School of History

Jane Edwards MCLIP, M.A., M.lib., Dip. Sys .Prac., M.litt.

Thesis Title: "Bettered by the borrower": the use of extracts in English twelfth-century historical writing
Supervisor: Professor John Hudson

Originally from Leicester I went to school in Yorkshire and after graduating in mediaeval history from St Andrews I qualified as a librarian at, what was then called, The College of Librarianship Wales in Aberystwyth and subsequently worked as a librarian in Lincoln. During this time, out of interest, I took a Diploma in Systems Thinking and Practice. However, I had always wanted to return to research and in 2009 took the plunge and returned to full time study at St Andrews, gaining an M.Litt., and am now in my second year studying for a Ph.D.

My research centres on the writing of history with especial interest in the works of the twelfth century. More specifically I am studying the use of short histories and of extracts from larger works and their incorporation into other works of the Twelfth and early Thirteenth century. These have been overlooked by historians in the past who had their own concept of “historical material” and were often dismissed as “filler” or “scissors and paste jobs”. However, they do appear to have important roles to play within their new contexts and are far from mere plagiarism.