My thesis explores several exempla collections, or books of miracle stories, written by members of the Cistercian Order in the late-twelfth and early-thirteenth centuries. Exempla collections were used as tools of monastic socialisation, effectively teaching new recruits how to be Cistercian monks, and as such are a window into the world of the Cistercian monastery. They allow us to see how Cistercians conceptualised themselves, their vocation, and their place in the wider world, and specifically how they did so through the use of shared stories.
Emmie Rose completed a BA in History and then an MA in Medieval Studies, both at the University of York. After a short break she returned to the Centre for Medieval Studies on a Wolfson Scholarship to start her PhD, supervised by Dr Sethina Watson. Her research interests range widely within the history of religion in the high middle ages, including preaching and the use of exempla; religion, charity, and the economy; the founding of new religious orders, and the crusades.