Research Interests

My research centres upon the Historia Albigensis (1213-c.1220)of Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay. The Historia offers the most detailed narrative of the Albigensian Crusade, one of the most influential and resonant conflicts in the history of France. The thesis focuses upon how acts of ritual are depicted and used within the text in order to emphasise the worthiness of the crusade and the depravity of its enemies, the Cathar heretics of the Midi. It also constitutes an essential reconsideration of the Historia, redating the work and suggesting that the text originated as an official history of the Crusade that was endorsed and shaped by its leadership. My other areas of interest include thirteenth-century papal policy, the University of Paris, heresy, and the social history of the south of France.