Beth Seaman

• MA Medieval Studies with Distinction
• BA English with First Class honours

I completed my BA English degree in 2017, and my MA in Medieval Studies during 2020. My Masters thesis investigated the portrayal of non-normative bodies in late medieval travel and crusading narratives, alongside their medical contexts. I commenced my PhD during October 2020, which explores and tracks the representation of medicine across the Medieval-Early Modern periods.

My project analyses the development of popular medical knowledge in late medieval-renaissance England, through the investigation of its representation in popular literature. The scope of my research extends from medieval romance and drama (late C14th), commonly understood as influences on Shakespeare to the plays of Shakespeare (late C16th). The project investigates how the literary representation of medieval-renaissance medical ideas influenced perceptions of the human body and its relative state of health, through depictions of medical conditions and therapies.

My research interests include: medieval medicine, medical humanities, travel/crusading literature, material and visual culture, medieval bodies.

• My MA Medieval Studies degree was funded by the Wellcome Trust.
• ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3132-4043
• Member of the Centre for the Study of the Middle Ages (CESMA)