Medieval Studies Doctoral Dissertations

Self-Evidence and Conscience in Later Medieval Moral Theories
By Kelsey Boor (2024)
PhD—Philosophy
Mentor: George Pini

Translating the Fantastic in Old Norse-Icelandic Literature 
By Sean Spillane (2024)
PhD—English
Mentor: Thomas O'Donnell

Reading and Teaching Le Morte D'Arthur in the Light of Postcritique
By Robert Byers (2023)
PhD—English
Mentor: Thomas O'Donnell

The Shape of History: Formal Variety and the Production of the Past in Twelfth-Century History Writing in England and Normandy (ca. 1120 - 1154)
By Carolyn Cargile (2023)
PhD—English
Mentor: Thomas O'Donnell

Fluxing Fellowship: Bodily Fluids & Forms of Community in Medieval Devotional Literature
By Ellis Light (2023)
PhD—English
Mentor: Andrew Albin

Twisting Lines: Genealogy and Legitimacy in Fifteenth-Century English Literature
By David Smigen-Rothkopf (2023)
PhD—English
Mentor: Thomas O'Donnell

Supporting the Fight: Combat Support Personnel in English Expeditionary Armies During the Hundred Years War
By Ronald Braasch (2023)
PhD—History
Mentor: Dr. Maryanne Kowaleski

According to the Law of the Marsh': Medieval Wetland Drainage, Enviromental Crisis and the Invention of the customs of Romney Marsh 
By Tobias Hrynick (2023)
PhD—History
Mentor: Dr. Maryanne Kowaleski

Health in Late Medieval England: The Impact of Age, Sex, and Income on the Lived Experience
By Rachel Podd (2022)
PhD—History
Mentor: Dr. Maryanne Kowaleski

The Medical Culture of Early Medieval Montecassino
By Jeffrey Doolittle (2021)
PhD—History
Mentor: Dr. Ricahrd Gyug

Law, Order, and the Development of Policing Functions in Late Medieval English Cities
By Samantha Sagui (2021)
PhD—History
Mentor: Dr. Maryanne Kowaleski 

What Makes a Yeoman? Status, Religion, and Material Culture in Later Medieval England
By Louisa Foroughi (2020)
PhD—History
Mentor: Dr. Maryanne Kowaleski

The Making of Borough Customary Law in Medieval Britain
By Esther Liberman Cuenca (Assistant Professor of History, University of Houston-Victoria) (2019)
PhD—History
Mentor: Dr. Maryanne Kowaleski

The Development of the Medieval Parisian Account of Formal Consequence
By *Jacob Wesley Archambault (2018)
PhD—Philosophy
Mentor: Gyula Klima

Lay Spirituality and Vernacular Theology in Late Medieval Literature
By Felisa Olivia Baynes-Ross (2018)
PhD—English
Mentor: Mary C. Erler

The Friar's Companion: A Franciscan Observant Vademecum in Late Medieval Italy
By Maria Christina Bruno (2018)
PhD—History
Mentor: Wolfgang Mueller 

Repentant Readers: Reforming Body and Soul in Late Medieval England and Early Modern England
By Clarissa Ann Chenovick (2018)
PhD—English
Mentor: Heather Dubrow

The Coherence of Aquinas's Account of Divine Simplicity
By David K. Kovacs (2018)
PhD—Philosophy
Mentor: Brian Davies

The Dragon and the Cloister: History and Rhetoric in the Writing of Stephen of Rouen
By Elizabeth Grace Kuhl (2018)
PhD—History
Mentor: Nicholas Paul

Of Monks and Monsters: "Voluntary Eunuchs" and the Project of Male Celibacy in the Fifth Century
By Lindsey Carol Mercer (2018)
PhD—Theology
Mentor: Benjamin Dunning

Aquinas on Essence and Existence
By Turner Clark Nevitt (2018)
PhD—Philosophy
Mentor: Brian Davies

"The Substance of the Virtues": Deification According to Maximos the Confessor and the Transformation of Aristotelian Ethics
By Luis Josué Salés (2018)
PhD—Theology
Mentor: George Demacopoulos and John Behr

Recipes for Women’s Healthcare in Medieval England
By Kristen Uscinski (2017)
PhD—History
Mentor: Maryanne Kowaleski

The Hospitals of Mainz, 1236-1367 Legal Privileges and Social Functions
By Lucy Barnhouse (2017)
PhD—History
Mentor: Wolfgang Mueller

Through a Mirror Darkly: Mystical Metaphors of Sight from Paul to Gregory of Nyssa and Augustine of Hippo
By Emily Cain (2017)
PhD—Theology
Mentor: George Demacopoulos

Pastoral Education in England and Its Impact on Fifteenth-Century Literary Culture
By Samantha Sabalis (2017)
PhD—English
Mentor: Mary C. Erler

Immersive Reading: Dreamers and their Books in Late Medieval England
By Boyda Johnstone (2017)
PhD—English
Mentor: Jocelyn Wogan-Browne

Lay Spirituality and Vernacular Theology in Late Medieval Literature
By Felisa Baynes-Ross (2017)
PhD—English
Mentor: Mary C. Erler and Thoms O’Donnell

Knightly Male Bodies and Violence in Middle English Romance
By Steven Bruso (2017)
PhD—English
Mentor: Daniel Contreras 

Medieval Problems of Secondary Causation and Divine Concurrence
By Zita Toth (2017)
PhD—Philosophy
Mentor: Giorgio Pini

The Development of the Medieval Parisian Account of Formal Consequence
By Jacob Archabault (2017)
PhD—Philosophy
Mentor: Gyula Klima

Re- Interpretation of the Power and Function of Late Medieval English Convocation
By Elizabeth Keohane-Burbridge (2016)
PhD—History
Mentor: Maryanne Kowaleski

Anxiously Pursuing Peace: Defining and Defending Christian Faith in Texts of Old English Reflective Wisdom
By David Pedersen (2016)
PhD—English
Mentor: Martin Chase, SJ

Female Suffering in Medieval and Early Modern Literature
By Allison Adair Alberts (2015)
PhD Dissertation – English
Mentor: Mary C. Erler

Embracing the Barbarian: The Syrians and Goths in the Pastoral Strategy of John Chrysostom
By Jon Stanfill (2015)
PhD Dissertation – Theology
Mentor: George Demacopoulos

Aquinas on Two Problems for Free Choice
By Brendan Palla (2015)
PhD Dissertation - Philosophy
Mentor: Gyula Klima

Must God Create a World? Aquinas' Answer and Kretzmann's Critique
By Eric Rapaglia (2015)
PhD Dissertation - Philosophy
Mentor: Joseph Koterski, SJ

A Hylomorphic Theory of Composite Material Substances
By Shane Wilkins (2015)
PhD Dissertation - Philosophy
Mentor: Gyula Klima

The Monastic Choir Books of San Sisto in Piacenza and the Production of Liturgical Manuscripts in Fifteenth-century Italy
By Joanne Filippone Overty (2014)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Richard Gyug

The Possibility of a Thomistic Personalism
By Paul Kucharski (2014)
PhD Dissertation - Philosophy
Mentor: Joseph Koterski, SJ

A Franciscan Inquisitor's Manual and its Compositional Context: Codex Casanatensis 1730
By Geoff Clement, O.S.F. (2013)
PhD Dissertation – History
Mentor: Richard Gyug

An Examination of Aquinas' Approach to Conscience
By Andrew W. Converse (2012)
PhD Dissertation - Philosophy
Mentor: Joseph Koterski, SJ

The Effects of the Origenist Controversy on the Pastoral Theology of Barsanuphius and John
By David Mezynski (2012)
PhD Dissertation - Theology
Mentor: George Demacopoulos

The Immateriality of the Intellect in Thomas Aquinas' Philosophical Psychology
By Adam N. Wood (2012)
PhD Dissertation - Philosophy
Mentor: Gyula Klima

Seizing Liberties: Private Rights, Public Good and Right of Marque in Medieval Marseille
By Christopher Beck (2012)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentors: Maryanne Kowaleski and Daniel Smail

Between the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages: The Struggle for Ravenna in the Eighth Century
By Nicole Lopez-Jantzen (2012)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Richard Gyug

Between the Law and the Worlds: Defining Women's Religious Identity in the Later Middle Ages.
By Heidi Febert † (2012)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Wolfgang Mueller

Virtuous Vengeance: Anti-Judaism and Christian Piety in Medieval England
By Maija Birenbaum (2011)
PhD Dissertation - English
Mentor: Mary C. Erler

Creating the Medieval Reader: Old Media, New Media, and Textual Interactivity, 1380-1500
By Heather Blatt (2011)
PhD Dissertation - English
Mentor: Mary C. Erler

Mothers of Exile: Gender and Identity in Medieval Narratives of Foundation
By Rebecca June (2011)
PhD Dissertation - English
Mentor: Katherine Little

The Mystical Daydream: Fictive Being and the Motive of Evil
By Krik Kanzelberger (2011)
PhD Dissertation - Philosophy
Mentor: Joseph Koterski,SJ

A Commentary on Ibycus of Rhegium
By Raymond Lewis Capra (2011)
PhD Dissertation - Classics
Mentor: David Sider and Robert Penella

'De novo modo': The Birth of Fashion in the Middle Ages
By Laurel A. Wilson (2010)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Maryanne Kowaleski

Penitential Reform and Canon Law in Piers Plowman B and C Texts
By *Arvind Thomas (2010)
PhD Dissertation - English
Mentor: Eve Keller

'Carving Nature at its Joints': The Platonic Method of Division in Plato, Aristotle, and their Neoplatonic Commentators
By *Gary Gabor (2010)
PhD Dissertation - Philosophy
Mentor: Dana Miller

Creating the Medieval Reader: Old Media, New Media, and Textual Interactivity, 1380-1500
By Heather Blatt (2010)
PhD Dissertation - English
Mentor: Mary Erler

Virtuous Vengeance: Anti-Judaism and Christian Piety in Medieval England
By Maija Birenbaum (2010)
PhD Dissertation - English
Mentor: Mary Erler

Mothers of Exile: Gender and Identity in Medieval Narratives of Foundation
By Rebecca June (2010)
PhD Dissertation - English
Mentor: Katherine Little

Justice, Jurisdiction, and Choice: The Fifteenth-Century Church Court of Carpentras
By Elizabeth Hardman (2010)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Daniel Smail

A Matter of Time: Church, Civic Administration, and the Idea of the Hour in Medieval France
By Kenneth Mondschein (2010)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Richard Gyug

Politics and Emotion in Thirteenth-Century Iberia
By Jennifer M. Speed (2009)
PhD Dissertation – History
Mentor: Daniel Smail

Philipp Melanchthon and the Cappadocians: The Reception of Greek Patristic Soures in the Sixteenth Century
By H. Ashley Hall (2009)
PhD Dissertation – Theology
Mentor: Joseph Lienhard, SJ

Intellectus and Induction: Three Aristotelian Commentators on the cognition of first Principles, Including an Original Translation of John Buridan's Quaestiones in Duos Aristotilis Libros Posteriorum Analyticorum
By Ariane E. Economos (2009)
PhD Dissertation – Philosophy
Mentor: Gyula Klima

Spaces and Practices of Religious Reclusion in Medieval Studies
By *Allison Diane Clark (2009)
PhD Dissertation – History
Mentor: Richard Gyug

A Reappraisal of the Christology of St. Justin Martyr
By Carl F. Baechle (2009)
PhD Dissertation – Theology
Mentor: Joseph Lienhard, SJ

A Philological and Theological Analysis of the Ancient Latin Translations of the Vita Antonii
By Lois Gandt (2008)
PhD Dissertation – Theology
Mentor: Joseph Lienhard, SJ

Baptism and the Ideal of Unity and Universality of the Church in St Augustine’s Ecclesiology: An Exposition of his Theology of Baptism in Light of the Donatist Controversy
By Victor N. Mbanisi (2008)
PhD Dissertation – Theology
Mentor: Joseph Lienhard, SJ

Aristocratic Male Friendship in the Anglo-Norman World
By Rebecca Slitt (2008)
PhD Dissertation – History
Mentor: Maryanne Kowaleski

The Foundation of Universal and Necessary Propositions in Select Writings of St. Thomas Aquinas
By James Stone (2008)
PhD Dissertation – Philosophy
Mentor: Joseph Koterski, SJ

Aquinas, God, and Ontotheology
By Joseph G. Trabbic (2008)
PhD Dissertation – Philosophy
Mentor: Joseph Koterski, SJ

A Philological and Theological Analysis of the Ancient Latin Translations of the Vita Antonii
By Lois Gandt (2008)
PhD Dissertation – Theology
Mentor: Joseph Lienhard, SJ

The Foundation of Universal and Necessary Propositions in Select Writings of St. Thomas Aquinas
By James Stone (2008)
PhD Dissertation – Philosophy
Mentor: Joseph Koterski, SJ

Aquinas, God, and Ontotheology
By Joseph G. Trabbic (2008)
PhD Dissertation – Philosophy
Mentor: Joseph Koterski, SJ

Damsels in Distress or Partners in Crime? The Abduction of Women in Medieval England
By Caroline Dunn (2007)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Maryanne Kowaleski

Alexander Neckman's Encyclopedias: Work at a Juncture-Point in Medieval Intellectual and Social History
By Tomas Zahora (2007)
PhD Dissertation – History
Mentor: Richard Gyug

Prosper of Aquitaine: A Study of His Life and Works
By *Alexander Hwang (2006)
PhD Dissertation – Theology
Mentor: Joseph Lienhard, SJ

Prime Matter According to St. Thomas Aquinas
By Matthew Kent (2006)
PhD Dissertation – Philosophy
Mentor: Joseph Koterski, SJ

The Use of Maximus the Confessor's Writing on the Filoque at the Council of Ferrara-Florence
By A. Edward Siecienski (2006)
PhD Dissertation – Theology
Mentor: Joseph Lienhard, SJ

St. Thomas Aquinas's Confrontation with Neoplatonic Thought in Three Commentaries and in the Treatise on Separate Substances
By John Stefancyk (2006)
PhD Dissertation - Philosophy
Mentor: Joseph Koterski, SJ

Social Resources and Institutional Change in the Dominican Province of Aragon
By Michael Vargas (2006)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Richard Gyug

Of Ministers and Mistresses: Henry Bradshaw's Abbesses and the Hagiography of the Household
By *Christina Carlson (2005)
PhD Dissertation - English
Mentor: Jocelyn Wogan-Browne

Libido Dominandi: Augustine’s Genealogy of a Fallen World
By Brian Harding (2005)
PhD Dissertation – Philosophy

Chronicle and Community in Northern Italy, 1270-1360
by Laura Morreale (2004)
PhD. Dissertation – History
Mentor: Daniel Smail

Monarchy and Military Practice During the Reign of Alfonso XI (1312-1350)
By Nicolas Agrait (2003)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Joseph O'Callaghan

Urban Lordship in England: Lay Seigneurs in the West Midlands and Welsh March, 1066 - 1348
By Steven Spishak (2003)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Maryanne Kowaleski

St. Elizabeth of Hungary and the Franciscan Tradition
By Lori Pieper (2002)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Richard Gyug

Aquinas and the Free Will Defense
By W. Grant (2002)
PhD Dissertation - Philosophy
Mentor: Brian Davies

Aquinas on Human Survival After Death
By Silas Langley (2002)
PhD Dissertation - Philosophy
Mentor: Brian Davies, O.P.

Hospitality, Conviviality, and the English Gentry: Social Networks of the Landed Elite in Late Medieval Suffolk
By Elizabeth Kunz (2001)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Maryanne Kowaleski

The Power of Liturgy and the Liturgies of Power in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries
By Louis I. Hamilton (2000)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Richard Gyug

Social Commentary in the Works of Theodulf of Orleans: A Study of Carolingian Humanism
By June-Ann T. Greeley (2001)
PhD Dissertation - Classics
Mentor: John Clark

The Fontalis Plenitudo in Bonaventure as a Symbol for His Metaphysics
By Janet Kvamme (2000)
PhD Dissertation - Theology
Mentor: Ewert Cousins

Lyrical Dialectic as Historiographical Discourse in the Italian Dialogues of Giordano Bruni
By Gilmar Visoni (2000)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentors: W. David Myers; H. Wayne Storey

The Heart of Christ at Helfta
By Paul Zarowny (2000)
PhD Dissertation - Theology
Mentor: Ewert Cousins

Transformation in the Thoughts of Martin Luther
By Peter Breitsch (2000)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Louis Pascoe, SJ

Sanctifying the World: Ritual Blessing and Lay Piety in Medieval Religion and Culture
By Derek Rivard (2000)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Richard Gyug

A Medieval Maritime Community in England: The Ancient Town of Winchelsea and the Cinque Ports
By David Sylvester (2000)
PhD Dissertation - History
Mentor: Maryanne Kowaleski

The Doctrine of Transcendentals in Thomas Aquinas and Meister Eckhart
By Robert Dobie (2000)
PhD Dissertation - Philosophy
Mentor: Joseph Koterski, SJ