Richard Sowerby
Senior Lecturer in Early Medieval History · College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences · University of Edinburgh
Quick answer: Richard Sowerby is Senior Lecturer in Early Medieval History at University of Edinburgh. Richard Sowerby shows an active PhD hiring signal as of 2026-09-11.
⭐ Open to PhD supervision enquiries? Yes. Areas of interest for supervision: I welcome enquiries from prospective doctoral students who are interested in pursuing further work on any aspect of early medieval social and cultural history. Projects which intend to deal with matters of religion, belief, healing or medicine are especially welcome, as are studies into the cults of saints in the early Midd
Research interests
My research focuses on the social and cultural history of early medieval Europe (c. 500–1100 CE). My work seeks to better understand the ways that early medieval men and women thought about the world in which they lived, and to explore the way that their beliefs, ideas and values changed during the first millennium CE. My published work deals chiefly with religious culture of the period, and has examined subjects such as beliefs about angels, concepts of nature and the supernatural, ecclesiastical politics, and the veneration of saints. My current research projects deal with aspects of early medieval health and healing, seeking especially to explore ideas and practices which initially seem furthest from ‘medicine’ as we tend to understand it today, but which can help to illuminate how early medieval men and women made choices about where to turn in the face of illness. I am especially interested by the place of animals in medieval healing practices, and hope in my future publications to investigate both the ways in which animals were cared for and the ways that they themselves were implicated in the processes of human medicine.
Selected publications (since 2023)
[2023] 'The "Second Synod of St Patrick" and the "Romans" of the early Irish Church', Traditio 78 (2023), 47–78
Frequently asked questions
Is Richard Sowerby hiring PhD students at University of Edinburgh?
Yes. As of 2026-09-11, Richard Sowerby's faculty page shows a PhD hiring signal: Open to PhD supervision enquiries? Yes. Areas of interest for supervision: I welcome enquiries from prospective doctoral students who are interested in pursuing further work on any aspect of early med.
What does Richard Sowerby research?
My research focuses on the social and cultural history of early medieval Europe (c. 500–1100 CE). My work seeks to better understand the ways that early medieval men and women thought about the world in which they lived, and to explore the way that their beliefs, ideas and values changed during the
Data last updated: 2026-09-11 · Source: phd-match.com faculty database.
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