I am historian of urban communication and visual culture, with a comparative focus on the towns and cities of England and the German-speaking lands, c.1300–1530. I am particularly interested in intersections of economic and cultural history, the communicative construction of identities, institutions, and spaces, and antagonisms and convergences of urban, monastic, and noble culture. I completed my Ph.D. at Durham University as a Leverhulme Doctoral Scholar (in a cotutelle arrangement with Münster University) and worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Durham and King’s College London. Currently I am a Research Fellow at the German Historical Institute London. Phone: +44 (0)20 7309 2041 Address: German Historical Institute London 17 Bloomsbury Square London WC1A 2NJ
While scholars of guilds and fraternities take great interest in the texts, objects, and performa... more While scholars of guilds and fraternities take great interest in the texts, objects, and performances that bound late medieval guilds together and created a sense of collective identity, the place of their corporate heraldry remains relatively underexplored. By analysing grants of arms obtained by London guilds between 1439 and 1530, this article argues that corporate heraldry was not just a convenient means of identification but was meant to be seen as a semantically dense visual communication of corporate identity. Grants, confirmations, and augmentations of arms presented the heraldic signs they conferred as official acknowledgments and visual representations of their recipients’ symbolic capital of honour. The connection between heraldry, identity, and corporate honour also found its expression in the prominent display of corporate arms on central stages of corporate self-representation such as halls, churches, and rituals. This proud heraldic display of corporate identity, just like the pursuit of grants of arms, reflected a need for weapons in an intensifying battle for symbolic capital that the guilds of late medieval London faced, perhaps as a result of economic difficulties that marked the later fifteenth century.
In the later Middle Ages, traveling to sacred places and foreign courts promised honor, not least... more In the later Middle Ages, traveling to sacred places and foreign courts promised honor, not least to residents of cities keen to advance their status within and beyond urban society. But the symbolic capital promised by travel had to be rendered recognizable. To this end, the inhabitants of German-speaking cities also relied on coats of arms and badges of chivalric orders, as this essay will show by looking at travel accounts, visual sources, and material remains. Analogous to noble customs, these signs were meant to record the presence of townsmen abroad and to commemorate their achievements as travelers once back in their hometowns. From town houses and church decorations to conspicuous dress, the urban space was filled with visual reminders of spatial mobility displayed for the purpose of social mobility. As it becomes clear that contemporaries were acutely aware of travelers’ ambitions, the heraldic and para-heraldic communication of travel emerges as a prominent and at times contested element of urban visual and material culture.
Cultural history is currently rediscovering heraldry as a versatile means of communication that w... more Cultural history is currently rediscovering heraldry as a versatile means of communication that was widely employed throughout all parts of medieval society, not least the city. Scholars, however, primarily analyse the urban space as a stage for noble self-representation by means of heraldic communication. This paper argues for a different perspective, that townspeople and other commoners were far from primarily passive observers of heraldry displayed in the city. Four case studies from late medieval London demonstrate public expressions of discontent and protest through forms of heraldic communication which did not rely on display, but instead on the manipulation and destruction of the heraldic signs of kings, princes and other noblemen. Indeed, such heraldic practices of ‘non-nobles’ suggest that heraldry, in the later Middle Ages, was accessible to all parts of society, and constituted a ubiquitous and powerful aspect of urban visual culture.
Chapter in Ludmilla Jordanova and Florence Grant (eds.), Writing Visual History (London, 2020), 2... more Chapter in Ludmilla Jordanova and Florence Grant (eds.), Writing Visual History (London, 2020), 25-44.
Urban History Writing in Northwest Europe (15th-16th Centuries), 2019
Chapter in B. Caers, L. Demets, T. Van Gassen (eds.),
Urban History Writing in Northwest Europe ... more Chapter in B. Caers, L. Demets, T. Van Gassen (eds.), Urban History Writing in Northwest Europe (15th-16th Centuries), Studies in European Urban History (1100-1800) 47, (Turnhout: Brepols 2019).
Heraldry in Medieval and Early Modern State Rooms, 2020
Chapter in Laurent Hablot and Torsten Hiltmann (eds.), Heraldry in Medieval and Early Modern Stat... more Chapter in Laurent Hablot and Torsten Hiltmann (eds.), Heraldry in Medieval and Early Modern State Rooms (Ostfildern, 2020), 149–64.
Talk at the Late Medieval History Seminar of the Institute of Historical Research, London, held a... more Talk at the Late Medieval History Seminar of the Institute of Historical Research, London, held at The National Archives, Kew, 10 November 2023.
Vortrag im Forschungskolloquium Spätmittelalterliche
Geschichte/Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte... more Vortrag im Forschungskolloquium Spätmittelalterliche Geschichte/Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte der Universität Kiel, 7. Februar 2023.
Talk at the European History 1150–1550 Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, London, 1... more Talk at the European History 1150–1550 Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, London, 10 November 2022.
Vortrag bei der 59. Arbeitstagung des Südwestdeutschen
Arbeitskreises für Stadtgeschichtsforschun... more Vortrag bei der 59. Arbeitstagung des Südwestdeutschen Arbeitskreises für Stadtgeschichtsforschung (Thema: "Stadt und Adel"), 3. Juli 2021, Zoom-Veranstaltung.
Talk at the Medieval and Tudor London History seminar, 17 May 2019, Institute of Historical Resea... more Talk at the Medieval and Tudor London History seminar, 17 May 2019, Institute of Historical Research, London.
Talk at the workshop 'Imagining a Territory: The Construction and Representation of Territory in ... more Talk at the workshop 'Imagining a Territory: The Construction and Representation of Territory in Late Medieval Europe', 18–19 January 2019, Amsterdam.
While scholars of guilds and fraternities take great interest in the texts, objects, and performa... more While scholars of guilds and fraternities take great interest in the texts, objects, and performances that bound late medieval guilds together and created a sense of collective identity, the place of their corporate heraldry remains relatively underexplored. By analysing grants of arms obtained by London guilds between 1439 and 1530, this article argues that corporate heraldry was not just a convenient means of identification but was meant to be seen as a semantically dense visual communication of corporate identity. Grants, confirmations, and augmentations of arms presented the heraldic signs they conferred as official acknowledgments and visual representations of their recipients’ symbolic capital of honour. The connection between heraldry, identity, and corporate honour also found its expression in the prominent display of corporate arms on central stages of corporate self-representation such as halls, churches, and rituals. This proud heraldic display of corporate identity, just like the pursuit of grants of arms, reflected a need for weapons in an intensifying battle for symbolic capital that the guilds of late medieval London faced, perhaps as a result of economic difficulties that marked the later fifteenth century.
In the later Middle Ages, traveling to sacred places and foreign courts promised honor, not least... more In the later Middle Ages, traveling to sacred places and foreign courts promised honor, not least to residents of cities keen to advance their status within and beyond urban society. But the symbolic capital promised by travel had to be rendered recognizable. To this end, the inhabitants of German-speaking cities also relied on coats of arms and badges of chivalric orders, as this essay will show by looking at travel accounts, visual sources, and material remains. Analogous to noble customs, these signs were meant to record the presence of townsmen abroad and to commemorate their achievements as travelers once back in their hometowns. From town houses and church decorations to conspicuous dress, the urban space was filled with visual reminders of spatial mobility displayed for the purpose of social mobility. As it becomes clear that contemporaries were acutely aware of travelers’ ambitions, the heraldic and para-heraldic communication of travel emerges as a prominent and at times contested element of urban visual and material culture.
Cultural history is currently rediscovering heraldry as a versatile means of communication that w... more Cultural history is currently rediscovering heraldry as a versatile means of communication that was widely employed throughout all parts of medieval society, not least the city. Scholars, however, primarily analyse the urban space as a stage for noble self-representation by means of heraldic communication. This paper argues for a different perspective, that townspeople and other commoners were far from primarily passive observers of heraldry displayed in the city. Four case studies from late medieval London demonstrate public expressions of discontent and protest through forms of heraldic communication which did not rely on display, but instead on the manipulation and destruction of the heraldic signs of kings, princes and other noblemen. Indeed, such heraldic practices of ‘non-nobles’ suggest that heraldry, in the later Middle Ages, was accessible to all parts of society, and constituted a ubiquitous and powerful aspect of urban visual culture.
Chapter in Ludmilla Jordanova and Florence Grant (eds.), Writing Visual History (London, 2020), 2... more Chapter in Ludmilla Jordanova and Florence Grant (eds.), Writing Visual History (London, 2020), 25-44.
Urban History Writing in Northwest Europe (15th-16th Centuries), 2019
Chapter in B. Caers, L. Demets, T. Van Gassen (eds.),
Urban History Writing in Northwest Europe ... more Chapter in B. Caers, L. Demets, T. Van Gassen (eds.), Urban History Writing in Northwest Europe (15th-16th Centuries), Studies in European Urban History (1100-1800) 47, (Turnhout: Brepols 2019).
Heraldry in Medieval and Early Modern State Rooms, 2020
Chapter in Laurent Hablot and Torsten Hiltmann (eds.), Heraldry in Medieval and Early Modern Stat... more Chapter in Laurent Hablot and Torsten Hiltmann (eds.), Heraldry in Medieval and Early Modern State Rooms (Ostfildern, 2020), 149–64.
Talk at the Late Medieval History Seminar of the Institute of Historical Research, London, held a... more Talk at the Late Medieval History Seminar of the Institute of Historical Research, London, held at The National Archives, Kew, 10 November 2023.
Vortrag im Forschungskolloquium Spätmittelalterliche
Geschichte/Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte... more Vortrag im Forschungskolloquium Spätmittelalterliche Geschichte/Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte der Universität Kiel, 7. Februar 2023.
Talk at the European History 1150–1550 Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, London, 1... more Talk at the European History 1150–1550 Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, London, 10 November 2022.
Vortrag bei der 59. Arbeitstagung des Südwestdeutschen
Arbeitskreises für Stadtgeschichtsforschun... more Vortrag bei der 59. Arbeitstagung des Südwestdeutschen Arbeitskreises für Stadtgeschichtsforschung (Thema: "Stadt und Adel"), 3. Juli 2021, Zoom-Veranstaltung.
Talk at the Medieval and Tudor London History seminar, 17 May 2019, Institute of Historical Resea... more Talk at the Medieval and Tudor London History seminar, 17 May 2019, Institute of Historical Research, London.
Talk at the workshop 'Imagining a Territory: The Construction and Representation of Territory in ... more Talk at the workshop 'Imagining a Territory: The Construction and Representation of Territory in Late Medieval Europe', 18–19 January 2019, Amsterdam.
Talk at the conference 'Beyond Truth: Fiction and (Dis)information in the Early Modern World,' 17... more Talk at the conference 'Beyond Truth: Fiction and (Dis)information in the Early Modern World,' 17–18 September 2018, Oxford.
Talk at the 'Mobility and Space in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe' conference, 23–24 June ... more Talk at the 'Mobility and Space in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe' conference, 23–24 June 2017, Oxford.
Talk at the International Medieval Congress (Session 234, 'Honour, Family, and Collective Memory ... more Talk at the International Medieval Congress (Session 234, 'Honour, Family, and Collective Memory in England and Germany, 1250-1500: The Country and the City'), 2 July 2018, Leeds.
Talk at the conference 'Family, Lineage, and Dynasty in the Late Medieval City', 17–18 April 2018... more Talk at the conference 'Family, Lineage, and Dynasty in the Late Medieval City', 17–18 April 2018, Durham.
Paper at the conference 'Re//Generate: Materiality and the Afterlives of Things in the Middle Age... more Paper at the conference 'Re//Generate: Materiality and the Afterlives of Things in the Middle Ages', 6-7 May 2016, St Andrews.
Paper at the conference 'Heraldry in Medieval and Early Modern State-Rooms: Towards a Typology of... more Paper at the conference 'Heraldry in Medieval and Early Modern State-Rooms: Towards a Typology of Heraldic Programmes in Spaces of Self-Representation', 16-18 March 2016, Münster
Thesis accepted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History, Durham University, 2019
Whereas historians and heraldists tend to discuss heraldry in terms of the nobility, this thesis ... more Whereas historians and heraldists tend to discuss heraldry in terms of the nobility, this thesis demonstrates that heraldic communication was a ubiquitous and versatile element of urban visual culture in the cities of late medieval England and Germany. To understand its role in urban societies—and in contrast to the systematisation and interpretation of armorial design in traditional heraldic scholarship—emphasis is placed on the contemporary perceptions and communicative functions of coats of arms. Whose arms did townspeople see in the urban space? Which meanings did they attribute to their display? For which purposes did they themselves employ heraldry? Were oft-alleged differences between English and German cities reflected in the heraldic practices of their inhabitants? Four chapters explore these questions with regard to the heraldic signs of burgess families, craft and merchant guilds, municipal bodies, and ‘outsiders’ such as kings, princes, and other nobles in a multi-medial, cross-disciplinary context of textual sources (chronicles, council and court records, legislation, account books, grants of arms), material evidence (houses, town and guild halls, gates, monuments, churches), and ephemeral occasions (processions, entries, funerals, warfare, revolt). Heraldic signs emerge as visual embodiments of their bearers’ identity which functioned beyond mere identification. Late medieval townspeople related heraldry to concepts of chivalry, morality, antiquity, and lineage, and perceived arms in relation to notions of ‘honour’ which formed a fundamental component of individual and collective identity. This perception allowed for townsmen (as well as noble outsiders) to use heraldry and its display—but also its defacement and destruction—to represent, reinforce, and improve their place in the urban hierarchy, to visualise, perpetuate, and alter social relations and political structures, and to communicate, contest, and reassert claims to possession and power in the urban space.
Medieval churches still abound in coats of arms depicted on tombs, epitaphs, windows, altarpieces... more Medieval churches still abound in coats of arms depicted on tombs, epitaphs, windows, altarpieces and other commemorative devices. And of course it was not just knights, nobles, princes and kings that tried to preserve their memory by means of heraldry. Of course, modern historians argue that next to an admonition for pious prayer and commemoration, a certain desire for status representation and elevation also motivated the donors of such displays. Strikingly, medieval contemporaries, too, this blog post shows, were at times similarly suspicious of the ‘true’ intentions behind heraldic memoria, and in fact addressed the ostentatious display of heraldry in (urban) churches quite critically.
Clemens Jäger’s 'Weberchronik' is a source rich in heraldry, both as textual topic and visual dis... more Clemens Jäger’s 'Weberchronik' is a source rich in heraldry, both as textual topic and visual display. The aetiological narrative on the origin of the coat of arms of the weaver's guild suggests that in medieval cities heraldry tended to be perceived in relation to the past. The claimed antiquity of the heraldic sign is linked to a narrative in which core elements of the urban mind such as unity and (military) bravery are exhibited, and the coat of arms is as a result fashioned to be an expression of these elements of corporate identity. Jäger’s chronicle furthermore indicates how this historical allusion was evoked in the daily life of the guild, in contexts such as corporate festivities and communal warfare, displayed on buildings, chattels, seals, or flags and banners. Finally, the additional heraldic display in the manuscript’s illuminations is a reminder of the ubiquity of heraldry in an urban setting, and its prominence in the mindset of a sixteenth-century burgess.
Conference to be held at the German Historical Institute London, 1–2 September 2022.
The role of... more Conference to be held at the German Historical Institute London, 1–2 September 2022.
The role of the visual in constructing social and political power in the Middle Ages has enjoyed much scholarly attention in recent times, and interest in the subject shows no sign of waning. Much less consideration has been given to the responses that visual representations of power elicited from those who encountered them. Given that visual images and performances often aggressively served to stake controversial and, for some, threatening claims, there can be no doubt that such responses were often hostile. But how visual constructions of power were contested, and what visual strategies were open to their opponents-such as defacement, obliteration, or the creation of counter-images or performances-has been remarkably little studied outside the religious sphere. Yet if we think we should take seriously the power of images in politics and society, then the means available to medieval people to oppose and challenge that power is clearly an important subject. To study this volatile aspect of medieval society is important not least because current discourses make use of the past to oppose as well as promote the defacement, destruction, or removal of statues, for example. Papers are therefore invited examining all aspects of (broadly) secular iconoclasm from any period of the Middle Ages and any part of medieval Europe. Papers concentrating on religious iconoclasm are also welcome where this focus has a clear relation to contests of social and political power. The subject is manifestly a large one. Locations for iconoclastic acts and behaviours might include the court, towns and cities, or the battlefield, and events and moments where power-displays were of the essence...
Call for papers. An international conference exploring all aspects of (broadly defined) political... more Call for papers. An international conference exploring all aspects of (broadly defined) political iconoclasm in the Middle Ages. German Historical Institute, London, 1-2 September 2022.
Organised by the German Historical Institute London in cooperation with the German Historical Ins... more Organised by the German Historical Institute London in cooperation with the German Historical Institute Washington and the German History Society, to be held at the GHIL This one-day workshop on the history of medieval Germany (broadly defined) will provide an opportunity for researchers in the field from the UK, continental Europe, and the USA to meet in a relaxed and friendly setting and to learn more about each other's work. Proposals for short papers of 10-15 minutes are invited from researchers at all career stages with an interest in any aspect of the history of medieval Germany. Participants are encouraged to concentrate on presenting work in progress, highlighting research questions and approaches, and pointing to as yet unresolved challenges of their projects. Presentations will be followed by a discussion. Attendance is free, which includes lunch, but costs for travel and accommodation cannot be reimbursed. Doctoral students from North America (USA and Canada) who wish to present at the workshop, however, can apply for two travel grants provided by the German Historical Institute Washington. Please express your interest in this grant in your application. Support for postgraduate and early career researchers from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland is available on a competitive basis, subject to eligibility requirements: postgraduate members of the German History Society currently registered for a higher degree at a university in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, and those who have completed a PhD within two years of the deadline for application but who have no other institutional sources of funding may apply for up to £150 for travel and accommodation. Please see the GHS website for further information and application deadlines.
We welcome papers on all aspects of urban visual culture, inviting contributions from disciplines... more We welcome papers on all aspects of urban visual culture, inviting contributions from disciplines such as history and the history of art, archaeology and historical geography, ritual and theatre studies, and heraldry and sigillography. Transdisciplinary perspectives are encouraged.
The German Historical Institutes in London and Washington, D.C. are excited to announce the twelf... more The German Historical Institutes in London and Washington, D.C. are excited to announce the twelfth Medieval History Seminar, to be held in London from 30 September to 2 October 2021. The seminar will bring together Ph.D. candidates and recent Ph.D. graduates (2020) in medieval history from American, Canadian, British, Irish, and German universities for three days of scholarly discussion and collaboration. Participants will have the opportunity to present their work to peers and distinguished scholars from both sides of the Atlantic.
Workshop on medieval German history, German Historical Institute, Bloomsbury Square, London, Frid... more Workshop on medieval German history, German Historical Institute, Bloomsbury Square, London, Friday 12 April 2024: finalized programme
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Urban History Writing in Northwest Europe (15th-16th Centuries), Studies in European Urban History (1100-1800) 47, (Turnhout: Brepols 2019).
Geschichte/Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte der Universität Kiel, 7. Februar 2023.
Arbeitskreises für Stadtgeschichtsforschung (Thema: "Stadt und Adel"), 3. Juli 2021, Zoom-Veranstaltung.
Urban History Writing in Northwest Europe (15th-16th Centuries), Studies in European Urban History (1100-1800) 47, (Turnhout: Brepols 2019).
Geschichte/Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte der Universität Kiel, 7. Februar 2023.
Arbeitskreises für Stadtgeschichtsforschung (Thema: "Stadt und Adel"), 3. Juli 2021, Zoom-Veranstaltung.
The role of the visual in constructing social and political power in the Middle Ages has enjoyed much scholarly attention in recent times, and interest in the subject shows no sign of waning. Much less consideration has been given to the responses that visual representations of power elicited from those who encountered them. Given that visual images and performances often aggressively served to stake controversial and, for some, threatening claims, there can be no doubt that such responses were often hostile. But how visual constructions of power were contested, and what visual strategies were open to their opponents-such as defacement, obliteration, or the creation of counter-images or performances-has been remarkably little studied outside the religious sphere. Yet if we think we should take seriously the power of images in politics and society, then the means available to medieval people to oppose and challenge that power is clearly an important subject. To study this volatile aspect of medieval society is important not least because current discourses make use of the past to oppose as well as promote the defacement, destruction, or removal of statues, for example. Papers are therefore invited examining all aspects of (broadly) secular iconoclasm from any period of the Middle Ages and any part of medieval Europe. Papers concentrating on religious iconoclasm are also welcome where this focus has a clear relation to contests of social and political power. The subject is manifestly a large one. Locations for iconoclastic acts and behaviours might include the court, towns and cities, or the battlefield, and events and moments where power-displays were of the essence...