Pope or Antipope?: Schism and the Medieval Papacy

About the speaker:

Professor Rebecca Rist is a professor of medieval history at the University of Reading (UK). Her research and teaching interests focus on the papacy, the crusades, Jewish-Christian relations, and heresy and dissent. More widely she is interested in the medieval Church, religious belief and political ideas in the High and Late Middle Ages (eleventh-fifteenth centuries). She is also increasingly expanding her interest in religious and political history into the Early Modern period (sixteenth century).

Rebecca's first monograph The Papacy and Crusading in Europe, 1198-1245 (Continuum, 2009) examined the papacy's authorisation of crusades against heretics and political enemies in Europe during the first half of the thirteenth century. Her co-edited book The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade: A Sourcebook, ed. C. Leglu, R. Rist and C. Taylor (Routledge, 2014) brought together a rich and diverse range of medieval sources to examine key aspects of the growth of heresy and dissent in southern France in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Her book Popes and Jews, 1095-1291 (Oxford University Press, 2016) examined the papacy's relationship to Jewish communities in western Europe in the High Middle Ages. Recent articles by Rebecca in journals and edited collections have explored aspects of papal policy regarding crusading and the papacy's treatment of heretics and Jews in the High Middle Ages.

Rebecca is currently working on a monograph on the medieval papacy and heresy for Oxford University Press, and a book for Routledge on the theme of medieval and early modern Catholic piety and devotional lay sensibilities. She also enjoys media and outreach work and often provides expert commentary for radio, TV and the press on religious history, particularly the history of the Catholic Church. She is the current Director of the Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Reading.