Staff profile

Academic Background

I completed a BA degree in History and French from Catawba College in North Carolina, United States, where I received Honors and Magna Cum Laude graduation distinctions. As part of my Honors distinction, I conducted original research work which culminated into my Honors Thesis, entitled A Toutes les Gloires de la France: An Analysis of the Spatial Iconography the French Monarchy Portrayed in Renaissance France. In the fall of 2019, I completed my MA in Early Modern History from King’s College London. While at KCL, I conducted research on my dissertation, entitled Notre Treschreftien Roy: The Early Catholic Polemical Response during the French Wars of Religion.

I am currently in a co-tutelle arrangement with Durham University and Erfurt University in Germany, where my current research project is titled Le roy est entre dans notre ville: Examining how the Valois Monarchy Interacted with the Centre and Periphery, 1560-1574.

Project Overview

This project aims to investigate how monarchical power interacted with the civic and religious authority of urban spaces in the centre and periphery of sixteenth century France. During the French Wars of Religion, France experienced widespread violence and destruction. The introduction of Protestantism allowed new ideas and philosophies to emerge that challenged the traditional Catholic doctrine. During these changes, monarchical influence across France rapidly diminished. In an attempt to increase royal authority, and to enforce the Edict of Amboise, which ended the first religious war, the Catholic Charles IX embarked on a Royal Tour of France from 1564-1566. But the city councils of the cities visited by the royal court had their own agenda on how they wanted their urban space to be presented. Some of the peripheral cities had grown their own unique civic identity and sought to portray this independence from the crown. But if the peripheral cities wanted the monarchy to recognise their own civic identity, did the centre cities also follow suit, or deviate and allowed the monarchy to increase their control in the centre urban spaces? By examining different entries for cities on the periphery (Lyon and Angouleme) and the centre (Loire Valley towns of Tours, Blois, Amboise), a clearer picture can emerge of how religious differences and power negotiations manifested in urban spaces.

As Charles IX crossed France, the attempt to enforce monarchical power encountered city council resistance, which manifested into power negotiations during royal entries. Lyon and Angouleme had significant Protestant influence, and could have attempted to showcase to the monarchy how religious toleration could be achieved. Whereas the Loire Valley was the heart of monarchical control and its towns have tried to demonstrate their support of the crown during the religious wars. Using a frontstage-backstage approach of these royal entries by utilizing festival books, financial records, correspondences, and city council minutes, this project explores how monarchial, civic, and religious powers fought for superiority across various urban spaces during religious warfare.

Publications and Conferences

Southern Regional Honors Council, Asheville, North Carolina (March 2017): Revolution and War: The Rise of a Nation.

Alpha Chi Annual Conference, Louisville, Kentucky (April 2017): Revolution and War: The Rise of a Nation.

Eighteenth Annual Undergraduate Honors Symposium, Greensboro, North Carolina (March 2018): A Toutes les Gloires de la France: An Analysis of the Spatial Iconography the French Monarchy Portrayed in Rensaissance France.

Southern Regional Honors Council, Arlington, Virginia (April 2018): A Toutes les Gloires de la France: An Analysis of the Spatial Iconography the French Monarchy Portrayed in Renaissance France.

Durham-Munster Workshop, Online (November 2020): Examining how the Valois Monarchy Reacted to the Centre and Periphery, 1547-1589.

Reformation Studies Colloquium, Birmingham, United Kingdom (September 2021): Showcasing Religious Toleration on the Urban Stage: The French Monarchy and the City Council during the French Wars of Religion.

• Early Modern France, 1515-1715
• French Renaissance Culture and Society
• French Wars of Religion
• Valois Monarchy Ceremonies and Rituals
• Visual and Material Culture
• Spatial History