The 2026 Holberg Prize goes to the historian Lyndal Roper

The Holberg Prize, one of the largest awards in the humanities, social sciences, law and theology, was announced on 17 March 2026. The 2026 laureate is Lyndal Roper, Regius Professor of History at the University of Oxford.

Her field#

Roper's research concentrates on early modern Europe. Her work on witch hunts, the German Peasants' War of 1524-25 and the life and thought of Martin Luther has shown how gender, the body, the inner life and power operated in the social and religious conflicts of the sixteenth century.

The connection to philosophy#

The Holberg Prize is not awarded to philosophy alone, but it has a record of direct interest for the history of philosophy. Previous laureates include Jürgen Habermas (2005), Julia Kristeva (2004), Martha Nussbaum (2021) and Achille Mbembe (2024).

Roper's work on the Reformation also intersects with philosophical arguments about the origins of modern subjectivity: Luther's conception of conscience is one of the standard reference points for understanding the place of the individual's inner world in Western thought.

The ceremony takes place during Holberg Week in Bergen.