Daniel Frank Melleno
Associate Professor
303-871-7412 (Office)
Sturm Hall, 2000 East Asbury Avenue Denver, CO 80208
What I do
Associate Professor of Medieval and Pre-Modern History.Specialization(s)
Medieval Europe, pre-modern History, Vikings
Professional Biography
Specializing in the history of early medieval Europe (c.600-1000), Daniel Melleno is an Associate Professor of Medieval History at the University of Denver. He earned his undergraduate degree at Sarah Lawrence College and his MA/PhD in Medieval History at UC Berkeley. His work focuses on cross-cultural relationships in the pre-modern world, with a particular interest in the Vikings and their impact on the wider European world. His first book, Franks and Northmen: From Strangers to Neighbors (2024), published by Routledge Press, provides a holistic analysis of the relationship between the Viking and Frankish worlds in the 9th century.
Degree(s)
- Ph.D., Medieval History, University of California, Berkeley, 2014
- MA, Medieval History, University of California, Berkeley, 2006
- BA, Liberal Arts, Medieval Studies, Sarah Lawrence College, 2005
Professional Affiliations
- American Historical Association
- Medieval Academy of America
- Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association
Media Sources
Research
My research focuses on cross-cultural interactions and relationships across a wide spectrum of areas in the Early Middle Ages with a focus on understanding how medieval peoples and states communicated, interacted, and impacted each other, often across great conceptual and spatial distances.
My first book, Franks and Northmen: From Strangers to Neighbors (Routledge Press: 2024) examines the relationship between the Frankish Carolingian Empire and Scandinavia, tying together the first tentative contacts between Franks and Northmen in the seventh century and the settlement of Scandinavians in Francia itself with the founding of the county of Normandy in 911. Using contemporary written sources, as well as archaeological and numismatic evidence, my work demonstrates the tremendous impact of cross-cultural encounter for peoples at every level of society.
My first book, Franks and Northmen: From Strangers to Neighbors (Routledge Press: 2024) examines the relationship between the Frankish Carolingian Empire and Scandinavia, tying together the first tentative contacts between Franks and Northmen in the seventh century and the settlement of Scandinavians in Francia itself with the founding of the county of Normandy in 911. Using contemporary written sources, as well as archaeological and numismatic evidence, my work demonstrates the tremendous impact of cross-cultural encounter for peoples at every level of society.
Areas of Research
early medieval Europe
Vikings
cross-cultural encounter
Featured Publications
. (2024). Franks and Northmen: From Strangers to Neighbours (p. 282). London, United Kingdom: Routledge.
Presentations
. (2018). To Whom Shall I Complain: Franks and Vikings After the Treaty of Verdun. 51st International Congress on Medieval Studies. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Early Medieval Europe Journal.
. (2017). From Carolingian Altars to Scottish Fields: Trading, Raiding, and Gift Giving in the Viking Age. Humanities West: The Age of the Vikings. San Francisco, CA: Humanities West.
. (2016). Slavery in the Viking Age: The Role of Human Commodities in North Sea Cultural Networks. International Medieval Congress. Leeds, UK.
. (2016). Sartorial Self-Fashioning: Clothing and Cross-Cultural Contact in the Viking Age. The Material World of the Early Middle Ages. Forest Grove, OR.
. (2015). Wayfaring Strangers - North Sea Merchants During the Viking Age. Annual Meeting of the Medieval Academy of America. Notre Dame, IN: Medieval Academy of America.
