The Medieval Studies Institute

I specialize in the history and material culture of early medieval Europe. I have a background in archaeology and architectural history, and I combine those topics with the study of the way history was written in the Early Middle Ages. I have published a Latin edition and an English translation of the ninth-century author Agnellus' Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis (Book of Pontiffs of the Church of Ravenna). Each of these volumes includes a study of the text, in which I explore Agnellus' literary models and sources, and explain why the text has its rather idiosyncratic form and chronological structure. I have also edited a book entitled Historiography in the Middle Ages. My most recent book, Ravenna in Late Antiquity, a history of the city and monuments of Ravenna from the fifth to the ninth centuries, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2010. My current project considers the role of bishops as church-builders, from late antiquity through the Carolingian period. Finally, I am the Executive Editor of The Medieval Review, an online book review journal in medieval studies. I teach surveys and upper-level courses on medieval history, as well as more specialized courses on topics related to the western European Early Middle Ages.