Jacob Morley

Thesis title: Agents of Communication between the Papacy and Milan, c. 1198-1254

Biography

Background

I was born and raised in Manchester. I gained my BA (Hons) Medieval and Early Modern History from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2017 where I developed a deep interest in the papacy and the crusades. My dissertation focused on Pope Gregory VII and how his reforms paved the way for the crusading movement.

I then completed my MA Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Manchester in 2018. My thesis argued that the First Crusade was a direct result of the eleventh-century papacy's relationship with the Byzantine Church, and a desire to reunite the two churches. For this thesis I was awarded the Margaret Johnson (Yates) Prize.

In 2019 I started my PhD in History at the University of Edinbugh and the University of St Andrews, which is funded by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (AHRC).

From October 2021 - March 2022 I was a Visiting Doctoral Researcher at l'Università degli Studi di Milano.

Qualifications

BA (Hons) Medieval and Early Modern History, First Class (Manchester Metropolitan University, 2014-2017)

MA Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Distinction (University of Manchester, 2017-2018)

Undergraduate teaching

Tutor of “Medieval Worlds: A journey through the Middle Ages” (HIST08035)

Research summary

My current research focuses on the agents of communication between the papacy and Milan in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

  • Papal letters
  • Papal legates
  • Cardinals and the Roman Curia
  • Papal and diocesan councils
  • The archdiocese of Milan
  • The Lombard League

Project activity

BA Dissertation, "The Extent to which the Aims of the Eleventh Century Reform Papacy were Responsible for the Origins of the Crusading Movement" (2017)

MA Dissertation, "The Quest for Concordia: The First Crusade as a Product of Papal-Byzantine Relations" (2018)

Current project grants

Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership

Papers delivered

  • A Crisis of Medievalism in the "Total War" Series, International Medieval Congress, Leeds, 1st-4th July 2024.
  • Presenting your Research through Games [with Giuseppe Celico & Francesco Migliazzo], University of Edinburgh, History and Games Lab, 27th April 2021.
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