Magdalene College, University of Cambridge.[2][4] His thesis title was "England's hermits, 970–1220".[1]

Career

Licence was appointed lecturer at the University of East Anglia in 2009 and became a professor there in 2019.[4] For three years from 2021 he held a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship, which relieved him from teaching duties, to support him in writing a biography of Harold Godwinson for the Yale English Monarchs series.[4] For three years from September 2022 he held a senior research fellowship at Magdalene College, Cambridge.[4]

His work on Victorian consumer waste, represented in his book and website What the Victorians threw away, has attracted international press coverage.[5][6][7]

He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries and the Higher Education Academy.[2]

In 2020, Licence's biography of Edward the Confessor was published by Yale University Press as Edward the Confessor: Last of the Royal Blood.[8] The book received broadly positive reviews for its revisionist take on Edward's relationship with the House of Godwin,[9][10] though historian Marc Morris described it as a "royal disappointment."[11]

Licence's biography of Harold Godwinson, Harold: Warrior King, is due to be published in 2026.[12] On 21 March 2026 Licence published a claim that the English army did not march but sail from the Battle of Stamford Bridge to the Battle of Hastings in 1066;[13] this claim attracted significant media coverage.[14][15]

While metal detecting in 2024, he discovered a hoard of 18 Iron Age gold coins; these were dated to between 25 BC and AD 10, in the reign of King Dubnovellaunos, ruler of the Trinovantes tribe.[16] The hoard was classed as treasure and was recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme,[17] but was dis-claimed after no museum bought them.[18] The Bury St Edmunds Hoard was sold by auction in March 2026 for £33,200.[19]

Selected publications

  • Hermits and Recluses in English society, 950–1200 (2011, Oxford UP: ISBN 978-0199592364)[20][21]
  • Herman the Archdeacon and Goscelin of Saint-Bertin: Miracles of St Edmund, ed. (2014), Clarendon Press ISBN 978-0199689194
  • Bury St Edmunds and the Norman Conquest (2014, edited, Boydell Press: ISBN 978-1843839316)
  • What the Victorians Threw Away (2015, Oxbow book: ISBN 978-1782978756)
  • Edward the Confessor: Last of the Royal Blood (2020), Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0300211542[22][23]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Catalogue record for 'England's hermits, 970–1220'". Jisc Library Hub. https://discover.libraryhub.jisc.ac.uk/search?author=Tom%20Licence&document-type=thesis&rn=1. Retrieved 11 March 2025. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Tom Licence". University of East Anglia. https://research-portal.uea.ac.uk/en/persons/tom-licence. Retrieved 18 January 2026. 
  3. ↑ "What East Anglia Threw Away". https://www.whatthevictoriansthrewaway.com/what-east-anglia-threw-away/. "Dr Tom Licence is Director of the Centre of East Anglian Studies at the University of East Anglia." 
    "The Centre for East Anglian Studies – UEA – University of East Anglia". CEAS. https://ceasuea.org.uk/. "... current CEAS Director Dr Richard Mills" 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Tom Licence". Magdalene College. https://www.magd.cam.ac.uk/people/tom-licence. 
  5. ↑ Fallon, Fionnuala (2 April 2016). "Unearthing hidden treasures while working in old gardens". Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/gardens/unearthing-hidden-treasures-while-working-in-old-gardens-1.2592776. Retrieved 23 June 2018. 
  6. ↑ Frayer, Lauren (1 June 2016). "Digging Up The Roots Of Modern Waste In Victorian-Era Rubbish". National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/06/01/480268469/digging-up-the-roots-of-modern-waste-in-victorian-era-rubbish?t=1529789629488. Retrieved 23 June 2018. 
  7. ↑ Sebastian, Shevlin (24 January 2017). "Finding beauty in rubbish". New Indian Express. https://epaper.newindianexpress.com/1081144/The-New-Indian-Express-Kochi/24012017#page/19/2. 
  8. ↑ "Edward the Confessor" (in en-US). https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300260823/edward-the-confessor/. 
  9. ↑ Lavelle, Ryan (2023). "Review: Edward the Confessor: Last of the Royal Blood". Royal Studies Journal 1: 196–199. 
  10. ↑ Lisle, Leanda de (2020-07-31). "Edward the Confessor by Tom Licence review — England’s warrior saint" (in en-GB). https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/edward-the-confessor-by-tom-licence-review-69bfzcxgl. 
  11. ↑ Morris, Marc (11 November 2020). "Royal Disappointment: Stripping Edward the Confessor of his independence". History Today 70 (11). https://www.historytoday.com/archive/review/royal-disappointment. 
  12. ↑ "Harold" (in en-US). https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300252958/harold/. 
  13. ↑ "English history’s biggest march is a myth – King Harold sailed to the Battle of Hastings". 21 March 2026. https://www.uea.ac.uk/about/news/article/english-historys-biggest-march-is-a-myth-king-harold-sailed-to-the-battle-of-hastings. 
  14. ↑ "Victorians got Battle of Hastings wrong, professor says" (in en-GB). 2026-03-21. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3gdxgw44eo. 
  15. ↑ Addley, Esther (2026-03-21). "‘A fascinating discovery’: research challenges Battle of Hastings narrative" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/mar/21/battle-of-hastings-discovery-research-england-history. 
  16. ↑ "History professor strikes gold with remarkable Iron Age discovery". 12 February 2026. https://www.uea.ac.uk/about/news/article/history-professor-strikes-gold-with-remarkable-iron-age-discovery. 
  17. ↑ Booth, A.. "Finds record for: SF-03C894". The Portable Antiquities Scheme. https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1196595. Retrieved 1 May 2026. 
  18. ↑ Pitts, Mike (21 February 2026). "How a set of gold coins divided British archaeologists". The Spectator. https://spectator.com/article/why-a-set-of-gold-coins-have-divided-british-archeologists/. 
  19. ↑ "Bury St Edmunds Iron Age coin hoard sells for more than £33,000". 5 March 2026. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g2284zx4jo. 
  20. ↑ Barr, Jessica (July 2012). "Tom Licence, Hermits and Recluses in English Society, 950–1200 (review)". Speculum 87 (3): 897. doi:10.1017/S0038713412002461. 
  21. ↑ Jones, E.A.. "Hermits and Recluses in English Society, 950–1200 (review)". http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/1324. Retrieved 23 June 2018. 
  22. ↑ Giandrea, Mary Frances (1 January 2023). "Edward the Confessor: Last of the Royal Blood". Speculum 98 (1): 296–298. doi:10.1086/723139. 
  23. ↑ Shippey, Tom (3 December 2020). "Men Who Keep Wolves" (in en). London Review of Books 42 (23). ISSN 0260-9592. https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n23/tom-shippey/men-who-keep-wolves. Retrieved 11 March 2025. 




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