Overview
I am a medievalist working on literature from thirteenth to fifteenth century and study texts mainly written in Middle English and medieval Latin. My current research is about political and historical poems composed during the period from the Wars of Scottish Independence to the Hundred Years’ Wars. I focus on poets’ responses to various conflicts in this period, especially their reflections on the ethics of war, their perceptions of warrior-kings such as Robert Bruce and Henry V, as well as their conception of ideal rulership. Particular poets range from Robert Baston, John Barbour, to John Gower, along with John Lydgate, Thomas Hoccleve and other contemporaries. And beyond my research, I also think widely about the remaking of medieval historic figures in modern fictions and cinema and their roles in shaping cultural identities.
Research Focus
- Late medieval literature in English, Latin and Scots
- Historiography
- War, violence and literature
- Political and ethical thinking in literature
- National identity building and nationalism
- The Middle Ages in modern world