GW4 Medieval Studies
University of Bristol: Carolyn Muessig (PI), Ian Wei, Beth Williamson, Helen Fulton (replacement PI)
Cardiff University: Bronach Kane
University of Exeter: James Clark
Background
Medieval Studies is a dynamic and multidisciplinary field. It analyses the art, history, law, literature, material culture, music, philosophy and religion of Europe. It has a strong presence in three — Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter — of the GW4 institutions; these all have Centres for Medieval Studies (CMS).
Project Summary
The community was originally formed during an Initiator award; activities during the Accelerator award have strengthened the community, creating a flourishing network of medieval historians without equal in size and world leading in its breadth of expertise.
The project was defined during the Initiator funding: Power, Knowledge and Identity (PKI) which was further split into three subthemes: 1) Wales and the South West of England (WASWE) 2) Sex and Gender 3) Authority and Ethics. During the Accelerator funding, three bid teams developed these subthemes into separate research grants. The community held four conferences and a series of research seminars across the GW4 institutions, and chaired three panels at a major Medieval conference in the UK. The discussions and debates at all of these events fed into the grant-writing process. The community are still active, and were recently successful in a Leverhulme bid.
