Welcome to the Centre for Medieval Studies blog! This blog is the showcase for everything that’s going on in medieval studies at the University of Exeter, and is the home for original writing from within our community, from undergraduate students through to academic staff. Posting every Monday during term-time, we provide a platform for shorter pieces that showcase the wide variety of research, thought, and events within the Centre. Thanks to our two regular series and our over 30 contributors, we’ve got something for everyone, with posts covering topics from medieval pregnancy advice and secondary-school History teaching to what happens when you ask ChatGPT to write medieval poetry.
In addition to our general posts, the blog hosts three recurring features, in which new entries are always welcome. The first of these is our long-running Research Postcards series, in which members of the Centre ‘report back’ from a particular archive, event, or location that they’ve been visiting for their research. Previous entries in the series have taken readers to Cambridge College libraries, the Lincolnshire Archives, conferences in Cologne, or – closer to home – the Devon Heritage Centre.
For less research-based, but still site-specific, posts, our Just Visiting series offers a platform for reporting back. If your weekend ramblings or teaching takes you to a site of medieval interest, we’d warmly welcome your contribution: in the past, we’ve heard from trips to Tintagel, medieval houses, and abbeys.
Our third series, Spotlight, offers a platform for the Centre’s members — at all levels of study and research — to share what they’re working on in an informal question-and-answer format. This is a new series, and aims to raise awareness of the vibrant research culture in the Centre. Members of the Centre are warmly invited to fill out this form to express an interest in being featured.