A proper introduction
Hi all!
As I said in my brief intro, I am thrilled to be taking over as Editor of Medieval World: Culture and Conflict. Throughout my career, I’ve been passionate about finding ways to communicate cutting-edge research to popular audiences in ways that accessible, engaging, and do justice to the scholarship. That thread has run through my professional life, whether it has been Arabic poetry, biomedical science, classical archaeology, database technology, early Islamic architecture, medieval intellectual traditions, modern mining techniques, Roman reception, or rugby – all topics I’ve written about in the past! So, it’s easy to see why Medieval World’s reputation for combining academic expertise, beautiful artwork, and engaging prose would appeal to me.
My academic research focuses on early Islamic art, architecture, and material culture, and the many shared cultural, imperial, and religious traditions of ancient and early medieval Afro-Eurasia – what is sometimes called ‘global medieval’. I have a PhD from Aarhus University in the Abbasid visual language of power and the caliphs’ relationship to the (Eastern) Roman empire. I took my MA in Religious Studies at the University of Copenhagen, on the development of the Abrahamic religious traditions around the Mediterranean until 1000 AD. My BA was in Classics from Balliol College, Oxford, and I primarily focused on Roman history, philosophy, and religion. All these degrees were interdisciplinary, combining languages and texts with material culture, and applying art history, history, literature, religious studies, and more. The breadth of that background helped with my first popular history book, All Roads Lead to Rome, which covers various medieval and early modern empires and their interpretations of Rome. That background is also helpful in my teaching, which tends to cover Europe, North and East Africa, West and Central Asia, and occasionally East Asia from the fifth to sixteenth centuries – the variety definitely keeps things interesting and I’m excited to bring a similar range to Medieval World.
I have a lot of ideas about how to build on the breadth of historical coverage of the magazine and to expand the types of content we offer, especially to our dedicated community of subscribers. First, though, I’d like to conduct a proper review of what works well, what could be improved, what could be added, and what doesn’t work for you. To that end, your thoughts and feedback are especially welcome in these first few months. Not every idea will be feasible, for many reasons, but seeing the magazine through your eyes will help me think in more nuanced ways about how to proceed. The medieval world was filled with connections, interactions, and longstanding shared traditions as well as examples of the hyper-local, innovative, and strikingly unusual. I’m a big believer that any approach to medieval history should allow for all parts of that spectrum so I’m open to your ideas.
I can, however, announce that my proper first theme (MWCC 24) will be “Unseen Empires". The medieval period is traditionally characterised as one between empires – that of ancient Rome and those where European states conquered territories around the globe. But there were plenty of empires in this period, inside and outside Europe. This issue will take a long at some less well-known empires – those built on culture, diplomacy, and the economy rather than conquest. I have some topics planned already but, as always, we are open to proposals! Get in touch via this form or by emailing [email protected], if you have something you think will work.
Until next time,
Rhiannon
2 comments
Welcome to our new editor. This magazine has spent most of its issues on Medieval Warfare. Please try to keep it close to that, or at least include an article or two each issue on Medieval War and Battles. That’s where the dollars are at.
It is good to see our new editor has such a breadth and depth of knowledge of not just the medieval world in its European context but also much of the rest of the world with much new information emerging about civilizations in Africa, Latin America and Asia .
As a reader and a contributor to the magazine I look forward to the upcoming issues.