An aerial view of Singleton Campus and the bay opposite
Matthew Frank Stevens

Dr Matthew Stevens

Associate Professor, History

Telephone number

+44 (0) 1792 295094
Office - 102
First Floor
James Callaghan
Singleton Campus
Available For Postgraduate Supervision

About

I explore the nature of everyday life – social, legal and economic– for ordinary persons in the Middle Ages. In addition to traditional legal and economic history regarding English common Law and medieval commerce, I am especially interested in the experiences of historically disadvantaged groups. For example, my research has considered the influence of the legal custom of coverture (a husband’s control of his wife’s assets) on medieval women’s lives. I also study colonization and ethnic (‘racial’) discrimination in the Middle Ages, with particular expertise on the English colonization of medieval Wales.  Most recently, I am engaged in a comparative analysis of the medieval Anglo-Norman/English colonization of Wales and Ireland, and the Germanic colonization of Prussia (modern north Poland) and Livonia (modern Latvia and Estonia).

Areas Of Expertise

  • Medieval economic history
  • Medieval legal history (English common law)
  • Medieval Welsh history
  • Medieval urban history
  • Medieval colonization
  • Women in the medieval economy and law
  • Ethnicity (‘race’) and discrimination in the Middle Ages

Career Highlights

Award Highlights
  • Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (elected, 2012).
  • Runner-up, Donald W. Sutherland Prize, American Society for Legal History, best article in English legal history (2010).
  • Economic History Society, Eileen Power Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Faculty of Modern History, Oxford University (2005–06).
  • Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Memorial Prize, best University of Wales thesis submitted for a PhD in History or Welsh History (2005).
Collaborations