Conference Report
by Louise Tjoline Keitsch (University of Freiburg, Research Intern with Henrike Lähnemann Hilary and Trinity Term 2026)
On 29 May 2026, the Weston Library hosted the one-day conference Exploring Medieval Oxford through Surviving Archives, organised by Laure Miolo and Matthew Holford and supported by the Centre for the Study of the Book. Bringing together students, early-career researchers, and established scholars, the event showcased research centred on medieval documents preserved in the Bodleian Libraries and the Christ Church archives: Claims, charters, letters and tenancy agreements.
The programme combined longer presentations by established Oxford academics with shorter papers by participants in the seminar, creating a productive dialogue between methodological reflection and original research. The keynote-style contributions by Natasha Jenman, Teresa Witcombe, Julian Munby, Richard Allen, and Dan Wakelin explored topics including the Queen’s Gold accounts of Eleanor of Castile, medieval Castilian archives, the documentary record of medieval Oxford, the cartulary and charters of the Hospital of St John the Baptist, and the challenges of working with late medieval letter collections (in that order). Together, these papers offered best-practice insights into archival research, palaeography, and the interpretation of medieval documentary sources.
The shorter presentations demonstrated the remarkable thematic breadth that a single archive can sustain. Papers addressed property ownership in thirteenth-century Oxford, the administration of religious houses, the lives of individuals at the margins of the historical record, and questions of legal practice, social obligation, and institutional memory. Several contributions drew on documents connected to the Priory of St Frideswide, whose extensive property interests across Oxford and the surrounding countryside formed a recurring thread throughout the day, while others highlighted the richness of individual charters, tenancy agreements, and parish records.
A particular strength of the conference was its sustained attention to medieval documents as material objects. Discussions addressed the challenges of transcription, the significance of seals and diplomatic features, and the interpretive possibilities opened up by close palaeographical analysis. This emphasis on materiality was complemented by an exhibition curated by the participants, displayed in two cases in the Weston Library, which presented a selection of the documents discussed during the conference and allowed attendees to engage directly with the archival material.
The conference highlighted the continued vitality of archive-based research in medieval studies and demonstrated the value of bringing together experienced scholars and emerging researchers to explore the rich documentary heritage of medieval Oxford. It offered an excellent example of how close engagement with archival sources continues to generate new perspectives on the medieval past.
Programme
Conference Friday 29 May 2026 – Weston Library
With an exhibition curated by the participants
9 Welcome Matthew Holford & Laure Miolo
9.15 Lauren Pidgeon & Deborah Seymour : An agreement between Agatha the widow and John Halegod
9.30 Emily Breithaupt & India Kelly: The Charter of Alice of Stokes
9.45 Alice Zhang & Annabel Brodersen: A Study of Christ Church F. 48: Property Ownership in Thirteenth-Century St Aldates, Oxford
10 Natasha Jenman (History, St Edmund Hall): Jews in the Queen’s Gold Accounts of Eleanor of Castile
10.30 Marina Giraudeau & Philine Armbuster: Renting and Salvation: The Tenancy Agreement of Christ Church F. 17
11.15 Teresa Witcombe (History, Wadham College): Captives and slaves in medieval Castilian archives
11.45 Tabitha Claydon: At the “insistence” of an “intervening” king
12 Julian Munby (Conted, Oxford): Mapping medieval Oxford from the archives
12.45 Lunch
2 Richard Allen (Magdalen College): Towards a new edition of the cartulary and charters of the Hospital of St John the Baptist, Oxford
2.30 Kevin Hoff & Cara Nicholls: Christina Pady and the Priory of St Frideswide
2.45 Hannele Hellerstedt, Holly Smith & Vanessa Emmet: Land and Legacy: The Life of Hugo de Plugenet
3 Louise Keitsch: Giving up (on) everything?
3.15 Yijia Wang& Luka Luhai: Cumin, Lamp, and Obligation: Making Continuity in a Medieval Oxford Parish.
3.30 Dan Wakelin (English Faculty, St Hilda’s College): Late medieval letters: disorderly archives
4.15 Daniel Dias & Charlotte Visconsi: Copying Amidst Conflict: Reproducing Castilian Law in the Wake of Civil War, (1437-1445).
4.30 End
This event is supported by the Centre for the Study of the Book.
