Joanna Thornborough
I hold an MA (Hons) First Class in Mediaeval History from the University of St Andrews and an MLitt (Distinction in dissertation) in Mediaeval History also from the University of St Andrews. My doctoral research focuses on a comparative study of the Cults of Saints in Würzburg and St Gall, c.700 – c.1100, through focus on the Lives of Ss. Kilian and Burchard. In this thesis I will explore the complex relationship between hagiography and cult and its evolution over time, with particular attention paid to the impact of updating saints’ Lives. This will address important historiographical issues of memory and identity in these centres and explore the ritual nature of text and cult, whilst also reassessing the nature of the cults of saints in early medieval Germany.
Thesis Title: ‘Ritual and Writing: the Cults of Saints in Early Medieval Würzburg and St Gall’
Supervisor: Dr James Palmer
Academic Papers:
- ‘What is a Saint For? The Medieval Passiones Kiliani and the Problems of Audience’, to be presented at Revealing Reocrods IV, King’s College London (May 2012 – Forthcoming)
- ‘The Whore of the Apocalypse and Kaiserkritik around the Year 1000’, to be presented at International Medieval Congress 2012, Leeds (July 2012 – Forthcoming)
Teaching:
ME1003: Transformation and Crisis in the Early Medieval World - Tutor
Other:
AHRC Doctoral Award Holder