Staff profile

Project Overview

My research explores the changing language of spiritual warfare, the Christian concept of battling against sin and temptation conceptualised as invisible demons, over the period c.1100-1250 with a particular focus on texts produced in or associated with England. Notably, this period encompasses the reforms of the Third (1179) and Fourth (1215) Lateran Councils, and so the research traces the impact of these reforms through the repurposing of monastic ideas of spiritual warfare by scholastic theologians, both for preachers and directly for lay audiences.

The thesis is broadly driven by an interest in better understanding the relationships between Church doctrine and knightly cultures beyond the crusading idea. It is particularly focused on exploring the changing clerical use of military allegory for different audiences during this period. Exploring this use of allegory also allows for a close study of the growth of vernacular religious writing (in both French and English) during this same period. Indeed, the translation and adaptation of Latin texts into the vernacular for different audiences constitutes a significant element of the comparative methodology.

• - Spiritual Warfare
• - Medieval Allegory
• - Reign of Henry III in England (1216-1272)
• - Pastoral Care and Lay Education
• - Medieval Chivalry
• - Medieval Learning c.1150-c.1250