Centre for Medieval Studies
Theo Long
Cistercian Lives of nuns and lay brothers in the thirteenth-century Low Countries
My PhD thesis examines saints’ Lives to explore the role played by the Cistercian order in the religious life of the Low Countries in the thirteenth century. It looks at The Life of Peter of Villers, The Life of Simon of Aulne, The Life of Ida of Léau, and The Life of Ide of Argensolles. Using an interdisciplinary approach which combines literary and historical analysis, my thesis considers the devotional, textual, and social networks and partnerships between monks, nuns, lay brothers, and hagiographers in these texts. It is particularly interested in the presentation of spirituality, gender, and status in the Lives and what might reveal about the text’s audiences. The thesis thus aims to illuminate the Cistercian order’s engagement with the religious developments of the mid-thirteenth century – a period in which the Cistercians are often overlooked. My research is generously funded by the Wolfson Foundation.
Biography
Theo completed a BA in History at the Unviersity of Warwick in 2022, during which he spent a year (2020 21) as an Erasmus student at the University of Turin in Italy. He then completed an MA in Medieval Studies at the University of York in 2023. In 2024, Theo returned to York to begin a PhD in Medieval Studies funded by the Wolfson Foundation, supervised by Dr Sethina Watson and Professor Elizabeth Tyler. In Spring 2026 he will spend two months as an exchange PhD student at the University of Ghent. His research interests broadly include: social history; gender; the Cistercian Order; saints’ Lives.
