Publications
Publications
My research focuses on Medieval History, Ancient Roman History, Early Modern English History, and Art History, with particular emphasis on women’s history, the eleventh-century Church Reform, friendship, and spirituality. I received my Ph.D. in History from the University of Houston in 2021, and my scholarship examines the intersection of personal relationships, political culture, and religious reform in the medieval world.
My dissertation reexamines the life and agency of Matilda of Tuscany (1046–1115), one of the most influential women of the European Middle Ages. While earlier scholarship has largely centered on Matilda’s political and military actions, my study investigates her network of friendships as a vital instrument of spiritual renewal and political influence. It demonstrates how friendship served as a vehicle for alliance-building, advanced reformist ideals, and shaped the transformation of ecclesiastical and political structures in the eleventh century.
This research highlights Matilda’s influence within the Church Reform movement and her role in fostering an independent papacy. It also traces a broader network of reformist connections extending across the Anglo-Norman and French realms—links that have received little scholarly attention. Through close reading of documentary and epistolary sources, my work uncovers how Matilda’s public actions and private spirituality intersected within a cultural framework that redefined female authority and sanctity. It challenges long-held narratives about the decline of women’s autonomy between the eleventh and twelfth centuries and reconsiders reformers not as adversaries of women’s power, but as collaborators who recognized and valued female spiritual and political leadership.
These themes have been developed in my publications, including “Nihil Terrenum, Nihilque Carnale in Ea: Matilda of Tuscany and Anselm of Lucca during the Investiture Controversy” (Storicamente, 2018), “Anselm of Canterbury and Matilda of Tuscany: The Journey of Friendship” (MATILDICA III, 2021), and “Reconstructing Matilda’s Relationship with Countess Ida of Boulogne” (MATILDICA Journal, forthcoming 2025). My ongoing book projects, scheduled for publication in 2027, further extend this research by examining women’s leadership, intellectual contribution, and spiritual authority in the medieval Church and broader European society.
My research has also been disseminated through numerous conference presentations, including:
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“Mirror of a Prince: The Biography of Matilda of Tuscany” (International Medieval Congress, Leeds, 2025)
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“Gregory VII and Matilda of Tuscany: The Role of Women in Church Reform” (Medieval Academy of America, Harvard, 2025)
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“Reconstructing Matilda’s Relationship with Countess Ida of Boulogne” (VI Convegno dell’Associazione Matildica Internazionale, Italy, 2024)
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“Matilda of Tuscany and Women as Catalysts of Spiritual Renewal” (Medieval Academy of America, Notre Dame, 2024)
Through this work, I aim to illuminate how friendship, spirituality, and cultural change reveal the interplay between faith, political agency, and gender in the medieval world.
