Hannah MacKenzie
- Email: hyhlm@leeds.ac.uk
- Thesis title: 'Desperate with hunger': Food, Eating, and Cannibalism in Narratives of the First Crusade
- Supervisors: Dr Iona McCleery, Dr Catherine Batt
Profile
I completed both my BA in History (Hons, First Class) and my MA in Medieval Studies (Distinction) at the University of Lincoln. The School of History and Heritage MA Bursary funded my MA and enabled me to pursue my interests in eleventh- and twelfth-century perceptions of ‘otherness’ and identity.
My PhD research at the University of Leeds is funded by the AHRC through the White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities (WRoCAH).
Research interests
I am a social and cultural historian, focussing on the concepts of identity and ‘otherness’ in eleventh- to thirteenth-century western Europe. My current research project examines episodes of cannibalism in range of eleventh- to thirteenth-century crusade narratives that include chronciles, chansons de geste, and histories. I aim to situate depictions of crusader cannibalism within the thematic context of ‘hunger’, shedding new light on how prevailing discourses surrounding eating and vocabularies of consumption informed the form and function of man-eating in First Crusade literature.
Awards and recognition
White Rose College of Arts and Humanities Doctoral Studentship
2019.
To cover fees and maintenance during PhD.
Lincoln Record Society Prize
University of Lincoln | 2017.
Awarded for the best dissertation in MA Medieval Studies at the University of Lincoln.
The School of History and Heritage MA Bursary
University of Lincoln | 2016.
Awarded to cover the fees of my MA.
The School Prize for Academic Achievement in History
University of Lincoln | 2016.
Conferred for the best undergraduate dissertation in the School of History at the University of Lincoln.
Student Vote of Thanks Speech
Lincoln Cathedral | 2016.
I gave the Student Vote of Thanks speech on behalf of my fellow graduates at my graduation ceremony in 2016.
Conferencing and events
- ‘“Unspeakable banquets”: Cannibalism and performative eating in narrative accounts of the First Crusade’ | The Great Medieval Feast Symposium, Univeristy of Birmingham | September 2022
- ‘Eating People is Wrong? Heroes and Cannibals on the First Crusade’ | Leeds Central Library | July 2022
- ‘Cannibalism as Spectacle in the Chanson d’Antioche’ | International Medieval Congress, Leeds | July 2022
- Organiser and Moderator for a series sponsored by the Northern Network for the Study of Crusades | International Medieval Congress, Leeds | July 2022
- Chair of Symposium Committee | ‘Writing Medieval History’ Symposium | May 2017
Qualifications
PhD
University of Leeds, Institute for Medieval Studies (2019–)
Title: ‘Desperate with hunger’: Food, Eating, and Cannibalism in Narratives of the First Crusade.
Supervisors: Dr Iona McCleery, Dr Catherine Batt.
MA Medieval Studies
University of Lincoln (2016–2017) | Distinction.
Dissertation: Sacred History and the Construction of ‘Frankish’ Identity in Guibert de Nogent’s Dei gesta per Francos.
Supervisor: Dr Antonella Liuzzo Scorpo.
BA History (Hons)
University of Lincoln (2013–2016) | First Class.
Dissertation: ‘Otherness’ and Identity in Guibert of Nogent’s Monodies.
Supervisor: Dr Michele Vescovi.