Staff profile
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Job title: Principal Lecturer
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Dept: History and American Studies
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Tel:
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Campus: Canterbury
Academic/Personal Background
Paul obtained his BA and PhD from the University of Sheffield. During his career, he held a Scouloudi Fellowship at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, a British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Sheffield, and worked at Liverpool Hope University, before joining Canterbury Christ Church University.
Paul’s interest in the history of the Anglo-Norman dominions originally sprang from family visits to castles and monasteries in Yorkshire and Wales when he was a child. It was powerfully reinforced by the opportunity to study this period of history at A level, and again as an undergraduate at the University of Sheffield. Undertaking research for a PhD at the University of Sheffield on the history of Yorkshire in the Anglo-Norman period was a natural and logical development of these interests, and a wonderful experience. It led to the publication of a monograph book [Conquest, Anarchy and Lordship: Yorkshire 1066-1154 (Cambridge University Press, 1994 and 2002)] and the exploration of many other avenues of research.
Apart from studying medieval history, Paul enjoys spending time with his family, visiting France (especially its Romanesque churches), and photography.
Undergraduate Teaching Responsibilities
Level 4 (Year 1): 'The Norman Conquest'' and ''Issues in History'' The Norman Conquest'' and ''Issues in History''
Level 5 (Year 2): 'The Crusades' and the linked module 'East and West in the Age of the Crusades'
Level 6 (Year 3): 'Individual Study'
Research Interests
Paul's research has explored various aspects of Anglo-Norman history in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. These have included the political troubles of the reign of King Stephen (1135-1154), the political and governmental history of Yorkshire and northern England, the nature of lordship and allegiance, the writing of history, the growth of monasticism, the careers and ambitions of magnates, and the accession of King Henry I. He is currently working on the history of peacemaking in England and Normandy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
Recent Publications:
Edited Books:
Cathedrals Communities and Conflict in the Anglo-Norman World, ed. P. Dalton, C. Insley and L. J. Wilkinson (Woodbridge, 2011)
Outlaws in Medieval and Early Modern England: Crime Government and Society, c. 1066-c.1600, ed. J. C. Appleby and P. Dalton (Farnham, 2009)
King Stephen’s Reign (1135-1154), ed. P. Dalton and G. J. White (Woodbridge, 2008)
Book Chapters and Journal Articles
‘Ecclesiastical Responses to War in King Stephen’s Reign: The Communities of Selby Abbey, Pontefract Priory and York Cathedral’, in Cathedrals, Communities and Conflict (above)
'The Outlaw Hereward ‘‘the Wake’’: His Companions and Enemies’, in Outlaws in Medieval and Early Modern England(above)
‘Allegiance and Intelligence in King Stephen’s Reign’, in King Stephen’s Reign (above)
‘Geffrei Gaimar’s Estoire des Engleis, Peacemaking, and the ‘‘Twelfth-Century Revival of the English Nation’’, Studies in Philology, 104 (4) (2007)
‘The Date of Geoffrey Gaimar’s Estoire des Engleis, the Connections of His Patrons, and the Politics of Stephen’s Reign’,The Chaucer Review: A Journal of Medieval Studies and Literary Criticism, 42 (1) (2007)
‘Sites and Occasions of Peacemaking in England and Normandy, c. 950-c. 1150’, The Haskins Society Journal, 16 (2006), 12-26., 16 (2006), 12-26.‘Sites and Occasions of Peacemaking in England and Normandy, c. 950-c. 1150’, The Haskins Society Journal, 16 (2006), 12-26.
‘The Topical Concerns of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britannie: History, Prophecy, Peacemaking, and English Identity in the Twelfth Century, Journal of British Studies, 44 (4) (2005)
‘Lincoln Castle and its Occupants in King Stephen’s Reign’, in The Early History of Lincoln Castle, ed. P. Lindley (Lincoln, 2004), 66-78.
Paul will supervise postgraduate research in the political, social and ecclesiastical history of the Anglo-Norman dominions in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and would welcome applications from postgraduate students interested in studying any of these areas.