Professor Andrew Spicer

Research Lead and Professor of Early Modern European History

School of Education, Humanities and Languages

Role

Andrew Spicer is Professor of Early Modern European History. He is Past President of the 16th Century Society & Conference.

Teaching and supervision

Courses

Modules taught

  • Europe and the World 1450-1750: Examines the interaction of Europe with the wider world and the religious, imperial and political struggles that underpinned the rise of European empires.
  • Conflict and Belief in the Early Modern World: Examines how religious beliefs led to violence and massacres, and how early modern societies came to accept diversity.
  • History Dissertation / Project:Students research a topic of their choice, supervised by a member of staff.
  • Tudors: Reformation and Revolt: Explores the religious and political upheavals of the Tudor era.
  • Immigrants and Minorities in Early Modern England, c. 1453–1753: Explores how and why people were marginalised due to their ethnicity, nationality and sexuality as well as changing attitudes towards diversity.
  • The Reformation and the Parish Church: Focuses on changing attitudes towards the parish church and the impact of the Reformation on art, architecture, music and sculpture.

Research

Material Culture of the Reformation: What was the impact of the Reformation on the material culture and fabric of early modern religion? Reflecting on the architecture and appearance of places of worship, this research has considered how far places of worship and their furnishings were shaped by the liturgical and theological considerations or by external factors. While the focus has been primarily on churches, this research has also ranged more broadly in this field. In recent years papers have also been given on subjects as diverse as 17th century French funerary monuments, late medieval and post Reformation Scottish funeral palls or mortcloths, Reformed Church communion silver in the Dutch Republic, and Huguenot religious art.

Sanctity and the Sacred: This research considers how attitudes towards the sanctity and holiness of places of worship and other sacred sites changed in the wake of the Reformation. Besides sacred space in general it examines rituals of consecration and the emergence of new Protestant rites.

Migration: The dislocation and migration caused by the religious conflicts in Europe after the Reformation and the processes of integration and assimilation. This focuses on the communities that were established in the sixteenth and seventeenth century and how these migrants interacted with their host communities.

Another aspect of this research has been to consider how these communities were regarded during the 19th century by historians and the general public.

Groups

Publications

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Professional information

Memberships of professional bodies

  • Past President of the Sixteenth Century Society & Conference
  • Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
  • Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
  • Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

Further details

Other experience

  • Editorships with Charlotte Methuen, Studies in Church History