Research Interests
My primary research interests lie in the cultural, religious, and art history of the High Middle Ages, especially in and around the British Isles during the long twelfth century. The twelfth century was a period of major intellectual, social, cultural, and political change in Europe, and in that context I’m interested particularly in the role and agency of vision and imagination: through artistic images themselves, but also in architecture, ritual, liturgy, and literature (broadly conceived).
I’m also interested in related aspects of high medieval culture, including: aspects of doctrine and devotional practice; Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations and cultural exchange; Romanesque and early Gothic architecture; and the patronage of twelfth-century English bishops. I also have an interest in aspects of eighteenth-century antiquarianism, especially as it relates to the collection and preservation of medieval art.