He was educated at Emmanuel College and the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, University of Cambridge; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; and received his PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 1976.
Ia dididik di Emmanuel College dan Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, Universitas Cambridge; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; dan meraih gelar PhD di Universitas Edinburgh pada 1976.