UNIVERSITIES OF
ABERDEEN AND HULL
‘The Identities and
Networks of bishops in the late medieval North
Atlantic’
AHRC-funded PhD
studentship in conjunction with the project
A prosopographical
study of bishops' careers in northern Europe
Applications are
invited for a PhD Studentship to undertake research on selected bishoprics in
the archdiocese of Nidaros between 1250 and the Reformation. The Studentship
will be held at the University of Aberdeen, beginning on the 1st of October
2014.
The PhD student will be
attached to The Centre for Scandinavian Studies, School of Divinity, History and
Philosophy, College of Arts and Social Sciences at The University of
Aberdeen.
The
Studentship forms part of a three-year research project A prosopographical study of bishops' careers
in northern Europe, funded by the AHRC and directed by Dr Sarah Thomas
(University of Hull) and Professor Stefan Brink (University of Aberdeen). The
holder of the PhD studentship will join a project team made of Thomas and Brink,
and will be a member of the research community of the Centre for Scandinavian
Studies.
Duration: 3 years
Value: a stipend £13,726 per year (and the AHRC also pays for the fees)
Start of studentship: 1 October 2014
Summary of the research
project:
A prosopographical
study of bishops' careers in northern Europe examines the familial,
social and educational networks of clerics who became bishops in late medieval
Scotland, England and Scandinavia.
In the modern world, we
often talk about a person being ‘well-connected’, whether it be as a result of
family, schooling, business contacts or a combination of factors. This project
will examine how well-connected medieval bishops in Britain and Scandinavia
were. Effectively, we shall be
asking who you needed to know to become a bishop and how the connections gained
throughout their lives impacted on their activities as bishops both within their
diocese and on the wider international stage. Why did this matter? Bishops were
not just religious leaders; they were important men who served kings and other
great lords as advisers and even diplomats. They also controlled large
territories and had significant incomes and people at their command. To be a
bishop was to be a leader who might crown kings or foment rebellion. They were
also players on an increasingly international stage: the period of study, from
1250 to the Reformation, saw the centralisation of the Church under the Papacy.
From the early fourteenth century, candidates for bishoprics usually had to
travel to Rome or Avignon in order to be appointed. Yet, at the same time,
national or state structures were increasingly important with kings wanting to
control who became bishops. The very nature of the international Church meant
that such men travelled and had connections well beyond their home countries.
That, combined with university education, meant that bishops were key conduits
for the transfer of ideas. The key question the project seeks to answer is how
internationalised were the bishops in northern Europe.
In order to address
this, we will undertake a prosopographical study of the bishops in the following
dioceses: Sodor, Dunkeld, Galloway, York, Orkney, the Faroes, Skalholt and Holar
in Iceland, Greenland, Bergen, Stavanger, Uppsala and the archdeacons of
Jämtland. We will examine the familial, social origins and connections of the
bishops and archdeacons. To allow us to consider the pressures of national and
papal institutions, we have selected dioceses in four Church provinces - York,
Scotland, Nidaros and Uppsala - which lay within the four kingdoms of England,
Scotland, Norway and Sweden. This selection also means we can study core and
peripheral dioceses within the same Church province, across Church provinces and
across national boundaries. The analysis will seek to answer a number of
questions which include: did the bishops have similar social origins which meant
they had the right connections to lobby the diocesan patrons or chapter for
their promotion? We shall also assess the evidence for our bishops having
attended university, and if so, where and whether they achieved a degree and the
implications of this. Were there particular dioceses with higher levels of
university attendance? Can we find evidence of either direct or indirect
international contact as a result of university
attendance?
The project will then
assess whether the bishops, once appointed, were able to introduce new ideas and
reforms in their dioceses. They attended international Church councils which
agreed policies that the bishops were then expected to introduce in their own
dioceses. We will examine whether they were able to enforce rules like clerical
celibacy and the payment of tithes. The dioceses in question might be seen as
remote from Rome and the centres of Christendom, but they were not necessarily
isolated from ideas developed at the supposed 'core'.
Research topic within the
studentship:
The PhD candidate will
conduct original research on aspects of the medieval ecclesiastical
history (preferably discussing the role of bishops) of the North Atlantic
and Norwegian dioceses. Applicants are invited
to contact Dr Sarah Thomas ([log in to unmask]) or Prof. Stefan Brink
([log in to unmask]) to discuss potential topics prior to
applying.
Supervision and
support:
The PhD candidate will be
supervised by Dr Sarah Thomas and Prof. Stefan Brink. As a member of the project
team the candidate will be expected to contribute to project meetings,
activities, and events, and will have some organizational responsibilities. In
addition to having access to postgraduate training and support provided by the
Centre for Scandinavian Studies and the College of Arts and Social Sciences, the
candidate will have specific opportunities within the project to develop
research skills, present at conferences, and publish
papers.
Criteria
Applications are invited
from candidates who have a first-class or good upper second-class degree in
History or a related discipline or a relevant area of study, and preferably have
completed a Postgraduate Research Masters degree + AHRC conditions of
eligibility; or an equivalent exam from a non-UK University. Prior knowledge of
Old Norse, Latin and a modern Scandinavian language would be
advantageous.
Eligibility
Normally only those
students who have been resident in the UK, for purposes other than education,
for the preceding three years are eligible for a full award. For some awards
candidates who are nationals of a member state of the EU and are resident in the
UK may also be eligible for fees only awards.
Deadline for application: 29 August
2014
Send application
to:
The Post Graduate Secretary
School of Divinity, History
and Philosophy
University of
Aberdeen
Aberdeen AB24 3DS
UK
For enquiries regarding the project
contact:
Dr Sarah Thomas
([log in to unmask]) or Prof. Stefan Brink
([log in to unmask])
For general enquiries regarding
postgraduate studies at the University and the School and the conversion of
non-UK exams and degrees etc., contact:
Kiran
Uppal ([log in to unmask])