THE NORTHERN WAY: THE ARCHBISHOPS OF YORK AND THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, 1304-1405
Lead Research Organisation:
University of York
Department Name: History
Abstract
The 14th century was a formative period in the development of both the North of England, and the kingdom of England, as political-cultural entities. It culminated in the execution of Richard Scrope, archbishop of York, for treason, following his participation in the northern rebellion against Henry IV in 1405. These events and their aftermath would condition 'northerness' and royal government of the north for centuries to come, through the Reformation and beyond. The Northern Way begins from the proposition that we cannot understand these events with understanding the role of the archbishops of York as northern leaders in the century before 1405.
As a result of the Scottish Wars of Independence from 1296, the English state adopted new mechanisms for governing the lands north of the Trent. The Church provided active leadership in the war through the mobilization of material support, military leadership, and promotion of the cults of the northern saints. Much of this promotion centred on the personalities of the archbishops of York who in addition to their political leadership were extensively engaged in pastoral reform and memorialised in new chronicles and in a greatly enlarged and newly glazed York Minster. Ultimately the representation of the archbishops as northern leaders reached a crisis in the rebellion and execution for treason of Archbishop Richard Scrope in 1405. Yet the deeper historical reasons for the extraordinary political events of 1405 are still not understood and of the eight archbishops of this period only one, Arundel (1388-1396), is the subject of a modern detailed study (Aston, 1967).
One reason for the neglect of the archbishops of York in the development of a regional polity is the divide between different branches of historical inquiry which in this period have tended to treat political and ecclesiastical history, central and regional history, as separate entities. Another is the inaccessibility of the key primary sources, which are mainly held in the Borthwick Institute for Archives and The National Archives, but also include small collections of records in other northern record offices. This project will complete a publicly-available comprehensive searchable online index of all relevant primary sources for the political activity of the archbishops from both diocesan and national archives. It will undertake a thorough quantitative and qualitative analysis of their contents with a particular focus on prosopography and network analysis of both clergy and laity engaged by the archbishops in governing the north and representing the north in Westminster. Finally it will undertake a comparative analysis of the discourse and agendas present in the representation of the archbishops through their official correspondence and public memorialisation both in the north and in central institutions of government. Was their agenda a 'northern' agenda and does this emerge as a longer term context explaining the state crisis in 1405? Our work will be of interest to historians, political scientists and to all those interested in northern identity, past and present.
We will provide a comprehensive means of accessing the principal records generated by the archbishops of York in their capacity as diocesans, metropolitans and royal ministers, and of understanding their political nature and implications. We will create a public, free and accessible online index to the contents of all the manuscript materials. Through an extensive programme of external activities including public lectures, conferences and workshops with local history groups, scholars, students and record keepers. We will create accessible case studies and videocasts that will be freely available online and we will actively support and encourage further use of the materials. We will publish our findings and the results of the workshops through a monograph, an edition of selected materials, and essays and articles in both books and journals.
As a result of the Scottish Wars of Independence from 1296, the English state adopted new mechanisms for governing the lands north of the Trent. The Church provided active leadership in the war through the mobilization of material support, military leadership, and promotion of the cults of the northern saints. Much of this promotion centred on the personalities of the archbishops of York who in addition to their political leadership were extensively engaged in pastoral reform and memorialised in new chronicles and in a greatly enlarged and newly glazed York Minster. Ultimately the representation of the archbishops as northern leaders reached a crisis in the rebellion and execution for treason of Archbishop Richard Scrope in 1405. Yet the deeper historical reasons for the extraordinary political events of 1405 are still not understood and of the eight archbishops of this period only one, Arundel (1388-1396), is the subject of a modern detailed study (Aston, 1967).
One reason for the neglect of the archbishops of York in the development of a regional polity is the divide between different branches of historical inquiry which in this period have tended to treat political and ecclesiastical history, central and regional history, as separate entities. Another is the inaccessibility of the key primary sources, which are mainly held in the Borthwick Institute for Archives and The National Archives, but also include small collections of records in other northern record offices. This project will complete a publicly-available comprehensive searchable online index of all relevant primary sources for the political activity of the archbishops from both diocesan and national archives. It will undertake a thorough quantitative and qualitative analysis of their contents with a particular focus on prosopography and network analysis of both clergy and laity engaged by the archbishops in governing the north and representing the north in Westminster. Finally it will undertake a comparative analysis of the discourse and agendas present in the representation of the archbishops through their official correspondence and public memorialisation both in the north and in central institutions of government. Was their agenda a 'northern' agenda and does this emerge as a longer term context explaining the state crisis in 1405? Our work will be of interest to historians, political scientists and to all those interested in northern identity, past and present.
We will provide a comprehensive means of accessing the principal records generated by the archbishops of York in their capacity as diocesans, metropolitans and royal ministers, and of understanding their political nature and implications. We will create a public, free and accessible online index to the contents of all the manuscript materials. Through an extensive programme of external activities including public lectures, conferences and workshops with local history groups, scholars, students and record keepers. We will create accessible case studies and videocasts that will be freely available online and we will actively support and encourage further use of the materials. We will publish our findings and the results of the workshops through a monograph, an edition of selected materials, and essays and articles in both books and journals.
Planned Impact
There are two significant groups to whom the impact strategy for this project are targeted:
1. COMMUNITY, LOCAL AND FAMILY HISTORIANS IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND. We seek to inform and contextualise contemporary public opinion about the historical identity of the North of England. Experience by the PI, CI and PO in working with local and family historians in other projects has revealed a significant deficit in the expectations, knowledge base and confidence levels of people working on medieval historical topics outside the support frameworks provided by academic institutions and public archives. The issue is particularly acute in relation to the use of medieval written records, where users have to come to terms with different languages (Latin etc) and handwriting, and need to have IT proficiency in accessing online resources and/or the means and opportunity to attend the archives. Among the many hundreds of societies that cater for community, local and family historians, we will works with BALHS, York Minster and TNA to identify a target group that have their own regular pro-active research projects and their own publications series. We will work intensively with four to six such societies (including civic and church groups) spread across the North of England to establish best practice in effective academic communication and support between universities and committed amateur historians wishing to focus on medieval topics. This group will benefit from the activity set out in Pathways to Impact, which will use the unique resource, York Archbishops' Registers Revealed (https://archbishopsregisters.york.ac.uk), as the basis for a carefully planned series of workshops designed first to develop general historical literary and confidence in the use of digital resources, and then to create purposeful training opportunities such as to allow community historians to present their work, alongside academic experts, at the project's York conference in 2021.
2. RECORD KEEPERS, PRESENT AND FUTURE. An important interest group comprises those who are charged with the custody and maintenance of medieval records of ecclesiastical government in diocesan and cathedral archives (sometimes located within university collections) and public record offices. The software developed for the York Archbishops' Registers Revealed project was specifically designed in order that it would be applicable to all episcopal registers of the late medieval and early modern periods (i.e. from the point at which the tradition of registration began in England in the thirteenth century to the temporary abolition of episcopacy under the Commonwealth in 1646). Discussions with the staff of Lambeth Palace Library (who hold the parallel series of registers for the archbishops of Canterbury) and of other repositories of episcopal registers have revealed significant interest in using the software to ensure the digital preservation of, and to transform access to, these unique records. In order to make this possible, however, there is a significant need for professional development at two levels: with the existing staff of the relevant repositories, who in a number of cases lack the knowledge base to allow pro-active leadership of such initiatives; and among current research students working in the UK on medieval ecclesiastical topics, who provide the obvious recruitment base for the research assistantships, editorial assistantships and professional archivists who can staff and lead such initiatives either independently or in collaboration with universities. These groups will benefit from the activity set out in Pathways to Impact by engaging archive professionals in an effective and lasting network designed to promote the digitisation and indexing of registers in their custody, and through the enhanced capabilities built up among current PhD students through carefully tailored training opportunities, again to be showcased at the project's York conference in 2021.
1. COMMUNITY, LOCAL AND FAMILY HISTORIANS IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND. We seek to inform and contextualise contemporary public opinion about the historical identity of the North of England. Experience by the PI, CI and PO in working with local and family historians in other projects has revealed a significant deficit in the expectations, knowledge base and confidence levels of people working on medieval historical topics outside the support frameworks provided by academic institutions and public archives. The issue is particularly acute in relation to the use of medieval written records, where users have to come to terms with different languages (Latin etc) and handwriting, and need to have IT proficiency in accessing online resources and/or the means and opportunity to attend the archives. Among the many hundreds of societies that cater for community, local and family historians, we will works with BALHS, York Minster and TNA to identify a target group that have their own regular pro-active research projects and their own publications series. We will work intensively with four to six such societies (including civic and church groups) spread across the North of England to establish best practice in effective academic communication and support between universities and committed amateur historians wishing to focus on medieval topics. This group will benefit from the activity set out in Pathways to Impact, which will use the unique resource, York Archbishops' Registers Revealed (https://archbishopsregisters.york.ac.uk), as the basis for a carefully planned series of workshops designed first to develop general historical literary and confidence in the use of digital resources, and then to create purposeful training opportunities such as to allow community historians to present their work, alongside academic experts, at the project's York conference in 2021.
2. RECORD KEEPERS, PRESENT AND FUTURE. An important interest group comprises those who are charged with the custody and maintenance of medieval records of ecclesiastical government in diocesan and cathedral archives (sometimes located within university collections) and public record offices. The software developed for the York Archbishops' Registers Revealed project was specifically designed in order that it would be applicable to all episcopal registers of the late medieval and early modern periods (i.e. from the point at which the tradition of registration began in England in the thirteenth century to the temporary abolition of episcopacy under the Commonwealth in 1646). Discussions with the staff of Lambeth Palace Library (who hold the parallel series of registers for the archbishops of Canterbury) and of other repositories of episcopal registers have revealed significant interest in using the software to ensure the digital preservation of, and to transform access to, these unique records. In order to make this possible, however, there is a significant need for professional development at two levels: with the existing staff of the relevant repositories, who in a number of cases lack the knowledge base to allow pro-active leadership of such initiatives; and among current research students working in the UK on medieval ecclesiastical topics, who provide the obvious recruitment base for the research assistantships, editorial assistantships and professional archivists who can staff and lead such initiatives either independently or in collaboration with universities. These groups will benefit from the activity set out in Pathways to Impact by engaging archive professionals in an effective and lasting network designed to promote the digitisation and indexing of registers in their custody, and through the enhanced capabilities built up among current PhD students through carefully tailored training opportunities, again to be showcased at the project's York conference in 2021.
Publications
Mackman J
(2022)
Fourteenth Century England XII
Mackman J
(2023)
Fourteenth Century England XII
Mackman J
(2020)
Monarchy, State and Political Culture in late medieval England
Watt, E. H.
(2020)
Monarchy, State and Political Culture in Late Medieval England
| Title | Consultancy with Breach Theatre over the creation of a new stage play |
| Description | Advised the theatre company Breach Theatre who wrote and performed a new play on 'Joan of Leeds' (a story recorded in the archbishops registers of York in 1318). The play (a muscial burlesque) ran for three weeks at the New Diorama Theatre, London in December 2019, with a total audience of 999. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The archival entry itself was set to music and performed in the play which explored the politics of celibacy and marriage among women in the 14th and 20th centuries using humour and music. Reached a diverse audience who would not typically engage with archives or medieval history. Changed the understanding of the performers, and potentially the audience, of the nature of women's lives in the middle ages. |
| URL | https://www.newdiorama.com/whats-on/joan-of-leeds |
| Description | Key Findings. Report March 2022 The funded part of the project 'The Northern Way: the Archbishops of York and the North of England, 1304-1405' has now finished. Our project has now completed the creation of the online digital indices in modern English for medieval archives that were promised in the original grant and are its major promised research output. This means that the administrative records of the northern province, subject to the archbishops of York, for the period 1304-1405 have now been brought together virtually in the same place for the first time. The collection amounts in total to just under 70,000 indexed records, making this one of the largest underexploited archives surviving from medieval England. The creation of indices in English has opened up the archive to new users globally and at many different stages in their careers including journalists and creative writers, independent readers, students and established scholars (see Narrative Impact). We have also continued to explore the fuller research potential of the archives. The records shed significant new light on the nature of the English state and its relationship with the church at a critical period of significant change. The records also illuminate demographic, social and economic history at the time of the second pandemic (the Black Death) providing new information about the onset and impact of that global experience. Finally the records provide new insight into cultural history such as the nature of faith, the practice of religion and engagements with the natural and built environment. 1. Progress with Online Resources. 1.1 Archives from Borthwick Institute for Archives, York Minster Library, Carlisle, Durham and British Library (London). The first element of this work is to index records from the surviving registers of the Archbishops of York. The majority of these are held at the Borthwick Institute for Archives in York, but some materials are held in York Minster Library and in the British Library. In addition some provincial administrative materials are included among the diocesan archives of Carlisle and Durham. Paul Dryburgh (co-I), Helen Watt (RF), Jonathan Mackman (RA), Marianne Wilson RA (to Oct 21), Shelagh Sneddon (p/t RA from 1/10/20 for 12 months) have created a dataset from records from the archbishops' registers held in the Borthwick Institute for Archives (York), York Minster Library and the British Library and have now indexed all the material to be covered. Indexing of materials from York Minster Library was completed initially from high quality digital images created for the project and later checked on site. Records in the BL were indexed from micro-film held in the Borthwick. This solved the problem of lack of access to those collections due to Covid. Progress with indexing this year thus represents a huge achievement by the team. We did not, in the end, index materials relating to provincial administration held in the diocesan archives at Carlisle and Durham. The impact of Covid both substantially limited access to those collections, and resulted in us adopting more laborious methods in indexing other materials. We therefore decided not to tackle the Carlisle archives which have not been digitised. In addition the relatively recent digitisation of many of the relevant archives in Durham suggested that the task there was much larger than originally envisaged in the initial bid. In short, we think that these two archives would be better indexed at a diocesan level, systematically, rather than trying to pick out those records relating solely to provincial administration. At the time of writing (March 2022) all the materials from the York registers held in the Borthwick Institute for Archives have been uploaded to the public website. The indices of records from the BL and YMA will take a little longer to upload because of the need to accommodate a large number of new images that were not anticipated in the original bid, and the need for some modifications to the website, but these should be completed by the end of 2022. 1.2 The National Archives The second element of our project was indexing in English unpublished materials from The National Archives relating to the administrative activities of the Archbishops of York, 1304-1405. Jonathan Mackman (RA) has now completed this work as planned in the original grant application. He has produced indices to c. 7000 records. The records indexed come from the 30 different series of records in the Chancery, Exchequer, Duchy of Lancaster, Court of Wards and Special Collections' collections of The National Archives. Work on uploading these completed indices to the public website is now complete. 2. Discoveries and Published Outputs. 2.1 Publications So far we have published two book chapters and two more are in press. The project team has also published a number of notices in specialist newsletters and blog posts online. These publications explain the scope and ambition of the whole project. They also start to explore the role of the clergy in national governance and politics. One published chapter has a focus on activities relating to their role in the collection of taxes. A second in press reinterprets a well-known source for the arrival of Edward II and Piers Gaveston in York in January 1312, using the range of the project's research to examine the career of the member of the Minster clergy to whom that letter is now known to have been sent. This will be published as Jonathan Mackman & Paul Dryburgh, '"Vos maisons sount pris al eops le counte": Walter Bedwyn, Treasurer of York, and the Return of Piers Gaveston', Fourteenth Century England XII, ed. J.S. Bothwell & J.S. Hamilton (Woodbridge, June 2022), pp. 47-64. A third publication in press establishes an overall framework for the interpretation of archiepiscopal authority in the north, starting from the cultural representation of that authority visually, with a particular focus on BL Harley MS 1808 (Rees Jones. Logrono, forthcoming, 2022). Finally a number of less formal publications (blog posts and newsletters) focus on Joan of Leeds, an apostate nun, who ran away from her convent in 1318. It was always intended that the major publications would postdate the end of the funded project since the sources have to be indexed before they can be analysed. We have made substantial progress with the first publication; a collection of essays demonstrating the extent and value of the archbishops' administrative archives that in part arises out of our final conference in September 2021. This essay collection will be edited by Sarah Rees Jones and Paul Dryburgh and published by Boydell and Brewer under the working title Church and Society in the medieval North; the Administrative Archives of the Archbishops of York, 1304-1405. The essays within the volume are contributed by a variety of early career and more established scholars. An introduction on the nature and extent of the sources is a fundamental reappraisal of the materials that will substantively change our understanding of the nature, purpose and extent of the archive through a focus on the demand for administrative services and the institutions and personnel engaged in their creation. A second section includes a number of thematic essays relating to governance, society and faith in the fourteenth century, demonstrating the very wide range of applied interest in the materials. The second major publication will be a collection of previously unpublished materials from The National Archives with a scholarly introduction. It is intended this volume will be a sourcebook to guide dissertation students, postgraduates and an interested public through the records of central government that relate to the northern Church. The major work for this volume has also been completed and a publisher is being sought. Finally the original grant promised one monograph to follow some time after the funded project addressing themes of government and society in the northern province in the period 1304-1405. This will now be tackled as two monographs: one addressing the original research questions throat a focus on the social history of the northern province in the century before Scrope's rebellion in 1405 by Sarah Rees Jones (PI) and one focussed in depth on the career and influence of William Melton, archbishop of York from 1317-1340 by Paul Dryburgh (Co-I). 2.2 Other Research Activity This year we held our final conference in September 2021 online. Engagement with the conference included participants from North America and Europe as well as the UK. Over the project as a whole our movement of events online, due to Covid, has substantially increased engagement with the project both in the volume and range of participants, to the great enrichment of our research. Over 100 delegates attended the conference over two days. Such international contributors include Professor Michael Burger (Auburn University, Montgomery, USA), Professor Monica Green (emerita, USA) and Professor Maryanne Kowaleski (Fordham, New York, USA). We are also very pleased to have engaged a number of much younger scholars at the start of their careers in developing work using the archiepiscopal registers. These include Amy Hopkins and Kristy Stapley (MA students in York) and Kirstin Bernard, Jenny McHugh and Samuel Lane (PHD candidates in York, Lancaster and Oxford). We also nurtured papers from local historians using these sources for the first time and they are aiming at publications in local history journals. |
| Exploitation Route | A core element of project is the creation of a database that is available free online for public use by scholars, students and the general public. https://archbishopsregisters.york.ac.uk |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/history/research/northern-way/ |
| Description | Our project has fulfilled its goals of creating indices in English to the administrative archives of the archbishops of York for the period 1304-1405 from a large body of materials in various regional archives and The National Archives (see Key Findings for details). A core intention was to make these hard-to-access archives accessible to a much wider audience. Over the course of our project the number of users of these resources has grown to 17,608 (up 78%) of whom 16,904 (up 84%) are external and spread around the globe. Even more pleasing is that the number of repeat visits is up substantially, suggesting that the public engagement activities and learning materials we have created are effective in supporting deeper understanding and use of the materials. Over the lifetime of the project the number of external sessions increased by 178.4% to 39,757. This compares to a total increase in external sessions of 55% one year ago suggesting a particularly marked increase in the last year of the project as more materials have been uploaded. *** In the third and final year of the project we concentrated on completing the two Pathways to Impact identified in the grant application with two groups of beneficiaries: local history societies and future professionals. Full details and links for all the activities summarised below are provided in the separate list of public engagements. Through a wide range of online and in-person activities we have generated substantial global interest in these previously little known and hard to access resources. The resources are, as a result, now being accessed and used for the teaching of the national History curriculum in schools, in the work of community history societies, by family and local historians, by junior and senior scholars and by writers for radio, tv and theatre productions internationally. We have therefore increased public interest in and understanding of the medieval past through a variety of both factual and fictionalised public performances and publications, while increasing access to one of England's largest medieval archives. *** At the beginning of the project we launched with a press release using a story, taken from the register of Archbishop William Melton from 1318, of Joan of Leeds, a nun who faked her own death and ran away to live a life of 'carnal lust' in Beverley. This story seized the global public imagination. Starting with reports in the Church Times and the Guardian, press coverage was soon global, resulting in over 60 tracked print media publications and over a dozen live radio interviews and recorded podcasts including national broadcasters in the UK, Canada and Australia. The young theatre company 'Breach Theatre' encountered the story and, backed by Arts Council England, and supported by our consultancy, turned it into a Christmas Burlesque that ran for three weeks in December 2019 at the New Diorama Theatre in London, reaching just under 1000 people through live performance. This story continues to capture the public imagination. In 2019 an anonymous writer created a Wikipedia page for Joan of Leeds which continues to be updated, and we continue to receive requests for information from writers and broadcasters in various media. In particular we contributed to the making of a popular TV documentary about Joan of Leeds, as an episode of Tony Robinson's History of Britain on Channel 5, which was filmed in Autumn 2020 and broadcast in March 2022. In 2021 Paul Dryburgh and Helen Watt were interviewed about Joan for two podcasts: the Pseudocide podcast "Bad Habits" and one for the Washington Post on Fake IDs. Sarah Rees Jones also worked with Helen Snelson (Historical Association and educational professional) to create new teaching resources for KS3 of the National History curriculum published by Oxford University Press. These focus on medieval women, including Joan of Leeds. Another teacher, Anna Hughes, has been using this story, and others from our online resources, to teach sixth-form students, while a third has been using our online resources in the teaching of Latin. Helen Watt (RF) has published two pieces on Joan of Leeds in the newsletters of the Association for Manuscripts and Archives and of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, Medieval Section in 2021. In the first year of our project we also ran a series of public lectures, and created YouTube videocasts focussing on the political activities of Willam Melton (archbishop of York, 1317-40) and the leadership he provided at the Battle of Myton 700 years earlier. Through this activity we attracted the interest of researchers for SKY TV HISTORY CHANNEL who approached us about making an episode of 'River Hunters' about the battle of Myton in 1319 for which we had unique records. We assisted with both the research and the filming of this episode and it was broadcast in 2021. *** We have produced a large number of blogs that are hosted both on our own website and elsewhere. Two new blog posts are included in the 'Research Exchange' series on The National Archives' main blog. These interview-style posts reveal the processes behind research and explore stories from TNA that are not yet available on their project website. TNA's blog has a worldwide audience and the posts served as a successful marketing tool for recruiting participants for the workshops described below. Further posts illustrating the range and interest of the archives were, written by a number of student interns as well as members of the project team, were published here and on the project website hosted by the University of York. In September 2021, our Project Officer wrote a post for the Archives and Records Association (UK and Ireland) Learning and Education Section blog (ARA Learning), aimed at archivists and allied professionals. This post highlighted the aims and objectives of the project and the development of the new website. We have also delivered ten public lectures (in person and online), two training workshops (one online), organised sessions at the two major international conferences in Medieval Studies (Kalamazoo, USA, and Leeds, UK) in 2019 and 2021 and held our end of project conference (online in September 2021). These events were aimed at disseminating news of the project to independent scholars and local historians, graduate students and senior scholars through which we recruited participants for more focused research. We also attracted participants from across Europe and North America. After March 2020 all events were held online. The reach of these online workshops was much greater than traditional face-to-face events. One public lecture 'Hidden in Plain Sight: the unexplored histories of the Medieval North at the time of the Black Death', attracted over 1100 international registrations and over 1,200 have since watched the recorded lecture online. Other public lectures and the second online workshop attracted audiences of over 100 and allowed us to showcase our latest research to both graduate medievalists and an informed public. *** Over the duration of the project we used these events to progressively attract interest in the project, recruit student and other participants and to nurture new users towards delivering papers in our conference. Apart from the project team all participants in our final conference as well as all those contributing to our two sessions at Leeds International Medieval Congress were recruited in this way and we are proud to have supported at least seven such individuals to their first public presentation and publication.*** In 2020 we created a new website filled with educational resources including both background reading on the sources and a series of recorded Powerpoint presentations and video-casts on different aspects of the resources and their use in various kinds of historical and archaeological research. Workshop participants were asked to view these in advance, and the resources remain online for new users. At the time of writing, the six videos on our YouTube channel have been viewed a total of 555 times. The use of this online format is extending the reach of our public engagement internationally. We continue to receive expressions of interest in use of the resources from a wide range of academics, the general public and writers of both fiction and journalism internationally. Our website with online workshops can be found here: https://www.york.ac.uk/history/research/northern-way/. In February 2022 the Archbishops' Registers website, hosted by the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York, was updated to include new contextualising information generated by the project team about the registers, and links to much of the content available on our website. This now means that outputs created by The Northern Way team can be found on the same site as the register images and indexed content, providing an enhanced user experience. The updated website for the Archbishops' Registers can be found here: https://archbishopsregisters.york.ac.uk/home_page/index. It will be maintained in line with the general Library and Archives policy for supporting learning materials online beyond the lifetime of the project.*** In developing all these activities we have used our Twitter account @tnorthernway to build interest in our new online resources by regularly tweeting short stories from their contents. We now have more than 1000 followers. We have also worked with a number of external organisations in disseminating the project and hosting of events in addition to the partners in the project in York and at The National Archives. These external partners include the Universities of London (Birkbeck), Kent (MEMS), Lancaster and Lincoln; the Archives and Records Association, the British Association of Local History, the Historic Towns Trust, the Historical Association, the Yorkshire Archaeological Society (Medieval Section), the Friends of Markenfield Hall and the Society of Court Studies. We believe that overall we have exceeded the plans for pathways to impact outlined in our original grant application. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural |
| Description | Call 2 - UKRI CoA Extension |
| Amount | £47,007 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | R20863 |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2021 |
| End | 09/2021 |
| Title | York Archbishops' Registers online |
| Description | A core aim of the project is the creation of an online catalogue of the contents of the registers of the archbishops of York 1304-1405. This catalogue is accessible via the website of the Borthwick Institute for Archives: York Archbishops Registers. The website brings together administrative records from the Borthwick Institute for Archives, The National Archives, York Minster Archives and the British Library. All data creation is completed and the majority of the records (c. 70,000) are now available online. A few hundred records are still to be uploaded from YMA and the BL. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The website brings together, for the first time the administrative records of the northern province between 1304 and 1405. The creation of the site has greatly increased public use of the records. For the first reporting year (2022) Google Analytics suggested that use had increased by 174% over the lifetime of the project, that there were 17,000 external users (including repeat users) and that the most growth has been in the third year of the project following the uploading of most of the new resources (2021-22). The figures for January-December 2022 are equally encouraging as they show an increase of 3% in overall users. The majority of users are from Anglophone countries, particularly the US and Australia outside the UK, but China, Germany, Brazil, France and India are represented in our top ten user communities, suggesting that medieval historians across the world are now beginning to find and use the resource. This suggests the database is gaining traction within the research community. The figures demonstrate in addition to these metrics our programme of public engagement has successfully demonstrated the application of these resources in scholarly research, in research into local history (including by amateur historians), their use as a resource for creative arts and media (theatre, film, and television) and their use in the development of the national school curriculum in History (in particular at Key Stage 3). The University of York Department of History and the Borthwick Institute for Archives are planning to weave the registers and the database into the new teaching structures brought about by semesterisation - this innovation allows our resource to be placed at the heart of newly developed courses for MA students and special subjects for undergraduates. There has also been some development of secondary school resources, particularly by Anna Hughes, history teacher at St Ethelburga's, York, and one of our resource testers and engagement partners during the live phase of the project. |
| URL | https://archbishopsregisters.york.ac.uk/ |
| Description | 'Conflict in Beverley: the Relationship of the town and Minster with the archbishops of York', |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A blog written for The National Archives' 'Research in Focus' series. TNA's blog has a worldwide audience. It was written by Kirstin Barnard, a University of York PhD student who worked as an intern on the project in 2019, and was published in 2020. Publication coincided with the installation of Dr Stephen Cottrell as the new archbishop of York in June 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/1380s-conflict-in-beverley-the-relationship-of-the-town-and-min... |
| Description | A Northern Way? The Archbishops of York and Urban Development in the North of England by the 14th. century. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A public lecture (online) hosted by the University of Bristol and the UK Historic Towns Trust. The lecture compared the medieval urban development of a number of northern towns within the lordship of the Archbishops of York: Beverley, Ripon, Southwell and York. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnMWG1L7QKo |
| Description | Birkbeck Medieval Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Sarah Rees Jones: '"Carnal Lust": the Archbishop, the Nun and the Wars (pun intended) in early 14th-century York'. Invited lecture. Aim was to discuss the broader contexts of the pastoral reform programme of the archbishops of York in the mid-14th century, exploring the connections between their architectural patronage of York Minster, their reform of religious life and their rebuilding of the urban environment. The lecture drew on a range of records from their administration which are part of the AHRC-funded project 'The Northern Way' and invited further participation from interested students in the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.bbk.ac.uk/events/remote_event_view?id=6048 |
| Description | Conference Paper: A Northern Powerhouse |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Dr Paul Dryburgh (CI) delivered a paper to an online meeting of the Society for Court Studies in November 2020 on the potential of the records of the archbishops of York for studying medieval legal and political history. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultancy and media appearance for Channel 5, Tony Robinson's History of Britain, TV series. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Sarah Rees Jones (PI) provided advice and research, and contributed a recorded interview, to Channel 5 towards the making of one episode of Tony Robinson's History of Britain. The episode focuses on the story of Joan of Leeds, a runaway nun. Filming took place in October 2020 and first broadcast on C5 is 5 March 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2022 |
| Description | Consultancy and media broadcast for SKY History Channel. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Sarah Rees Jones (PI) and Paul Dryburgh (CI) provided advice and research towards the making of an episode of the River Hunters TV series by SKY History Channel. Sarah Rees Jones also appears as an interviewee in the episode. Recording was in summer 2020 and broadcast will be 2021. The episode focusses on the wars with Scotland in the reign of Edward II and in particular the Battle of Myton. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultancy to screen writers re Joan of Leeds and apostate nuns |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Consultancy to Andrew Steggall developing a treatment for a film about Joan of Leeds. Similar consultancy to other screenwriters based in the USA and UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
| Description | Consultancy with Breach Theatre re new stage play |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Sarah Rees Jones and Paul Dryburgh provided consultancy to the director and production team of Breach Theatre. They wrote and staged a new play (a musical comedy) about Joan of Leeds (the nun reported in the archbishops' registers to have faked her death and run away to Beverley to live a life of carnal lust in 1318). The play was staged from 2-20 December 2019 at the New Diorama Theatre, London. The play reached a total audience of 999 (and was sold out on most nights of its three week run). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.newdiorama.com/whats-on/joan-of-leeds |
| Description | Educational Materials for KS3. Consultancy. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Sarah Rees Jones acted as consultant for the creation of new teaching materials for the History national curriculum at KS3, authored by Dr Helen Snelson and published by Oxford University Press. The new materials focussed on the topic of 'Medieval Women' and used examples from the records being indexed by 'The Northern Way' project. In addition Sarah Rees Jones recorded a video cast on the topic of medieval women for use with the published classroom resources. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Extensive National and International Press Coverage: more than 60 newspaper reports, online media posts and radio broadcasts worldwide. All inks provided in description below. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Northern Way Project launch press 4th-26th Feb 2019. Extensive press and media coverage of the story of Joan of Leeds, a nun who faked her own death to run away and live a life of carnal lust in Beverley. This story, found in an archbishop's register (1318), was used to launch the project. International: South China Morning Post https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2185755/monty-python-sketch-14th-century-nun-joan-leeds-used-dummy-fake. News Oklahoma https://newsok.com/article/feed/9012065/archive-shows-medieval-nun-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-convent. Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/archive-shows-medieval-nun-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-convent-1.3792210 Smithsonian Magazine https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews-arts-culture/medieval-nun-wanted-escape-her-conventso-she-faked-her-death-180971477/ National Post (Canada) https://nationalpost.com/news/a-scandal-to-all-of-her-order-14th-century-nun-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-convent Vermilion Standard (Canada) https://www.vermilionstandard.com/news/a-scandal-to-all-of-her-order-14th-century-nun-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-convent/wcm/5fb00c39-9bf4-40df-9047-5a2f42a0bd55 Edmonton Journal (Canada) https://edmontonjournal.com/news/a-scandal-to-all-of-her-order-14th-century-nun-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-convent/wcm/5fb00c39-9bf4-40df-9047-5a2f42a0bd55 Dagbladet (Norway) https://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/nonne-forfalsket-sin-egen-dod-for-a-slippe-kloster/70762284 Euronews https://www.euronews.com/2019/02/14/bad-habit-historians-find-record-of-nun-who-faked-her-own-death-to-pursue-way-of-carnal-lu Cochrane Times-Post (Canada) https://www.cochranetimespost.ca/news/a-scandal-to-all-of-her-order-14th-century-nun-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-convent/wcm/5fb00c39-9bf4-40df-9047-5a2f42a0bd55 Lucknow Sentinel (India) https://www.lucknowsentinel.com/news/a-scandal-to-all-of-her-order-14th-century-nun-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-convent/wcm/5fb00c39-9bf4-40df-9047-5a2f42a0bd55 BBC World Service - pre-recorded - SRJ 12/2/19 Newstalk radio (Republic of Ireland), Sean Moncrieff, 13/02/19, interview with GB Canadian Broadcasting Company, 14/02/19, interview with SRJ - 17.00 GMT https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-edition-1.5019534/how-a-nun-faked-her-death-and-escaped-a-convent-in-1318-to-pursue-carnal-lust-1.5019553 ABC Radio (Australia) National The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nun-faked-her-death-to-pursue-life-oflust-2v50pnpwc?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1549942910 The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/feb/11/archive-shows-medieval-nun-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-convent https://www.facebook.com/theguardian/posts/joan-of-leeds-crafted-a-dummy-of-her-body-that-was-buried-while-she-pursued-the-/10157579401141323/ Church Times https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2019/8-february/news/uk/story-of-14th-century-nun-who-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-from-a-convent-in-york-is-unearthed MailOnline https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6694757/The-nun-faked-death-pursue-life-lust.html Daily Mirror https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nun-faked-death-made-lifelike-13988489 BBC Radio 4, The Today Programme, 12/02/19 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0002gq2 (excerpt at 1hr 41mins) BBC 5Live, Emma Barnett, 12/02/19 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002dk2 (interview with SRJ @ 50 minutes) BBC Scotland, John Beattie 12/02/19 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002dpw (interview with SRJ @ 15 mins) TalkRADIO, Paul Ross 12/02/19 (interview with SRJ) BBC Radio 4 (Sunday with Edward Stourton, 17/02/19) Online only Jezebel.com https://pictorial.jezebel.com/fourteenth-century-nun-faked-her-death-to-escape-her-co-1832465335 Reddit (1) https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/apmkje/archive_shows_medieval_nun_joan_of_leeds_faked/ Reddit (2) https://www.reddit.com/r/BrInteresting/comments/aoi5ti/joan_of_leeds_the_story_of_14th_century_nun_who/ Reddit (3) https://www.reddit.com/r/Leeds/comments/apsw0d/archive_shows_medieval_nun_joan_of_leeds_faked/ Flipboard https://flipboard.com/topic/convent/how-joan-of-leeds-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-life-in-the-convent/a-V-lIERHiSX6SGYWkOZ80Ww%3Aa%3A2815946473-e2d7e6446b%2Fco.uk Medievalists.net http://www.medievalists.net/2019/02/the-medieval-nun-who-faked-her-own-death/ YuMag https://yumagazine.co.uk/researchers-unravel-secrets-of-medieval-life-up-north/ The Cut https://www.thecut.com/2019/02/medieval-nun-faked-her-own-death-to-pursue-carnal-lust.html Huffington Post https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/joan-of-leeds-runaway-nun-university-of-york_us_5c62dea7e4b0a8731aea441c?ec_carp=2647487285318045522&guccounter=1 Melville House Books https://www.mhpbooks.com/14th-century-nun-faked-death-to-pursue-carnal-lust/ The History Blog http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/54281 The History Channel https://www.history.com/news/runaway-medieval-nun Relevant Magazine https://relevantmagazine.com/god/church/this-story-of-a-fugitive-nun-who-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-a-convent-is-insane/ Stylist https://www.stylist.co.uk/people/nun-faked-own-death-joan-leeds-true-story-runaway-history-carnal-lust-university-york/251280 Lipstickalley https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/the-nun-who-faked-her-own-death-to-pursue-a-life-of-lust.2152653/ Spainsnews https://spainsnews.com/the-nun-who-faked-his-death-for-a-life-of-carnal-lust/ Wikipedia entry (created by unknown researcher 13/02/19) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Leeds Going Medieval Blog https://goingmedievalblog.wordpress.com/2019/02/13/on-the-way-of-carnal-lust-joan-of-leeds-and-the-difficulty-of-clerical-celibacy/ LiveScience.com https://www.livescience.com/64772-medieval-nun-faked-death.html Atlas Obscura https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/nun-faked-her-death-in-14th-century Ancient-Origins.net https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/joan-leeds-0011472 AllThatsInteresting.com https://allthatsinteresting.com/joan-leeds-fake-death MSN news https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/indepth/archive-shows-medieval-nun-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-convent/ar-BBTxdOi?li=BBr5KbJ SheMazing https://www.shemazing.net/hun-life-medieval-nun-fakes-her-own-death-to-pursue-carnal-lust/ Bookstr.com https://bookstr.com/article/historic-text-reveals-nun-faked-own-death-to-pursue-way-of-carnal-lust/ Inquisitr https://www.inquisitr.com/5296796/historians-discover-14th-century-nun-faked-death-to-escape-drab-existence-at-convent/ Woman of History http://womenofhistory.blogspot.com/2019/02/archive-shows-medieval-nun-faked-her.html The Vintage News https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/02/16/a-14th-century-nun/ Candace Robb blog https://ecampion.wordpress.com/2019/02/14/joan-of-leeds-or-the-nuns-tale/ The National Archives Blog https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/medieval-church-state-nun-faked-death/ Archaeology News Network https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2019/02/medieval-archive-reveals-how-nun-faked.html#rdPA1PTcRY10msUu.97 The Times Style Magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-week-in-style-ryan-adams-chris-pratt-and-the-nun-who-faked-her-own-death-g3bw0csn6 Local/regional Yorkshire Evening Post https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/how-joan-of-leeds-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-life-in-the-convent-1-9573249 Yorkshire Post https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/our-yorkshire/heritage/world-war-one/homefront/how-joan-of-leeds-faked-her-own-death-to-escape-life-in-the-convent-1-9573249 York Press https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/17403267.life-in-medieval-york-revealed-at-university-of-york/ Leeds Live https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/news/yorkshire-news/story-unearthed-nun-joan-leeds-15826445 Hull Daily Mail https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/history/scandalous-nun-who-faked-death-2536311 UoY student radio 14/2/19 - SRJ BBC Radio York, Jonathan Cowap interview with Helen Watt and Gary Brannan, April 2019 Other AHRC - phone call with SRJ 12/2/19 asking how we generated such publicity - with view to AHRC writing memo/blog on for other grant holders. Poem by Nigel Cresswell https://cosmofunnel.com/poems/joan-of-leeds-163009 Twitter account which renamed itself 'Joan of Leeds' https://twitter.com/dangerbosoms Transcript used in Latin teaching at James Allen's Girls' School, Dulwich, London Joan of Leeds 1318 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/feb/11/archive-shows-medieval-nun-faked-her-own-death-to-esca... |
| Description | Fake IDs. Power Corrupts |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Paul Dryburgh and Helen Watt contributed to this podcast exploring historical stories relating to faked deaths. The podcast was made by Dr. Brian Klaas Associate Professor in Global Politics, University College London and Columnist, Washington Post. Host: Power Corrupts podcast |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/fake-ids/id1458750622?i=1000536104902 |
| Description | Invited Lecture. University of Kent. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | University of Kent, Centre for Medieval and Early Modern studies seminar. "The Cross I Bear: William Melton and the primacy of the English Church in the early fourteenth century". Lecture by Paul Dryburgh to disseminate findings of the project and encourage future use of the database. 23 January 2020 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Joan of Leeds |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Helen Watt contributed this article to 'Briefing' (The magazine of the Yorkshire Archaeological & Historical Society), Issue 8, 2021, 26-27. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Meeting with Friends of Markenfield Hall, a local history society in North Yorkshire |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Markenfield Hall is a well-preserved 14th-century manor house built by a canon of York and Ripon who maintained close ties to the Archbishops of York in the early 14th century. The Friends are a very active local history society with interests in the hall, neighbouring manors (including a residence of the Archbishops) and Ripon Minster. The meeting was organised to recruit participants for workshops to be held by the project with a view to supporting the public in use of the online resources created by the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | New Wikipedia page: Joan of Leeds |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As a result of the publicity around Joan of Leeds (the story which we used in our press launch) a new Wikipedia page was created. The page was not created by members of the project, although from time to time we have edited aspects of it. It is evidence of impact. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Leeds |
| Description | On The Northern Way Project to the English Episcopal Acta Project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited lecture on The Northern Way Project to the Annual General Meeting of the English Episcopal Acta (EEA) Project, Robinson College Cambridge, 4 March 2023. The EEA project prints editions of written acts of English and Welsh bishops in the Middle Ages. Much of the content in these editions is drawn from the registers of bishops and archbishops. The ability to demonstrate the online database and images project by TNW to one of the most important peer groups and research audiences allowed us to showcase the indexing and summarising work undertaken by our PDRAs and place the project at the cutting edge of research and engagement relating to the medieval English Church. Around fifteen senior academics and EEA volume editors attended the lecture, which sparked intensive discussions on the future of academic editions and the maintenance and dissemination of traditional archival skills and approaches in the digital world. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | On The Northern Way Project to the North American Conference on British Studies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Conference paper sharing the latest research findings by Professor Rees Jones on The Northern Way Project ("The Northern Way: the Archbishops of York and the north of England, 1304-1405") to the North American Conference on British Studies, 11-14 November 2023, in a strand on Digital Humanities. This paper was by invitation and the ability to present at this important international conference brought the project into contact with new academic and public audiences in North America (US and Canada). An introduction to the project and new research on archiepiscopal itineraries and record making demonstrates the research potential of the project to all audiences, particularly those overseas who now increasingly rely on high-quality digital research resources and images of source material. The conference - a scholarly society founded in 1950 and dedicated to all aspects of British Studies which sponsors publications and an annual conference, as well as several academic prizes and graduate fellowships (www.nacbs.org) - has a wide reach and therefore also gave Professor Rees Jones the opportunity to network with peers and graduate students and collect feedback on the forthcoming essay collection to be published by the project team during the next year. Direct feedback from attendees highlighted the immense size and potential of our new resources, their accessibility and combination with online images of the original manuscripts and our notable success in reaching and engaging new users online. All three of these are, of course, linked. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | On The Northern Way project to the Annual General Meeting of the Canterbury and York Society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited lecture on The Northern Way Project to the Annual General Meeting of the Canterbury and York Society (CYS), online, 9 November 2022. The CYS project prints editions, in the main, of the registers of English and Welsh bishops in the Middle Ages. Our project and its digital indexing approach - as well as the release of high-quality digital images and research and training content - is of direct relevance to the trustees, members and customers of the CYS. The ability to demonstrate the online database and images project by TNW to one of the most important peer groups and research audiences allowed us to showcase the indexing and summarising work undertaken by our PDRAs and place the project at the cutting edge of research and engagement relating to the medieval English Church. It also allows us to allay fears in some quarters about the impact of our project on the future of register editions. Around 50-60 officers, trustees, senior academics and members of the public attended the lecture, which sparked intensive discussions on the future of academic editions and the maintenance and dissemination of traditional archival skills and approaches in the digital world. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Participation in York Festival of Ideas: 'It's a Wonderful Digital Life' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Northern Way: Bringing the fourteenth-century York Archbishops' Registers to life. Short presentation by Helen Watt and Marianne Wilson celebrating Digital research projects at the University of York, York Festival of Ideas, 2019 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://pure.york.ac.uk/portal/en/activities/the-northern-way-bringing-the-fourteenthcentury-york-ar... |
| Description | Presentation, NÁJERA, XVI ENCUENTROS INTERNACIONALES DEL MEDIEVO, |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Sarah Rees Jones : 'British Library Harley MS 1808: contrasting images of authority and law in England's cities, c. 1405. This presentation will explore and interpret the various images of authority figures represented as historical founders of the City of York in an image of the 'Building of York' painted around 1405. The paper will suggest that common acceptance of the historical authority of the archbishops of York in the North of Britain provided a flexible but widely shared discourse of regional identity that provided an alternative focal point to royal government. The paper will draw on contemporary northern chronicles, plays and political songs in exploring the diverse resonance of this discourse. The presentation outlines the aims of a new project, The Northern Way, and invites participation and international collaboration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/pg/najeramedieval/posts/ |
| Description | Presentation. 54th International Congress of Medieval Studies, USA. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Sarah Rees Jones presented an overview of the project, the creation of the dataset, the research questions and requested suggestions for future collaborations. International audience of historians and postgraduate students, particularly north American. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://wmich.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/u434/2019/medieval-congress-program-2019.pd |
| Description | Pseudocide, Episode 7, Bad Habits |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Paul Dryburgh made this podcast about faked deaths, contributing information about the runaway nun Joan of Leeds who was reported as faking her death in 1318. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://pseudocidepodcast.com/episodes/ |
| Description | Public Lecture by Paul Dryburgh (North Allerton) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public Lecture hosted by North Yorkshire County Archives Service at North Allerton. Part of the pathways to impact aimed at recruiting members of the public and local history societies to participate in the workshop through projects and conferences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Public Lecture by Paul Dryburgh (York) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Paul Dryburgh, Principal Record Specialist at The National Archives, delivered the first of a series of lectures associated with The Northern Way project. On 20 September 1319 William Melton, archbishop of York, hastily assembled an army of clergymen, monks and their lay servants, friars and local civic officials. His force headed north from York to tackle a battle-hardened Scottish invasion force under Robert Bruce and his chief lieutenants before the Scots could approach York where the queen was residing. The result - amidst the confusion of smoke and fire - at Myton on the River Swale, was a rout of the archbishop's army. So many clergymen apparently perished, most of whom drowned in the Swale, that the Scots later mockingly called the battle "The Chapter of Myton". In this lecture, Dr Paul Dryburgh introduces one of the most calamitous but least known battles of the Anglo-Scots wars in its 700th-anniversary year and looks at how the northern Church and northern society coped with the Scots' military supremacy in a decade during which England suffered some of its greatest humiliations in arms. Aim to interest members of the public and students to participate in project workshops and conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/medieval-studies/events/archive/2019/northern-way-lecture-autumn/ |
| Description | Public Lecture: 'Support or Scourge?' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 'Support or Scourge? William Melton and the Tradition of Loyal Opposition to the Crown, 1317-1340'. Public Lecture by Professor Mark Ormrod. Organised as part of the pathways to impact to reach the general public and graduate students with a view to recruiting participation in project workshops. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/medieval-studies/events/archive/2020/northernwaylecturespring2020/ |
| Description | Public Lecture: Hidden in Plain Sight. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | "Hidden in plain sight: The unexplored histories of the medieval north at the time of the Black Death". This was the annual lecture in the Arts and Humanities hosted by the Merchant Adventurers Company of the City of York and facilitated by York Ideas. Held online in November 2020. 1100 registered to attend (a record for York Ideas), around 550 attended live and over 800 have since watched the recording online. It has generated a great deal of interest and requests to participate in or cooperate with the project from both local historians in the north of England and from academic partners internationally. In particular it has highlighted the real potential of the archival resources of the north for better understanding the epidemiology of the plague and of pandemic mutations of new variants of this disease. As a consequence Professor Monica H. Green (USA), an expert in the history of pandemics has recommended the lecture for teaching in this area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/public-lectures/autumn-2020/hidden-plain-sight/ |
| Description | Public Online Workshop, hosted by The National Archives |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This workshop was intended to provide introductory training for both members of the general public, such as members of local history societies, and students, wishing to work with the new online resources being created by our project. The workshop took the form of recorded PowerPoints that participants viewed online prior to the workshop. These continue to be available for public use. The second element was a prolonged question and answer session hosted online by The National Archives. As a result of this workshop, which was part of our promised Pathways to Impact, we have recruited a small number of local historians to work with further in disseminating and developing use of the materials across the province. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/history/research/northern-way/#tab-5 |
| Description | Radio 4 Broadcast 'Sunday with Edward Stourton' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Short interview - re the story of Joan of Leeds (a runaway nun from York, 1318) and the scope and purpose of The Northern Way project. 17 March 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Research Exchange Blog Post: The Northern Way |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Jonathan Mackman (RA) produced a blog post for a new 'Research in Focus' series on The National Archives main blog. These interview-style posts reveal the processes behind research and explore stories from TNA that are not yet available on their project website. TNA's blog has a worldwide audience and the posts served as a successful means of recruiting student and local historians to the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/research-exchange-jonathan-mackman-on-the-northern-way-project/ |
| Description | The Northern Way project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Helen Watt contributed this article to Association for Manuscripts and Archives in Research, Newsletter Issue 76 April 2021, 11-12. ISSN 1750-9874 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | The Northern Way, II: (Arch)Bishops and the Anglo-Scottish Borders in the 14th Century |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | One of two sessions organised by the project at the Leeds International Medieval Congress, 2021. The session was chaired by Dr G. Dodd (Nottingham) and papers were presented by Katherine Harvey (Birkbeck), Alison McHardy (Nottingham - emerita), and Sarah Rees Jones (York and project PI). The organiser was Professor Sarah Rees Jones (PI). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.imc.leeds.ac.uk/imcarchive/2021/sessions/2110/ |
| Description | The Northern Way, Session I: (Arch)Bishops and the Anglo-Scottish Borders in the 14th Century |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | One of two sessions organised by project members at the Leeds International Medieval Congress 2021 (one of the premier conferences globally in Medieval Studies). This session was chaired by Dr Andy King (Southampton) and papers were delivered by Jenny McHugh (Lancaster - pgr), Samuel Lane (Oxford - pgr) and Dr Paul Dryburgh (The National Archives and Co-I on this project). The organiser was Prof Sarah Rees Jones (PI). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.imc.leeds.ac.uk/imcarchive/2021/sessions/2010/ |
| Description | The Northern Way, the Archbishops of York and the North of England, 1304-1405. End of Project Conference. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Our end of Project conference was held online over two days 23-24 September 2021. Twenty presentations focussed on themes such as the records of archiepiscopal administration and the context of their generation, archbishops as pastoral leaders in the church, as secular leaders in national government and their role in the military defence of the north of England. Further themes addressed the use of the records for the study of local history, the built and natural environments and the nature of lay faith and lay society. A final session addressed the use of the records in popular histories, in social media, in theatre and in teaching history in schools. Participants in the conference included both established scholars and postgraduate students, amateur historians, school teachers, local government and heritage professionals. The audience was international with over 140 participants recorded over the two days and including active participants from North America and Europe. As a result of the conference we have agreed to publish a collection of essays, including many of the papers delivered, with Boydell and Brewer (under the imprint of York Medieval Press). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Three Student Internships |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of York funded three paid internships for postgraduate students to work with the project for 40 hours each as an exercise in their professional development. Molly Proud, Kirstin Barnard and Stephen Huws were the successful applicants. Each student helped with aspects of the data entry for the project and also wrote one blog using materials from the project. The three blogs addressed different aspects of the records relating to issues of governance in the 14th century and the history of women. The blogs are hosted on the websites of The National Archives. The aim was to develop further interest in the resources and their use by students and the general public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/author/shuws/ |
| Description | Uncovering Medieval England's Northern Way. Archives and Records Association. Learning Section. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In September 2021, our Project Officer, Laura Yeoman, wrote a post for the Archives and Records Association (UK and Ireland) Learning and Education Section blog (ARA Learning), aimed at archivists and allied professionals. This post highlighted the aims and objectives of the project and the development of the new website. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://aralearning.wordpress.com/2021/09/29/uncovering-medieval-englands-northern-way/ |
| Description | Uncovering medieval Yorkshire's Northern Way through digital collaboration |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Delivered to the University of York Digital Collaboration conference by Project Officer, Laura Yeoman. The paper was attended by information professionals and IT specialists from University of York and further afield. The paper attracted 17 attendees on the day, and was made available for other attendees to view for 180 days afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Workshop at The National Archives, Kew London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Workshop: An introduction to the administrative records of the Archbishops of York. This workshop, funded through the project, was aimed at graduate and early career researchers and archivists. It explained how archiepiscopal administration worked in the 14th century and how and where records from that administration had been archived in the diocese and among the records of royal government, their form and function. It provided examples of how these records might be used in further research projects. Part of the planned Pathways to Impact designed to recruit participants for the conference and research outputs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/project-to-explore-political-role-of-archbishops-of-y... |
| Description | Workshop: Getting to Grips with York's Archbishops' Registers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This workshop, led by Marianne Wilson, took place at the Medieval and Early Modern Studies Festival at the University of Kent, will explore some of the riches contained within the registers that were used to record the business of the Archbishops' of York between 1304 and 1305. 'The Northern Way' project, run by the University of York, in partnership with The National Archives, has received funding of almost £1m from the AHRC. 'The Northern Way' seeks to make the content from the 16 registers and other related documents more easily searchable and accessible through the development of a digital resource. The workshop will introduce the project and demonstrate how the resource and index can shed light on a wide range of topics and previously hidden histories. It will also offer the opportunity to work with facsimiles of some of the original documents, with a tutorial on extracting key information from the documents. Find out more about Archbishop Melton's reaction to Joan of Leeds, a nun from the Priory of St Clements, York, who faked her own death in order to escape the convent in 1318. Joan crafted a dummy in the likeness of her body and misled her fellow religious into burying it in sacred ground, before leaving the convent to pursue 'the way of carnal lust'. The registers provide key insights into the religious and political role of the province and its relationship with central government, as well as giving fascinating insights into the culture and networks of the period. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |