Current PhD-Projects
On this page you will find information on the research that is being conducted by PhD-Students at each of the participating universities.
Utrecht University
Briefgebruik en publieke communicatie in vroegmiddeleeuws Europa
Hoe werkte briefverkeer in de middeleeuwen en wie maakte ervan gebruik? Dit project benadert de middeleeuwse brief als een performatief medium dat publiekelijk werd voorgedragen, vertaald en doorverteld. Het onderzoekt hoe de brief zodoende communicatielijnen kon openen tussen grote en sociaal diverse groepen en daarmee ook een cruciale rol vervulde in het oplossen van conflicten en het creëren van consensus in een wereld met rudimentaire infrastructuur en beperkte staatsmacht.
PhD-student: Anne P. Sieberichs (MA)
Funding: NWO Vidi
Empowering Individuals, Opening Cities: Multilingual Books as Cultural Brokers in the Sixteenth-Century
PhD-student: Pauline Bobichon (MA)
RICH/HLCS, 2018-2023
Dit promotieonderzoek (RICH/HLCS, 2018-2023) richt zich op de rol van liefdadigheidsinstellingen en de zorg voor het lichaam in de laatantieke en midden-byzantijnse stad. Specifieke aandacht gaat uit naar de rol van gender, klasse, en rituelen als vormgevers van sociale grenzen in het stedelijk landschap. Het promotieonderzoek wordt vanuit het KNIR ook ondersteund als geaffilieerd project.
PhD-student: Joost Snaterse (MA)
Radboud University Nijmegen
Source of Life: Water Management in the Premodern Middle East
Water is the single most important requirement in sustaining large cities and complex societies. Harsh climatological conditions make water provision the greatest challenge Middle Eastern societies face, today and in the past. Yet, in the premodern era, highly populated cities in the Middle East—which dwarfed their European counterparts—succeeded in providing water to their inhabitants. This raises the crucial question: How did urban communities organize this vital service? The Source of Life project combines historical and archaeological evidence to explore the interrelationship between water installations, governance, and legal and cultural frameworks within five Middle Eastern cities from the first Arab conquests to Ottoman rule (the 7th-15th centuries).
PhD-student: Angela Isoldi (MA)
Funding: NWO Vici
‘Pagan’ Virtues: keizer Trajanus als gedragsmodel voor eigenzinnige heersers
De klassieke traditie herinnert keizer Trajanus als optimus princeps, een rechtvaardig heerser en succesvol in zowel zijn politieke als militaire campagnes. Als een vroom man streefde hij ernaar om het traditionele geloof van de Romeinen te behouden door strenge regels in te voeren voor degenen die het christendom praktiseerden. Hoewel hij leefde en stierf als een ‘heiden’, prijzen latere middeleeuwse verslagen Trajanus voor zijn onmiskenbare christelijke deugden, vooral voor zijn daad van barmhartigheid tegenover een weduwe die gerechtigheid zocht voor haar vermoorde zoon. Met de opkomst van specula principum in de twaalfde eeuw werd Trajanus’ karakter gebruikt als instrument voor politieke, kerkelijke en culturele propaganda. Dit project onderzoekt hoe keizer Trajanus werd beschouwd als een gedragsmodel voor heersers in de Middeleeuwen en vroegmoderne spiegels voor vorsten. Dit project zal de reeks veranderingen en reducties van de christelijke legende van keizer Trajanus volgen vanaf de eerste versie in ‘Het anonieme leven van Gregorius de Grote’ tot die in de Latijnse en volkstalige literatuur in de zeventiende eeuw. Door dit te doen, zal dit project de literaire bronnen vergelijken in termen van hun ideeën over heerserschap en hun lezing van Trajanus plaatsen in de context van de veranderende ideeën over heerserschap van de middeleeuwen tot de vroegmoderne tijd.
PhD-student: Zorana Cvijanovic (MA)
Funding: Radboud Institute for Culture & History
Cultures of martyrdom in Al-Andalus between Christianity, Judaism and Islam (711-1085)
With this research I will shed new light on the meaning of martyrdom in medieval Andalusia. I will investigate the Andalusian commemoration practice of martyrs and its tradition from a cross-cultural angle, rather than understanding Andalusian society in terms of isolated religious communities. I will study theological and legal treatises, historical records and material remains, in order to uncover mutual influence between different religious communities. By applying a comparative hermeneutical reading approach, I will identify elements of a dialogue with regard to Christian, Muslim and Jewish traditions. The findings will help to reveal the underlying rationale for ‘making a martyr’ in Al-Andalus. In that way, the results will provide a valuable and necessary contribution to the historiographical debate over convivencia and to the understanding of contemporary martyr constructions.
PhD-student: Cathrien E.J. Hoijinck (MA)
SOLEMNE: Het sociale leven van vroegmiddeleeuwse normatieve teksten
The output of ideas – whichever these may be – their transmission, and affirmation in the early Middle Ages occurred much differently than in modern times. Presently, the internet allows us to distribute knowledge to practically all corners of our world, to whoever we want without limitations. More than a thousand years ago, however, such information had to be borrowed from the right library, collected and compiled by a qualified intellectual, copied by a trained scribe, transported safely, and remain protected from mold in dry environments. By studying the final products – the manuscripts – of this often lengthy and relatively expensive process, we gain insight into the texts’ writers, copiers, and intended audience. Furthermore, we can study the ideas included in such manuscripts, as well as the reasons why they were collected and compiled in a particular textual context and how these ideas changed (or not) throughout history. Looking specifically at early medieval canon law collections, we can untangle the history of Christian normative texts and their influence on medieval society. In studying their source material, such as ecclesiastical councils and papal decretals, textual transmission, and reception in their respective historical context, we may be able to explore the medieval moral mind.
PhD-student: Bruno Schalekamp (MA)
Funding: European Research Council
Anonieme laat-antieke preken terugvinden in het corpus van pseudo-augustijnse preken
Wat kan de transmissiegeschiedenis van Pseudo-Augustijnse preken onthullen over de processen van canonvorming in de Late Oudheid en de Middeleeuwen? Met behulp van zowel traditionele als digitale methodologieën, onderzoekt dit project de dynamiek van anonimiteit versus autoriteit bij het vormgeven van de middeleeuwse receptie van patristische preken.
PhD-student: Kendall M. Bitner (MA)
Funding: Horizon Europe Program for Research and Innovation
PASSIM project: Patristic Sermons in the Middle Ages
The dissemination, manipulation and interpretation of late-antique sermons in the medieval Latin West. PASSIM studies the medieval reception of the Latin sermons preached by the Early Church Fathers, using a digital network of manuscripts.
PhD-student: Iris A.T. Denis (MA)
Funding: European Research Council and European Union Horizon
Leiden University
Hoven in Holland, 900-1300
In welke mate hebben domaniale structuren de machtsvorming en nederzettingsontwikkeling in en van het gewest Holland bepaald?
De centrale vraag van het samenhangende historisch en archeologisch programma is, waarom het Hollandse kustgebied zich in een feodaal raamwerk totaal anders heeft ontwikkeld dan het naburige Midden-Friesland tussen Vlie en Eems – de huidige provincies Friesland en Groningen – dat omstreeks 900 een veel dichtere bewoning kende. Beide streken hadden toen sterke groeikansen met de agrarische ontginning van uitgestrekte veengebieden achter beider vanouds bewoonde kuststroken. In Holland bestond die uit aaneengesloten geestruggen en in Midden-Friesland uit gefragmenteerde terpregio’s. Holland kreeg een sterke landsheer, een dienstbare adel en steden met groeipotentieel en verwierf zo een stevige samenhang die tot expansie leidde, terwijl Midden-Friesland na 1100 verder ging als een serie los met elkaar verbonden autonome landsgemeenten onder leiding van lokale of regionale elites. Kennelijk bepaalde de landschappelijke aard van beider kustzones in sterke mate de mogelijkheden voor de uitbating van bezit en de ontplooiing van macht.
PhD-student: Roosje M.M. Peeters (MA)
Funding: NWO Vici
Claiming Beowulf as a European Epic: Non-Anglophone Appropriations of an Old English Poem
This subproject of EMERGENCE examines the lasting influence of 19th-century scholarship on Old English studies, particularly its transnational reception in Europe. Many core aspects of Old English research—standard editions, lexicographical tools, university curricula, and popular cultural representations—originate from 19th-century philological traditions, often tied to nationalist and racialist ideologies. While much attention has been given to Anglophone scholarship, continental European scholars also played a key role, with German academics leading the field, Danish scholars editing Beowulf, and Old English texts being incorporated into the Dutch literary canon.
Situated at the intersection of the history of humanities and medievalism studies, this project explores how Old English was studied, adapted, and circulated across 19th-century Europe. Using a bibliographical and relational database alongside a multilingual, multidisciplinary approach, it uncovers overlooked intellectual networks, forgotten figures, and new source materials, demonstrating that Old English studies were a deeply interconnected European endeavor.
PhD-student: Suzanne Klare (MA)
Funding: European Research Council
Mapping the early Middle Dutch Book of Hours: Production centres and readers
In the late medieval Low Countries, prayer books in Middle Dutch were the most widely read books. In fact, 90 percent of all surviving books of hours from this region are in the vernacular, an unparalleled phenomenon in the Latin Christian world. A significant portion consists of the Middle Dutch translation of the book of hours ascribed to Geert Grote (1340-1384), the leader of the Modern Devotion reform movement. To fully grasp the popularity of this translation, it is essential to investigate the emergence and early development of Middle Dutch books of hours.
This project aims to shed new light on the first generations of books of hours created after the completion of Grote’s translation in 1383-1384. By systematically studying a corpus of approximately 50 manuscripts dating from c. 1380-1450, the project explores the (distinguishing) features and the reception of these books in relation to each other. It examines variations within the corpus, considering whether different types of books can be linked to specific production centers or a particular kind of buyer or reader. In examining the reception of these books, this project seeks to understand why readers opted for a book in Middle Dutch and why these texts gained a wide readership so quickly after their translation.
PhD-student: Irene Van Eldere (MA)
Funding: European Research Council
University of Amsterdam
Evaluation of the effect of atomic oxygen cleaning on oil painting
PhD-student: Kirill Shumikhin (MA)
Prognostic texts in the early medieval Latin West. A cultural history of prognostics and prognostication in the writing centres of Fleury, Reims and the Bodensee monasteries
PhD-student: Bram van den Berg (MA)
Funding: NWO Aspasia and stichting Art, Books and Collections
Authors and Anonymity: Patterns of Attribution in Medieval Latin Manuscripts (500–1200)
Author attribution in early and high medieval Latin manuscripts appears somewhat random to us. In one manuscript, a text might be copied with an author’s name, while the same text is transmitted anonymously in another. Patterns of attribution might even vary within a single manuscript. Why did scribes regularly leave out the name of an author? This PhD project investigates author attribution patterns in Medieval Latin manuscripts, focusing on manuscripts and patterns of transmission rather than solely on texts. Using digital tools and statistical and codicological methods, it will study manuscripts that transmit texts that sometimes include an author’s name and sometimes omit it. The project analyses the texts as found in the manuscripts, exploring all variations to identify trends in attribution. Focusing on manuscripts from the sixth to twelfth centuries, it examines correlations between attribution, transmission, and material features. Key variables for the statistical analysis include the manuscript’s date of production, text completeness, the intended users/type of manuscript, and place of production. The manuscripts contain texts that fall into the category of religious texts, such as canon law, liturgical commentary, clerical handbooks, and Psalm interpretations. Custom tools, including a database and (statistical) scripts, will support the analysis, with results confirmed through qualitative research methods.
PhD-student: Sebastian van Daalen (MA)
Funding: KNAW Humanities Cluster and stichting Art, Books and Collections
The Translation of the Geoponica from Greek into Arabic: Analysis and Assessment of its Place in the Abassid translation movement
PhD-student: Osman Ciner (MA)
The Moxy Project: Green Atmospheric
Plasma-Generated Atomic Oxygen Technology for Restoration of Works of Art
This PhD research lies in the field of materials analysis and works with the novel surface cleaning technique based on the use of atmospheric pressure cold plasma utilizing atomic oxygen. The method promises a new way of surface cleaning for a large variety of visual arts, carrying out cleaning of carbon-based contaminants in a gentle non-contact way. This research focuses on exploring the impact that atomic oxygen might have on artistic materials traditionally employed in oil paints, taking as a basis paint formulations and materials known since medieval times. Focus is placed on the organic binder behavior and impact of historical pigments on the naturally occurring aging and curing mechanisms. Experiments carried out for this research might not only help contextualize a novel cleaning technique, but also to further understand behavior and aging mechanisms of artistic materials and contribute to the conservation efforts. The work is carried out in the scope of a European MOXY project.
PhD-student: Kirill Shumikhin (MA)
Funding: The European Union
University of Groningen
The Creation of a Calendar for Edinburgh University Library MS 183, The Royal Letter Book, with an extensive Introduction
The aim of the project is to produce a calendar for a late 14th century/ early 15th century collection of 380 contemporary copies of letters, which are mostly from Edward III and Richard II of England, and are addressed to a great variety of recipients, both domestic and international. The calendar itself will be supplemented by an extensive introduction which will deal, inter alia, with the results of a close inspection of the physical composition of the manuscript, as well as some detailed research into the context of its original creation, such as the institutions and individuals involved, and it will also focus on specific groups of letters within the collection.
PhD-student: Louise E. Gardiner
Funding: Horizon Europe Program for Research and Innovation
Gawain of England: Chivalry, Nationalism, and Geopolitics in Medieval Literature
This project analyses the Middle English Gawain romances produced c.1350-1475, that is, during the Hundred Years War and the Wars of the Roses. Although more romance texts were written in Middle English about Gawain than any other Arthurian figure, there has been no sustained study of the reasons for this, or of the cultural work these Gawain romances perform. Using a historicist approach to my study of Gawain, I consider the political context and worldview of writers and audiences during the period in which these romances were composed and circulated. I aim to show that, and analyse the ways in which, Gawain’s rise and fall as a hero of Arthur’s court during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is related to the contemporary political climate and cultural zeitgeist of England during its long war with France.
PhD-student: Margaret Finlay (MA)
Recording and Remembering Holy Places: Language Conventions and Materiality in the Itineraries of Late-Medieval English Pilgrim-Writers
Itineraries or travel accounts written by pilgrims were a popular literary genre in fifteenth-century Europe, providing curious readers a rare insight into foreign lands and cultures, sacred sites, and the perils and intricacies of long-distance travel. Despite this, there is a lack of surviving sources, and research into existing accounts remains in a preliminary state. This project aims to improve our understanding of late-medieval pilgrimage culture (c. 1400-1550) by analysing the use of language conventions and materiality within works written by English pilgrims through the perspective of memorial culture. It will be the first focused study on English pilgrim-writers and the body of manuscripts they left behind. Using a methodology that combines literary criticism with art-historical analysis, this study is grounded in material culture and will take both textual material and objects (maps and relics) into consideration in order to re-evaluate how pilgrims memorialized their journeys through multimedia formats. Through this, we gain a better understanding of the memorialisation of human mobility during the late Middle Ages, and the various ways in which medieval travellers experienced and recorded the unfamiliar and the unknown.
PhD-student: Judith Bleeker