Why Exeter?

Exeter is a wonderful place to study, research, and teach the Middle Ages. By joining us as a postgraduate student or as a member of staff, you’ll automatically become part of the Centre, which offers a convivial and productive forum to share work on the medieval world. The Medieval Research Seminar, running fortnightly during term-time, brings together members from across our many constituent disciplines, and our reading groups in Medieval Latin and French are open to all, regardless of experience.

The most important part of the Centre is, of course, its members. With over 30 members of staff from across the University, we’re well-placed to offer postgraduate teaching, supervision and training across the spectrum of premodern studies, spanning (and often challenging) traditional disciplinary boundaries. Our postgraduate modules, delivered across disciplines in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, offer solid groundings in traditional foundations of the discipline (such as codicology, palaeography, and language skills) while also allowing you to explore cutting-edge approaches including reception studies, the Global Middle Ages, and more.

At postgraduate research level, we can offer you a supportive and productive environment in which to thrive at doctoral level. Our vibrant PGR community, headed by a dedicated officer, is well-represented in the Centre’s decision-making processes, and helps to shape the programme of events that we offer. Our enthusiastic academic staff members aren’t just enthusiastic experts in their fields — they also have years of experience in working with PhD students, and are acutely aware of how best to support you in your work. The range of expertise across the Centre means that your project will have enthusiastic and informed interlocutors: explore our staff listing to get a sense of our research specialisms and interests.

The Medieval South West

Exeter is itself rich in medieval history. Many physical remains of its medieval past are still visible today, including the old city walls, Rougemont Castle, and Exe Bridges, and we make extensive use of these sites as part of our MA teaching. The most famous image of medieval Exeter is, of course, the Cathedral, whose Library and Archives house both the Exeter Book and Exon Domesday. Other important medieval records are held at the Devon Heritage Centre, with whom the Centre for Medieval Studies frequently collaborates, and in our own Special Collections department (which houses the unique Syon Abbey manuscripts collection).

A bustling city, Exeter’s location in the heart of the South West also puts the wider medieval world on its doorstep. Outside of Exeter, the wider south-west hosts a vast range of medieval sites of interest including Tintagel (the legendary birthplace of King Arthur), numerous abbeys and castles, and Glastonbury. Trips to these areas are frequently organised by members of staff and PGRs, and are documented on our long-running blog (to which all Centre members are warmly invited to contribute).

If you’d like to find out more about medieval studies at Exeter, or if you have a question that isn’t covered on this website, please don’t hesitate to get in touch: the Centre director, Gregory Lippiatt, is always happy to answer any queries.