Philippa Byrne works on the history of the central Middle Ages (c.1050-c.1300). Her research examines the intellectual and political transformations of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries across Europe and the Mediterranean. These transformations are sometimes labelled the ‘Twelfth-Century Renaissance’, and her work weighs the meaning and implications of that label.
She is particularly interested in the ways in which new ideas, texts, and translations shaped new institutions, like universities, and stimulated the creation of new social groups, such as lawyers, administrators, and students. She is also interested in the persistence of older traditions and customs within these new political structures.
Before taking up her position at Oxford, Philippa was an Assistant Professor in Medieval History at Trinity College Dublin. Earlier in her career, she held posts as a Departmental Lecturer in Oxford and as a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow.
