Academic Background

Education: PhD, York University

Research Interests: Greek lyric poetry, Latin travel literature, Indo-European studies, the Mitanni, Late Antiquity, the Early Middle Ages, ancient music.

Biography

Ancient languages hold a great fascination for Nirmal, in that languages are not simply systems of communication but are bearers of culture. This fascination has led him to look at such diverse areas as Vedic metrics, Homeric music, ancient mysticism, Roman painting, medieval Latin chronicles, and more recently early Chinese poetry. But the one constant for him is the Classical world, especially the world of Homer. In his spare time, he seeks to outsmart the wily trout – and he is still trying to perfect his mead recipe.

Additional Information

Books:

The Deeds of the Franks and Other Pilgrims at Jerusalem. A new translation from medieval Latin of this unique witness of the First Crusade. (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011).

The Bella Parisiacae Urbis of Abbo of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Dallas Medieval Texts and Translations, Vol. 7 (Peeters: Paris, Leuven, Dudley, MA, 2007).

The Crowning of Louis: A New Metrical Translation of the Old French Epic (Jefferson, North Carolina & London: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers, 2003).