Tell us a bit about yourself, where are you from?
Hello, so I’m a 3rd year PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, I set up the Edinburgh Early Modern Network a couple of years ago and it’s been wonderful to welcome quite a few Durham students for our events, so a few of you may know me from there. Before Edinburgh I was at the brilliant Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies at York.
What brought you to Edinburgh, and where do you plan on going next?
Edinburgh is honestly one of the nicest cities in the world, I was very fortunate to receive funding from its great university, and its wealth of resources was a big appeal. Next stage is probably looking towards Europe, I had two visiting researcher spells in the Netherlands and Italy and these were wonderful experiences.
What is your favourite thing about the early modern period?
Initially, what drew me to the Renaissance and Early Modern Period was the incredible art you see in galleries, books and the television. At university I started to learn more about the turbulent world behind these cultural productions and I’ve not looked back.
What does your research focus on?
I have an extremely cheerful research project, looking at the spectre of the Thirty Years War in the Stuart kingdoms. By spectre, I’m referring to the Thirty Years War as something that haunted Stuart politics and permeated every echelon of the public sphere(s), it’s a stressor discussed in Parliament, from the pulpit and even in the pub. For many Stuart subjects, this was a war in which a loved one fought as a volunteer far away, a dynastic humiliation for the House of Stuart, and for many, it was an apocalyptic unfolding where a resurgent Counter Reformation clashed with continental Protestantism.
I’m looking at how ‘news’ and polemic spread from Europe to the Stuart kingdoms through translation, through news-writers, diplomats, refugees and soldiers.
What do you plan to focus on in your seminar?
I’ll be focusing on not sending everyone to sleep, but I’ll be mostly focusing on looking at how the playwright Thomas Dekker employed the siege of Breda as a polemical device that all of his audience would have understood. The fact Breda is so prevalent in Dekker’s moral geography attests to a massive interest in the unfolding continental turmoil of the Thirty Years War, which challenges the assumption that in 1625 the only issues were the accession of Charles to the throne, the French marriage and the plague.
If you were not in academia, what would you be doing?
Architect definitely pays more than academia, and is such a wonderful creative profession.
Do you have a favourite early modern text?
This changes on a weekly basis, last week it was Shakespeare’s Macbeth, but at the moment its John Donne’s Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions. Its better known for its quote ‘no man is an island’, which is really beautiful, and is something politically and socially we can learn from.
Who is your favourite historical figure from the early modern period, and why?
I would have to say Peter Paul Rubens, he’s literally a Renaissance guy with a CV that includes court painter and diplomat so would have plenty of stories to tell and his Christmas presents would be great. I’m also a big fan of Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen, her herculean determination and vast correspondence networks across Europe would make for a fabulous conversation. In fact, as Rubens lived in Antwerp and Stuar was just up the road (well, many many miles) in exile in Den Haag, we could invite the two of them together for some bitterballen and beer!
Medieval and Early Modern Student Association 