My name is Birgitte Breemerkamp and on this page I will give some information about me and about my (academic) background.
I have a BA in English Literature and Culture (Leiden University), specialising in Old English philology. For my BA thesis Runes, Riddles, and Rhymes: The Five Rune Poems as Pedagogical Tools, supervised by dr. M.H. Porck, I performed a comparative analysis of the five surviving Rune Poems in Old English, Old Norse, Icelandic, Old Saxon, and Swedish. I have presented a paper based on the research for my BA thesis during the ISSEME 2021: Contributions conference.
In June 2020 I graduated cum laude from the MA Literary Studies: English Literature and Culture programme (Leiden University). My thesis entitled The Phoenix as a Symbol of Succession Anxiety in Early Modern English Literature, supervised by dr. mr. L.E.M. Fikkers, chronicles the rise and fall of phoenix symbolism in early modern English literature and analyses the symbol’s unique connection to Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603).
My research interests are early modern English literature and Culture, book history, diplomatic history, and court studies. On this website you can find my (forthcoming) publications, an overview of past and upcoming conference talks, my full CV, and my blog.
