
Yr Athro Helen Nicholson
Professor of Medieval History
Ysgol Hanes, Archaeoleg a Chrefydd
- nicholsonhj@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 4250
- Fax:
- +44 (0)29 2087 4929
- 5.45, Adeilad John Percival , Rhodfa Colum, Caerdydd, CF10 3EU
- Sylwebydd y cyfryngau
Trosolwg
A former Head of the History Department, I am a world-leading scholar in research into the military religious orders and the Crusades. I have very extensive experience in teaching students at all levels, and a strong record in impact and engagement with the wider public.
Research interests
- The Military Orders: the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, and the Teutonic Knights;
- The Trial of the Templars in the British Isles;
- The Templars' English estates, 1308-1311;
- The Hospitallers in the British Isles in the fourteenth century;
- The Crusades in the Middle Ages;
- Women in the crusades and in religious orders in the middle ages;
- The use of medieval 'fictional' literature as historical evidence.
Research projects
- The Trial of the Templars in the British Isles.
- The Knights Templars' English estates, 1308-1311.
- The Hospitallers in the British Isles in the Fourteenth Century.
Impact and engagement
Research blog on the Knights Templar estates
The podcast accompanying her article 'The Templars on Trial: A very muted inquisition', in BBC History Magazine, 10.6 (June 2009), pp. 26-31, can be downloaded from the BBC History Magazine podcast archive for June 2009, part 1.
I regularly give talks to general interest groups on the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, and the Crusades.
Details of Professor Helen Nicholson's academic publications
Bywgraffiad
Education and qualifications
1979-1982 B.A. degree course in Ancient and Modern History at St Hilda's College, University of Oxford. Class awarded: First.
1986 Converted B.A. degree to an M.A.
1986-1989 Researching Ph.D. Supervisor: Norman Housley, Dept. of History, University of Leicester. Thesis entitled: 'Images of the Military Orders, 1128-1291: spiritual, secular, romantic'.
1990 Obtained PhD.
Career overview
1982-1985 Employer: Coopers and Lybrand, Chartered Accountants, Abacus House, 32 Friar Lane, Leicester, LE1 5RA. Final position: Audit Senior.
1986 Admitted to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
1986-1989 Open Research Scholarship in the Dept of History, University of Leicester.
1990-1992 Maternity break.
1992-1994 Part-time teaching assistant in the Dept of History, University of Leicester.
1994- present member of staff in School of History and Archaeology, Cardiff University (1994-96: fixed-term lecturer; 1996 lecturer; 2000: Senior Lecturer; 2004 Reader; 2013 Professor).
Notable achievements
1982 Helen Smith Prize for a first class degree in History;
1986-1989 awarded an Open Research Scholarship in the Dept of History, University of Leicester;
1997 publication of Chronicle of the Third Crusade, my translation of the Itinerarium peregrinorum et gesta regis Ricardi. This is now the standard, often-quoted translation of this text, an important source for late twelfth-century warfare;
1999 set up a new website for the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East (an international academic society) with a 'frequently asked questions' page. Site described as 'most informative' by a scholarly online list of websites on the crusades and much praised by users;
2001 publication of three books: a monograph, Love, War and the Grail, and two general surveys, Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templar;
2001 my article of 2000 proposing a new source and dating for the De ortu Walwanii is hailed as 'ground breaking' (Bulletin of the International Arthurian Society).
I was lead organiser of the fifth international conference on the Military Orders, held at Cardiff University, 3-6 September 2009.
Anrhydeddau a Dyfarniadau
2003–2004 British Academy/Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship for 2003–2004
Other awards:
2013 (with Dr Bronach Kane): Royal Historical Society grant for their postgraduate visiting speakers series, subsidising a one-day symposium ‘Conflict in Historical Perspectives’, 23 January 2015;
2009, 1997 Seven Pillars of Wisdom Trust grants towards publication of conference proceedings;
2008 Cadw grant to the Cardiff Centre for the Crusades towards conference costs;
2011, 2003 British Academy Overseas Conference Grants towards attending the Ordines Militares – Colloquia Torunensia Historica conferences XII and XVI in Toruń, Poland;
1999 Isaiah Berlin travel award from the Academic Study Group on Israel and the Middle East
Aelodaethau proffesiynol
2017 elected as Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales
2002 elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
Member of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East, the Ecclesiastical History Society, the International Arthurian Society and Societas Magica
Ymrwymiadau siarad cyhoeddus
I am regularly asked by publishers and the broadcast media to comment on the crusades and the military orders for the general public and for students. I regularly speak at international academic conferences.
Recent research papers and conferences
(presented during the last twelve months)
14 May 2017, organiser and chair of Cardiff School of History, Archaeology and Religion session at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo, MI, 52nd year. Subject: ‘The Knightly Lifecycle’. Speakers: Pierre Gaite (Cardiff University), Nicholas McDermott (Cardiff University), Elizabeth Ashcroft Terry (Austin College)
13 May 2017, the annual Journal of Medieval Military History lecture at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo, MI, 52nd year: 'Holy Warriors, Worldly War: Military Religious Orders and Secular Conflict'
25 April 2017, ‘The picture across the water: the Foundation of military order houses in Britain and Ireland in the twelfth century’ at the conference ‘Jerusalem in medieval Viken’ at Tønsberg, Norway, 24–26 April 2017
22 April 2017, ‘Evidence of the Templars’ religious practice from the records of the Templars’ estates in Britain and Ireland in 1308’, at the workshop: 'The Templars in Britain and Ireland' at Blaydes House, University of Hull. This is the second workshop on this subject organised by Dr John Walker of the University of Hull and myself
22 October 2016, ‘Tenants and workers in Wales and the Welsh March: evidence from the Templars and Hospitallers’: keynote paper at the Eighth Bangor Colloquium on Medieval Wales, 22–23 October 2016
16 September 2016, ‘The Templars’ estates in England and Wales in the light of the surveys and accounts (1308-1313) preserved in the National Archives,’ at the conference ‘The Archaeology of the Latin East: A conference honour of Professor Denys Pringle’, at Cardiff University, 16–18 September 2016
30 June 2016, ‘The construction of a primary source: the historicity of Itinerarium peregrinorum 1’ at the ninth quadrennial conference of the Study for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East, Odense, Denmark (27 June–1 July 2016); also organiser of two three-paper sessions at this conference
12 May 2016, organizer of Cardiff School of History, Archaeology and Religion's session at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo, MI, 51st year (12–15 May 2016), on ‘War, Diplomacy and Material Culture in the Middle Ages’. Speakers: Michael Fulton (Cardiff University), Valentina Grub (University of St Andrews), Michelle Hufschmid (University of Oxford)
1 April 2016,‘The True Gentleman? Correct behaviour towards women according to Christian and Muslim writers during the period of the crusades,’ at: the conference ‘Crusading masculinities’, 30th March – 1st April 2016 at the University of Zurich
Pwyllgorau ac adolygu
2016–17: Chair of the Board of Studies in History & Welsh History;
2012–15: Head of the History Department;
2011–13: Chair of the Board of Studies in History & Welsh History;
2011–14: Member of School Senior Management Team;
2011–12: Member of School Research Committee, Equality and Diversity Committee, Health and Safety Committee;
2010–11: Admissions tutor for Single Honours History;
2004: Postgraduate Tutor in History and Welsh History; Chair of the HISAR Undergraduate Quality Committee; [anti]Unfair Practices co-ordinator;
2002–3: Chair of the Board for Integrated Degrees within the School;
1999–2002: Examinations Secretary for History and Welsh History;
1995–98: Chair of the School Library Committee
External Committees
1999–2004: associate editor of Crusades, journal of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East
1999–2002:Treasurer of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East
Cyhoeddiadau
2022
- Nicholson, H. 2022. The Sultan at the hospital: a thirteenth-century tale of Saladin and the Hospitallers. In: Buck, A. D. and Smith, T. W. eds. Chronicle, Crusade, and the Latin East: Essays in Honour of Susan Edgington. Outremer: Studies in the Crusades and the Latin East Vol. 16. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 223-237.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2022. Sybil, Queen of Jerusalem 1186-1190. Rulers of the Latin East Vol. 5. London: Routledge.
- Nicholson, H. 2022. The trial of the Templars in Britain and Ireland. Presented at: Convegno internazionale di studi Perugia/Perugia International Study Conference, 14-15 November 2019 Presented at Baudin, A., Merli, S. and Santanicchia, M. eds.Gli Ordini di Terrasanta: Questioni aperte nuovi acquisitioni (secoli XII-XVI). Atti del Convegno internazionale di studi Perugia, 14-15 novembre 2019. Perugia: Fabrizio Fabbri Editore pp. 487-500.
2021
- Nicholson, H. 2021. The Templars and ‘Atlit. In: Fishhof, G., Bronstein, J. and Shotten-Hallel, V. R. eds. Settlement and Crusade in the Thirteenth Century: Multidisciplinary Studies of the Latin East. Crusades Subsidia Vol. 15. London: Routledge, pp. 71-90.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2021. The Knights Templar. Past Imperfect. Leeds: ARC Humanities Press.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2021. The trial of the Templars in Britain and Ireland. In: Burgtorf, J., Lotan, S. and Mallorquí-Ruscalleda, E. eds. The Templars: The Rise, Fall and Legacy of a Military Religious Order. The Military-Religious Orders: History, Sources, and Memory London: Routledge, pp. 209-233., (10.4324/9781003163510-13)
2020
- Nicholson, H. J. 2020. The hospitallers in medieval Britain. In: Sarnowsky, J. et al. eds. Studies on the Military Orders, Prussia, and Urban History: Essays in Honour of Roman Czaja on the Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday / Beiträge zur Ritterordens-, Preußen- und Städteforschung. Festschrift für Roman Czaja zum 60. Geburtstag. Debrecen: University of Debrecen, pp. 41-55.
- Nicholson, H. 2020. Queen Sybil of Jerusalem as a military leader. In: Burgtorf, J., Hoffart, C. and Kubon, S. eds. Von Hamburg nach Java. Studien zur mittelalterlichen, neuen und digitalen Geschichte zu Ehren von Jürgen Sarnowsky. Nova Mediaevalia: Quellen und Studien zum europaeischen Mittelalter Vol. 18. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, pp. 265-276.
- Nicholson, H. 2020. What the Hospitaller said to the bishop. In: Nicholson, H. and Burgtorf, J. eds. The Templars, the Hospitallers and the Crusades: Essays in Homage to Alan J. Forey. The Military Religious Orders: History, Sources, and Memory Vol. 2. London: Routledge, pp. 215-226.
- Nicholson, H. and Burgtorf, J. eds. 2020. The Templars, the hospitallers and the crusades: essays in homage to Alan J. Forey. The Military Religious Orders: History, Sources, and Memory Vol. 2. London: Routledge.
- Nicholson, H. 2020. Negotiation and conflict: the Templars’ and Hospitallers’ relations with diocesan bishops in Britain and Ireland. In: Smith, T. W. ed. Authority and Power in the Medieval Church, c. 1000–c. 1500. Europa Sacra Vol. 24. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 272-389.
2019
- Nicholson, H. 2019. The Military Orders. In: Jones, R. W. and Coss, P. eds. A Companion to Chivalry. Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, pp. 69-84.
- Nicholson, H. 2019. The surveys and accounts of the Templars’ estates in England and Wales (1308–13). In: Lippiatt, G. E. M. and Bird, J. L. eds. Crusading Europe: Essays in Honour of Christopher Tyerman. Outremer: Studies in the Crusades and the Latin East Vol. 8. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 181-209.
- Nicholson, H. 2019. Holy warriors, worldly war: Military religious orders and secular conflict’. In: France, J., DeVries, K. and Rogers, C. J. eds. Journal of Medieval Military History., Vol. 17., pp. 61-79.
- Nicholson, H. 2019. The true gentleman? Correct behaviour towards women according to Christian and Muslim writers: from the Third Crusade to Sultan Baybars. In: Hodgson, N. R., Lewis, K. J. and Mesley, M. M. eds. Crusading and Masculinities. Crusades Subsidia Vol. 13. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 100-112.
- Nicholson, H. 2019. Women's writing and cultural patronage. In: Bale, A. ed. The Cambridge companion to the literature of the Crusades. The Cambridge Companions to Literature Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 72-84., (10.1017/9781108672832.006)
- Nicholson, H. J. 2019. The construction of a primary source. The creation of Itinerarium Peregrinorum 1. Cahiers de recherches médiévales et humanistes / Journal of Medieval and Humanistic Studies 37, pp. 143-165., article number: 7. (10.15122/isbn.978-2-406-09701-3.p.0143)
2018
- Nicholson, H. 2018. Evidence of the Templars' Religious Practice from the Records of the Templars' Estates in Britain and Ireland in 1308. In: Shagrir, I., Kedar, B. Z. and Balard, M. eds. Communicating the Middle Ages: Essays in honour of Sophia Menache. Crusades - Subsidia Vol. 11. London: Routledge, pp. 50-63.
- Nicholson, H. 2018. Remembering the crusaders in Cyprus: the Lusignans, the Hospitallers and the 1191 conquest of Cyprus in Jean d’Arras’ Mélusine. In: Parsons, S. T. and Paterson, L. M. eds. Literature of the Crusades. Woodbridge, Suffolk: D. S. Brewer, pp. 158-172.
- Nicholson, H. 2018. Memory and the military orders: an overview. In: Fernandes, I. C. ed. Entre Deus e o Rei: O Mundo das Ordens Militares., Vol. 1. Palmela: Município de Palmela – GEsOS, pp. 17-28.
2017
- Nicholson, H. J. 2017. The everyday life of the Templars: The Knights Templar at home. Stroud: Fonthill.
- Nicholson, H. J. and Slavin, P. 2017. “The Real Da Vinci Code”: The accounts of Templars’ estates in England and Wales during the suppression of the Order. In: Borchardt, K. et al. eds. The Templars and their Sources. London: Routledge, pp. 237-247.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2017. Documents, editions and translations. In: Loughran, T. L. ed. A Practical Guide to Studying History: Skill and Approaches. London: Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 171-183.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2017. What became of the Templars after the trial of 1307-14?. In: Jordan, W. C. and Phillips, J. R. eds. The Capetian century, 1214–1314. Cultural Encounters in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages Vol. 22. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 323-347.
2016
- Nicholson, H. J. 2016. “La Damoisele del chastel”: women’s role in the defence and functioning of castles in medieval writing from the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries. In: Sinibaldi, M. et al. eds. Crusader Landscapes in the Medieval Levant. The Archaeology and History of the Latin East. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, pp. 387-401.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2016. St Ursula and the military religious orders. In: Cartwright, J. ed. The Cult of St Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, pp. 41-59.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2016. The Templars’ Estates in the west of Britain in the early fourteenth century. In: Schenk, J. and Carr, M. eds. The Military Orders, vol. 6. Culture and Conflict in Western and Northern Europe., Vol. 2. The Military Orders Vol. 6. London: Routledge, pp. 132-142.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2016. How secret were the Templars’ ceremonies? Evidence from the proceedings in the British Isles. In: Sammarco, S. ed. Commilitones Christi: Miscellanea di studi per il Centro Italiano di Documenttzione sull’Ordine del Tempio, MMXI–MMXVI. Rome: Lisanti, pp. 85-98.
2015
- Nicholson, H. J. 2015. A long way from Jerusalem: the Templars and Hospitallers in Ireland, c. 1172–c.1348. In: Browne, M. and Ó Clabaigh, C. eds. Soldiers of Christ: The Knights Hospitaller and The Knights Templar in Medieval Ireland. Dublin: Four Courts Press, pp. 1-22.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2015. “Nolite confidere in principibus”: The Military Orders’ relations with the rulers of Christendom. In: Josserand, P., Oliveira, L. F. and Carraz, D. eds. Élites et Orders Militaires au Moyen Age: Recontre Autour d’Alain Demurger. Madrid: Casa de Veláquez, pp. 261-276.
- Nicholson, H. 2015. Women's involvement in the Crusades. In: Boas, A. ed. The Crusader World. Routledge Worlds Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 54-67.
2014
- Nicholson, H. J. 2014. Re-translating William of Tyre: The origins of the templars and hospitallers according to London, British library additional manuscript 5444, fols 242v-248r. In: Edgington, S. B. and Nicholson, H. J. eds. Deeds Done Beyond the Sea: Essays on William of Tyre, Cyprus and the Military Orders presented to Peter Edbury. Crusades - Subsidia Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 53-68.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2014. 'Martyrum collegio sociandus haberet': Depictions of the Military Orders' Martyrs in the Holy Land, 1187-1291. In: John, S. and Morton, N. eds. Crusading and Warfare in the Middle Ages: Realities and Representations. Essays in Honour of John France. Crusades - Subsidia Burlington, VT: Ashgate, pp. 101-118.
- Edgington, S. B. and Nicholson, H. J. eds. 2014. Deeds done beyond the sea: essays on William of Tyre, Cyprus and the military orders presented to Peter Edbury. Crusades - Subsidia Vol. 6. Aldershot: Ashgate.
2013
- Nicholson, H. J. 2013. The Templars in Britain: Garway and South Wales. In: Baudin, A., Brunel, G. and Dohrmann, N. eds. L'économie templière en Occident: Patrimoines, commerce, finances - Actes du colloque international. Langres: Éditions Dominique Guéniot, pp. 323-336.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2013. The Knights Hospitaller. In: Burton, J. and Stober, K. eds. Monastic Wales: New Approaches. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, pp. 147-161.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2013. The hero meets his match: Cultural encounters in narratives of wars against Muslims. In: Jensen, K. V., Salonen, K. and Vogt, H. eds. Cultural Encounters during the Crusades: Proceedings of the First Medieval Conference at the Danish Institute in Damascus, 2009. University of Southern Denmark Studies in History and Social Sciences Vol. 445. Odense: University Press of Southern Denmark, pp. 115-118.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2013. The military religious orders in the towns of the British Isles. In: Carraz, D. ed. Les ordres militaires dans la ville méduévale (1100-1350). Presses Universitaires Blaise-Pascal, pp. 113-126.
2012
- Nicholson, H. J. 2012. The Hospitallers' and Templars' involvement in warfare on the frontiers of the British Isles in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. Ordines Militares: Colloquia Torunensia Historica: Yearbook for the study of the Military Orders 17, pp. 105-119.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2012. Love in a hot climate: Gender relations in 'Florent et Octavien'. In: Lambert, S. and Nicholson, H. J. eds. Languages of Love and Hate: Conflict, Communication and Identity in the Medieval Mediterreanean. International Medieval Research Vol. 15. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 21-36.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2012. The military orders in Wales and the Welsh March in the Middle Ages. In: Edbury, P. W. ed. The Military Orders Volume 5: Politics and Power. The Military Orders Vol. 5. Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 189-207.
- Nicholson, H. 2012. Charity and hospitality in military orders. In: As Ordens Militares : Freires, Guerreiros, Cavaleiros : Actas do VI Encontro sobre Ordens Militares : 10 a 14 de Março de 2010., Vol. 1. Palmela, Portugal: Município de Palmela, pp. 193-206.
2011
- Nicholson, H. J. 2011. Myths and reality: the Crusades and the Latin East as presented during the Trial of the Templars in the British Isles, 1308–1311. In: Nicholson, H. J. ed. On the Margins of Crusading: the Military Orders, the Papacy and the Christian World. Crusades - Subsidia Vol. 4. Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 89-99.
- Nicholson, H. J. ed. 2011. On the margins of crusading: the military orders, the Papacy and the Christian world. Crusades – Subsidia Vol. 4. Farnham: Ashgate.
- Nicholson, H. J. ed. 2011. The proceedings against the Templars in the British Isles - Volume 2: The Translation. Farnham: Ashgate.
- Nicholson, H. J. ed. 2011. The proceedings against the Templars in the British Isles - Volume 1: The Latin Edition. Farnham: Ashgate.
- Nicholson, H. J. ed. 2011. The Proceedings against the Templars in the British Isles. Volume 1: The Latin Edition, Volume 2: The Translation. Ashgate.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2011. Water in medieval warfare. In: Tvedt, T., Chapman, G. and Hagen, R. eds. Water, Geopolitics and the New World Order. A History of Water: Series 2 Vol. 3. London and New York: I. B. Tauris, pp. 138-155.
2010
- Nicholson, H., Crawford, P. F. and Burgtorf, J. eds. 2010. The debate on the Trial of the Templars (1307–1312). Farnham and Burlington, VT (USA): Ashgate.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2010. The trial of the Templars in Ireland. In: Nicholson, H. J., Crawford, P. F. and Burgtorf, J. eds. The Debate on the Trial of the Templars (1307–1314). Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 225-235.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2010. The changing face of the Templars: current trends in historiography. History Compass 8(7), pp. 653-667. (10.1111/j.1478-0542.2010.00691.x)
- Nicholson, H. J. 2010. At the Heart of Medieval London: the New Temple in the Middle Ages. In: Park, D. and Griffith-Jones, R. eds. The Temple Church in London: History, Architecture, Art. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, pp. 1-18.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2010. A brief history of the Knights Templar. London: Robinson.
2009
- Nicholson, H. J. 2009. The Knights Templar on trial: The trial of the Templars in the British Isles, 1308-1311. Stroud: The History Press.
2008
- Nicholson, H. J. 2008. The Hospitallers and the 'Peasants' Revolt' revisited. In: Mallia-Milanes, V. ed. The Military Orders Volume 3: History and Heritage. The Military Orders Vol. 3. Aldershot: Ashgate, pp. 225-233.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2008. The Hospitallers and the "Peasants' Revolt" of 1381 revisited. In: Mallia-Milanes, V. ed. The Military Orders. Volume 3, History and heritage. Aldershot: Ashgate, pp. 225-234.
2006
- Luttrell, A. and Nicholson, H. J. eds. 2006. Hospitaller women in the Middle Ages. Aldershot: Ashgate.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2006. “La roine preude femme et bonne dame”: Queen Sybil of Jerusalem (1186–1190) in History and Legend, 1186–1300. The Haskins Society Journal 15
2005
- Nicholson, H. J. and Burgtorf, J. eds. 2005. International mobility in the military orders: travelling on Christ's business. Religion and Culture in the Middle Ages. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
- Nicholson, H. J. ed. 2005. Palgrave advances in the crusades. Palgrave Advances. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2005. The Sisters’ House at Minwear, Pembrokeshire: analysis of the documentary and archaeological evidence. Archaeologia Cambrensis 151, pp. 109-138.
2004
- Nicholson, H. J. 2004. Echoes of the past and present crusades in Les Prophecies de Merlin. Romania 122(3-4), pp. 320-340.
2003
- Nicholson, H. J. 2003. Medieval warfare: theory and practice of war in Europe, 300-1500. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
2001
- Nicholson, H. J. 2001. The knights hospitaller. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2001. The Knights Templar: a new history. Stroud: Sutton Publishing.
2000
- Nicholson, H. J. 2000. Love, war and the Grail: Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic Knights in Medieval epic and romance, 1150-1500. Leiden: Brill.
- Nicholson, H. J. 2000. Following the Path of the Lionheart: the De ortu Walwanii and the Itinerarium peregrinorum et gesta regis Ricardi’. Medium Aevum 69(1), pp. 21-33.
1999
- Nicholson, H. J. 1999. Margaret de Lacy and the Hospital of St John at Aconbury, Herefordshire. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History 50(4), pp. 629-651.
1997
- Nicholson, H. J. 1997. Women on the Third Crusade. Journal of Medieval History 23(4), pp. 335-349. (10.1016/S0304-4181(97)00013-4)
- de Templo, R. and Stubbs, W. Nicholson, H. J. ed. 1997. The chronicle of the third crusade: the itinerarium peregrinorum et gesta regis Ricardi.Nicholson, H. J. Crusade Texts in Translation Vol. 3. Aldershot: Ashgate.
1993
- Nicholson, H. J. 1993. Templars, hospitallers and Teutonic knights: images of the military orders, 1128–1291. Project Report. Leicester: Leicester University Press.
Addysgu
I contribute to teaching the following Year One option module:
- Medieval Worlds - 20 credits (HS1112)
Each year I offer the following Part Two courses:
- Heresy and Dissent, 1000-1450 - 30 credits (HS1710)
- The Military Orders, 1100–1320 - 30 credits (HS1805)
I also participate in teaching:
I will also accept suitably qualified PhD students interested in the medieval Military Religious Orders, medieval women, the Crusades and medieval Religious Orders or related fields.
Teaching profile
Undergraduate
With my colleagues in medieval history, archaeology and religion, I contribute to:
- Medieval Worlds - 20 credits (HS1112)
Year two: I teach an option course, currently:
- Heresy and Dissent, 1000-1450 - 30 credits (HS1710)
and supervise students for:
- Exploring Historical Debate - 30 credits (HS1702)
Year three: I teach an option course:
- The Military Orders, 1100–1320 - 30 credits (HS1805)
and supervise students on:
- Dissertation - 30 credits (HS1801)
Postgraduate
I offer postgraduate modules on the history of the Crusades and of the Military Religious Orders and on religious belief and heresy in the Middle Ages.
I contribute to the MA in Medieval British Studies, offering the module:
- Belief and Disbelief in the Middle Ages (HST634)
I also contribute to the MA in Ancient and Medieval Warfare
Projects
The Trial of the Templars in Britain and Ireland
The proceedings of the trial of the Templars in the Britain and Ireland, 1308-1311, contain a wealth of information about national and international mobility of lay religious, religious beliefs among the lay population, and the activities of the mendicant orders in the British Isles in the early fourteenth century. Although some of the manuscripts had been edited in full, others had not; and some of the previous editions remain difficult to access. Scholars had not compared the various manuscripts to produce an overall picture of the trial.
The objective of this project was to make these extensive resources readily available to scholars and, by providing a translation, more accessible to the wider research community. In addition, by comparing these sources and analysing the data that they contain, the project aimed to advance historical knowledge of the internal workings of the Order of the Temple, and of ecclesiastical inquisitorial procedures.
My edition of the proceedings was published in 2011 in two volumes. Additional analysis has been published as a series of articles: see the link above.
Funded by a British Academy/Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship, this project had a value of £ 27,658.79.
The Knights Templars' estates in England and Wales, 1308-1311
The Templars' estates in England and Wales were inventoried at the time of the Templars' arrests early in January 1308. From that time until the dissolution of the Order in Britain in July 1311, the estates were administered by royal keepers. Full records were taken and are preserved in the National Archives (TNA). These records have hardly been studied by scholars. They offer a unique opportunity to study how a non-noble institution exploited its landed property and how it related with its local community, at a time when English landowners were just beginning to run their estates indirectly, employing skilled bailiffs, rather than directly.
This project aims to answer a number of questions, including:
- What property did the Templars in England and Wales hold in January 1308? Is it possible to establish (e.g. through the Inquisitiones post Mortem or the Hundred Rolls) what this property was worth in earlier years? Is it possible to discover what it was worth in future years (e.g. in 1324, 1338, or in later Inquisitiones post Mortem)?
- Whom did the Templars employ on their estates, on what terms?
- How was their property exploited/ developed between 1308-11, when the Order was dissolved in Britain?
- What did they produce (such as wool, beef, cider, fish, coal)?
- What were their relations with local communities?
- Did the form of the documents recording this information vary from one locality to the next? Were they audited?
The Hospitallers in Britain and Ireland in the Fourteenth Century and onwards
This project investigates the role of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland in the 14th century and onwards, and attitudes towards it. This builds on my previous research into attitudes towards the Military Religious Orders in the Middle Ages, and my current research into the Order of the Temple in the early fourteenth century. Much research is being done on the Hospital of St John in the fourteenth century, but the Order in the Britain and Ireland has been largely overlooked.
Questions include: how did the trial and destruction of the Order of the Temple in 1312 affect attitudes towards its sister order, the Hospital? How far did the Hospital replace the Temple in its various functions, from its role in royal administration to its roles in the local community? What was the state of the Templars' estates by the time that the Hospital was able to acquire them – how far had their economic value declined? How far did the Hospitallers continue the Templars' relations with their secular patrons, and with the Church?
Research blog
As my research on the Knights Templars' estates in England and Wales develops, I am developing a blog which explores my latest research findings. You can follow the blog here: http://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/knightstemplarsestates/author/shahjn/
Research group
The Cardiff Centre for the Study of the History of the Crusades
The Cardiff Centre for the Crusades was established in 2000 to encourage and develop Cardiff as a focus for research collaboration, conferences and publications in the field of crusading history. The Centre's interests embrace the history and ideology of the crusading movement, the history and archaeology of the lands conquered by the crusaders, the impact of the crusades on those lands and peoples against which expeditions were directed and from which expeditions were launched, and the history of the Military Orders. All theatres of crusading activity and any crusade from the end of the eleventh century onwards are included.
The Cardiff Centre for Medieval Studies
The Centre for the Study of Medieval Society and Culture is interdisciplinary in approach, bringing together medievalists from a variety of subject areas within the University who wish to co-operate in research and in teaching at graduate level. The Centre runs BA and MA courses in Medieval British Studies, organises seminars, conferences, and workshops, sponsors publications, recruits doctoral students, and brings scholars to the University from overseas. In addition, the Centre organises intellectual and social events for medievalists in the region, enhances resources, and generally promotes the interests of medieval studies at Cardiff University.
Supervision
I am interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:
- The Crusades
- The Military Religious Orders (Templars, Hospitallers, Teutonic Knights)
- Women in the Middle Ages
- Medieval Warfare
- Medieval fictional literature, especially Arthurian literature
- Medieval Religious Orders
Goruchwyliaeth gyfredol
Past projects
- Sole supervisor for Jennifer Halliday: ‘Oblation and Recruitment in the Medieval Period’ (MPhil, awarded 2010)
- Sole supervisor for James Jenkins: ‘King John and the Cistercians in Wales’ (PhD, awarded 2012)
- Second supervisor (10%) for Hannah Buckingham: ‘Identity and Archaeology in Everyday Life: the Material Culture of the Crusader States’ (first supervisor Professor Denys Pringle) (PhD, awarded 2016)
- First supervisor (80%) for Christie Majoros, ‘The Function of Hospitaller Houses in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales’ (PhD, awarded 2017)