Dr Carolyn Muessig
Positions
Chair of Christian Thought
Contact information
Web presence
Background
Credentials
PhD, Université de Montréal, Sciences médiévales , 1994
MSL, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto , 1991
MA, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto, 1986
BA, SUNY Buffalo, History, 1985
AA, Fulton-Montgomery Community College, Humanities, 1980
Biography
For 25 years I taught in the Department of Religion and Theology, University of Bristol, UK where I was Head of Department from 2007-2010 and then again from 2016-2019. I served as Director of the University of Bristol's Institute for Research in the Humanities and Arts (2011-2014) and as co-director of the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Bristol (2013-2018). For seventeen years I was the co-editor [with Veronica O'Mara] of the journal Medieval Sermon Studies. Since 2001 I have been series co-editor [with George Ferzoco] of Medieval Religion and Culture, Routledge. From 2011-2017 I was the Medieval and Reformation (700-1600) Section Editor for the Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception, De Gruyter, Berlin, Germany. In 2018 I was co-curator of the first public exhibition to be held in Downside Abbey church, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, UK: Voices from the Cloister: Medieval Treasures at Downside Abbey (https://www.downsideabbey.co.uk/voices-from-the-cloister-exhibition-opening/). Since July 2020 I hold the Chair of Christian Thought, Classics and Religion, University of Calgary. In 2024, I was elected Vice President of the International Medieval Sermon Studies Society. I am presently working on the history of premodern female preaching.
Research
Areas of Research
Courses
| Course number | Course title | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| RELS 342 - 01 | Sisters, Saints & Sinners: Medieval Religious Women | Winter 2026 |
| RELS 701 - 01 | Studies in Western Religions: Propaganda in the Middle Ages | Fall 2025 |
| RELS 601 - 01 | Studies in Western Religions: Propaganda in the Middle Ages | Fall 2025 |
| RELS 484 | Religious Propaganda in the Middle Ages | Fall 2025 |
| RELS 387 LEC 01 01 | Christian Monks, Mystics, and Reformers from the Eleventh to the Sixteenth Centuries | Winter 2025 |
| RELS 484.9 | Advanced Topics in Christianity (Body and Theology in the Middle Ages) | Autumn 2024 |
| RELS 601.18 | Studies in Western Religions (Body and Theology in the Middle Ages) | Autumn 2024 |
| RELS 701.19 | Studies in Western Religions (Body and Theology in the Middle Ages) | Autumn 2024 |
| RELS 387 LEC 01 01 | Christian Monks, Mystics, and Reformers from Peter Damian to Anne Askew | Winter 2024 |
| RELS 601 - 01 | Studies in Western Religion: Troublesome Saints | Fall 2023 |
| RELS 701 - 01 | Studies in Western Religion: Troublesome Saints | Fall 2023 |
| RELS 484-01 | Troublesome Saints: Thomas Becket, Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Siena and Joan of Arc | Fall 2023 |
Projects
I am preparing a monograph on the history of premodern female preaching in Western Europe and the New World. Also underway is a critical edition of the Sermones feriales et communes by Jacques de Vitry (1160/1170–1240), one of the foremost preachers of his time. Among the many subjects treated in this encyclopedic model sermon collection are the role of bestiaries in the moral education of Christians and a lengthy treatise against the Cathars. Jacques de Vitry’s rich and varied career is vividly reflected in this work. The critical edition of these Latin sermons will be published by Brepols in the series Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis.
Awards
- Naomi Lacey Resident Fellow, 2022-2023, Calgary Institute for the Humanities, University of Calgary. 2022
- Great Western 4 Accelerator Grant. Medieval Studies (PI), Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. 2015
- Visiting Research Fellowship, Trinity Long Room Hub (Project: Stigmatics in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe), Trinity College, Dublin. 2014
- Catherine of Siena and Her World (PI) , Leverhulme Trust, UK. 2011
- The Expositiones Euangeliorum of Hildegard of Bingen (PI) , Arts and Humanities Research Council , UK. 2006
- Faculty of Arts Undergraduate Teaching Prize, University of Bristol. 2004
Publications
- Carolyn Muessig, Guest Editor, Special Section: Female Preaching in Premodern Europe Part I: Medieval Sermon Studies 68 (2024), pp. 32–111. (2024)
- Carolyn Muessig [with Acosta-García, Patricia Stoop, and Edward Sutcliffe] 2024. “Female Preaching in Premodern Europe: An International Workshop.” Medieval Sermon Studies 68 (1): 32–36. doi:10.1080/13660691.2024.2432707. (2024)
- Carolyn Muessig, “Women and Preaching in Premodern Europe Part One: The Early Middle Ages to the Twelfth Century.” Medieval Sermon Studies (November 2024): 1-27 doi:10.1080/13660691.2024.2432708. (2024)
- Carolyn Muessig. “Medieval Monks, Nuns, and Monastic Life: 21st Biennial Symposium of the International Medieval Sermon Studies Society, 15–20 July 2018.” . George Ferzoco, co-author. Downside Review 137, no. 3 (2019): doi:10.1177/0012580619883515.. 73-77. (2019)
- L’evoluzione della spiritualità delle stimmate prima di San Francesco d’Assisi.. Archivio italiano per la storia della pietà 26 (2013). pp. 21–41. (2013)
- Signs of Salvation: The Evolution of Stigmatic Spirituality Before Francis of Assisi . Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture, 82:1 (2013): 40-68. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S000964071200251X. (2013)
- Roberto Caracciolo’s Sermon on the Miracle of the Stigmatization of Francis of Assisi.. Anuario de Estudios Medievales 42 (2012).. pp. 77-93.. (2012)
- “Preaching the Beatitudes in the Late Middle Ages: Some Mendicant Examples.” . Studies in Christian Ethics 22.2 (2009) 133–147.. (2009)
- The Sermones Feriales et Communes of Jacques de Vitry: A Critical Edition of Sermons 10 and 11 on Animals, Part II.. Medieval Sermon Studies 47 (2004). pp. 45–56. (2004)
- The Sermones Feriales et Communes of Jacques de Vitry: A Critical Edition of Sermons 10 and 11 on Animals, Part I.. Medieval Sermon Studies 46 (2003). pp. 33–49. (2003)
- Audience and Preacher: Ad status Sermons and Social Classification.. In Sermon, Preacher and Audience in the Middle Ages. Edited by Carolyn Muessig (Leiden: Brill, 2002),. pp. 255–76. (2002)
- “Sermon, Preacher and Society in the Middle Ages.” Journal of Medieval History 28 (2002) 73–91.. (2002)
- “Les Sermons de Jacques de Vitry sur les cathares.” In La prédication en Pays d’Oc (xiie–début xve siècle). Cahiers de Fanjeaux 32 (1997) 69–83.. (1997)
- Medievalia Nove Francie. Relatio Prima. Memini. Bulletin des médiévistes québécois 24:1 (1992). pp. 24–36. (1992)
- Hidden Marks of Leadership: Holy Women and Invisible Stigmata in the Late Middle Ages.. In John Albaster and Rob Faesen, eds. New Essays on Medieval and Early Modern Mystical Women: Beatrice of Nazareth Past and Present (Turnhout: Brepols, 2025). pp. 58-82. (2025)
- “Foreword.” In Pablo Acosta-García, The Visionary Preaching of Juana de la Cruz (1481–1534) (Brill, 2025), pp. X-XVIII. (OA). (2025)
- “Chapter 1 Roberto Caracciolo’s Sermon on the Miracle of the Stigmatization of Francis of Assisi”. . In Giacomo Mariani and Steven J. McMichael, eds. The Sermons, Manuscripts, and Language of Roberto Caracciolo da Lecce (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 11 Nov. 2024). pp. 9-26. (2024)
- Women as Performers of the Bible: Female Preaching in Premodern Europe. In Carla M. Bino and Corinna Ricasoli, eds. Performing the Sacred. Christian Representations of Art (Brill, Leiden 2023). pp. 116-139. (2023)
- “Préface.” In Lecture du Livre de St Matthieu par St Thomas d'Aquin. Translated from Latin into French by Jacques Ménard, Dominique Pillet, Marie-Hélène Deloffre (La Caverne du Pèlerin, 2020), pp. 8–18. (2020)
- The Stigmata in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (Oxford University Press). Book. (2020)
- “Medieval reportationes: hearing and listening to sermons.”. In Gabriel Aubert, Cinthia Véronique Meli and Amy Heneveld, eds. L’éloquence de la chaire entre écriture et oralité (xiiie-xviiie siècles), Actes du colloque international de Genève, 11 12 septembre 2014 (Paris: Honoré Champion). pp. 77-90. (2018)
- “‘Can’t take my eyes off of you’: mutual gazing between the divine and humanity in late medieval preaching.” In Herbert Kessler and Richard Newhauser, eds. Science, Ethics, and the Transformations of Art. (Toronto: PIMS), pp. 17–33.. (2018)
- The New World of Dominican Observant Preaching: The Sermons of Tommasina Fieschi (c. 1448–1534).. In Timothy Johnson, ed. Preaching of New Worlds: Sermons as Mirrors of Realms Near and Far (Routledge, London). pp. 120–134. (2018)
- “Medieval Preaching.” In A Handbook for Catholic Preaching, ed. E. Foley (Collegeville: Liturgical Press), pp. 62–72.. (2016)
- “Bernardino da Siena and Observant Preaching as a Vehicle for Religious Transformation.”. In James Mixson and Bert Roest, eds. Observant Reform in the Later Middle Ages and Beyond, Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition, 59 (Leiden: Brill). pp. 185–203. . (2015)
- “Pedagogical Ideals of Late Medieval Dominican and Franciscan Observant Nuns.” In Peter Gemeinhardt and Tobias Georges, eds. Theologie und im Mittelalter. Archa Verbi: Yearbook for the Study of Medieval Theology 13 (Munster: Aschendorff, 2015), pp. 129–14. (2015)
- A Companion to Catherine of Siena. Brill’s Companion to the Christian Tradition 32. . (Leiden: Brill, 2012). Book edited by Carolyn Muessig, George Ferzoco and Beverly Mayne Kienzle.. (2012)
- The Stigmatic Debate in Theology and Art in the Late Middle Ages.” In The Authority of the Word: Reflecting on Image and Text in Northern Europe, 1400-1700 (Leiden: Brill, 2012). Edited by Celeste Brusati, Karl Enenkel, and Walter Melion . pp. 481–504. (2012)
- Carolyn Muessig, “Images and Themes Related to Augustine in Late Medieval Sermons.” In Augustine Beyond the Book, K. Pollman (ed.) 58/6:129–45. Leiden Brill, 2012. doi:10.1163/9789004228580_008.. (2012)
- Performance of the Passion: The Enactment of Devotion in the Later Middle Ages.. In Visualizing Medieval Performance: Perspectives, Histories, Contexts. Edited by Elina Gertsman, (Ashgate, 2008). pp. 129–42. (2008)
- Expositiones euangeliorum Sanctae Hildegardis.. In Hildegardis Bingensis Opera Minora. Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina — Continuatio Mediaevalis, 226 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2007). Critical edition of Hildegard of Bingen’s Latin sermons, edited by Carolyn Muessig and Beverly Kienzle (Harvard University). (2007)
- Envisaging Heaven in the Middle Ages. . (London: Routledge). Book edited by Carolyn Muessig and Ad Putter.. (2007)
- Heaven, Earth and the Angels: Preaching Paradise in the Sermons of Jacques de Vitry.. In Envisaging Heaven in the Middle Ages. Edited by Carolyn Muessig and Ad Putter (London: Routledge). pp. 57–72. (2007)
- Medieval Monastic Education. London/New York: Leicester University Press). Book edited by Carolyn Muessig and George Ferzoco.. (2001)
- Sermon, Preacher and Audience in the Middle Ages. Book edited by Carolyn Muessig. (2002)
- Learning and Mentoring in the Twelfth Century: Hildegard of Bingen and Herrad of Landsberg.. In Medieval Monastic Education. (London/New York: Leicester University Press) Book edited by Carolyn Muessig and George Ferzoco. pp. 87–104.. (2001)
- Bibliography.. Co-authored with George Ferzoco. In The Sermon. Edited by B.M. Kienzle. Typologie des sources du Moyen Âge Occidental 81–83. . pp. 19-142. (2000)
- The Faces of Women in the Sermons of Jacques de Vitry: Selected Sermons in Translation with Text and Commentary (Toronto: Peregrina Press). Book by Carolyn Muessig. (1999)
- Medieval Monastic Preaching. . Brill’s Studies in Intellectual History 90 (Leiden: Brill, 1998). Book edited by Carolyn Muessig. (1998)
- What is Medieval Monastic Preaching?: An Introduction.. In Medieval Monastic Preaching. Edited by Carolyn Muessig. Brill’s Studies in Intellectual History 90 (Leiden: Brill, 1998). pp. 3–16. (1998)
- Audience and Sources in Jacques de Vitry’s Sermones feriales et communes.. In Medieval Sermons and Society: Cloister, City, and University. Edited by Jacqueline Hamesse (Textes et Études du Moyen Âge 9. Louvain-la-Neuve: Fédération Internationale des Instituts d’Études Médiévales, 1998). pp. 183–202. (1998)
- Paradigms of Sanctity for Thirteenth-Century Women.. Models of Holiness in Medieval Sermons, ed. Beverly Kienzle (Textes et Études du Moyen Âge 5. Louvain-la-Neuve: Fédération Internationale des Instituts d’Études Médiévales, 1996). pp. 85–102. (1996)
- Jacques de Vitry’s Second Sermon for Wednesdays.. In De l’homélie au sermon, ed. Jacqueline Hamesse (Publications de l’Institut d’Études Médiévales, Textes, Études, Congrès 14. Louvain-la-Neuve: Publications de l’Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, 1993). pp. 61-82.. (1993)
- Catherine of Siena. In The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Medieval Women’s Writings in the Global Middle Age, ed. by Michelle M. Sauer, Diane Watt, Liz Herbert McAvoy (Palgrave Macmillan Cham, 2023). (2023)
- Sewing Hope: Women’s Religious Expression in the Christian Tradition: An Exhibition of Twelve Quilts by the Grace Presbyterian Quilters (Calgary: University of Calgary). Co-edited with Anna Benko, Britanny DeMone, and Faezeh Izadi. . (2022)
- Voices from the Cloister: Medieval Treasures at Downside Abbey. (Bristol: Downside Abbey Trust).. Co-edited with Edward Sutcliffe and George Ferzoco. Exhibition catalogue. (2019)
- “Letter of Lentulus.” . In Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception. Volume 16. Dale C. Allison, Jr; Christine Helmer; Choon-Leong Seow; Hermann Spieckermann; Barry Dov Walfish; Eric Ziolkowski. (Berlin: De Gruyter). coll. 560-561. (2018)
- “Landino, Cristoforo.” . In Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception. Volume 15. Dale C. Allison, Jr; Christine Helmer; Choon-Leong Seow; Hermann Spieckermann; Barry Dov Walfish; Eric Ziolkowski. (Berlin: De Gruyter). coll. 801-802. (2017)
- “Lament, Lamentation, Christianity Medieval Times.” . In Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception. Volume 15. Dale C. Allison, Jr; Christine Helmer; Choon-Leong Seow; Hermann Spieckermann; Barry Dov Walfish; Eric Ziolkowski. (Berlin: De Gruyter). coll. 699-701. (2017)
- “Jesus, Christianity Medieval Times and Reformation Era.”. Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception. Volume 14. Dale C. Allison, Jr; Christine Helmer; Choon-Leong Seow; Hermann Spieckermann; Barry Dov Walfish; Eric Ziolkowski. (Berlin: De Gruyter). Coll. 272-275. (2017)
- “Europe, Biblical Reception in the Medieval and Reformation Era.” . Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception. Volume 8. Dale C. Allison, Jr; Christine Helmer; Choon-Leong Seow; Hermann Spieckermann; Barry Dov Walfish; Eric Ziolkowski. (Berlin: De Gruyter, . coll. 213-216.. (2014)
- Muessig, Carolyn. "Jacques de Vitry". In L. J. Taylor (ed.), Encyclopedia of Medieval Pilgrimage Online, (Brill, 2012). (2012)
- “Jacques de Vitry.” . Historia orientalis.”’ The Encyclopedia of Medieval Pilgrimage. Edited by John Friedman (Leiden: Brill).. (2010)
- “Lutgard of Awièyeres.”. In Women and Gender in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia. Edited by Margaret Schaus (London: Routledge). pp. 499–500.. (2006)
- “Umiltà of Faenza.” . In Women and Gender in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia. An Encyclopedia (London: Routledge, . pp. 742–743.. (2006)
- “Jacques de Vitry.” . Garland Encyclopedia of Medieval Trade and Travel. Edited by John Friedman (Garland Publishers. pp. 171–172. (2000)
- “A Note on a Manuscript Discovery.”. Medieval Sermon Studies 34. p. 13. (1994)
More Information
Graduate Supervision
I have supervised over four dozen graduate students working in the following areas: Beguine spirituality, early Franciscans, Dominicans, Catherine of Siena, Bernard of Clairvaux, Theresa of Avila, gender and sin, gender and identity, hagiography, Julian of Norwich, Marian iconography, religious poetry, preaching history, imagination and prayer in late medieval England. Two of my students won the University of Bristol Outstanding Dissertation Prize in the Faculty of Arts: Eliana Corbari, PhD, “Dominican Preachers and popular devotion in late medieval Italy” (Awarded 2009). Jennie Sanderson, Mlitt/PhD, “Sin and gender in late medieval theological sources” (Awarded 2010). If you are a perspective postgraduate student wishing to study with me, please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss possible research topics (carolyn.muessig@ucalgary.ca).
Undergraduate and Graduate Teaching:
In Fall 2025, I will teach Religious Propaganda in the Middle Ages, a course that explores how religious literature—especially sermons and letters—reveals the art of persuasion in matters of crusade, heresy, papal reform, and witchcraft. In Winter 2026, I will offer Sisters, Saints, and Sinners, which examines the diverse expressions of gender identity and agency in medieval Europe and the role of women within the Catholic Church.
Research:
I have written on the history of miracles, heresy, medieval preaching, Hildegard of Bingen, Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Siena and female educators in the Middle Ages. I am presently working on a project that investigates the history of female preachers and their sermons in late medieval and early modern Europe. Also underway is a critical edition of the Sermones feriales et communes by Jacques de Vitry (1160/1170–1240), one of the foremost preachers of his time.
Podcasts:
My Favourite Mystic: Carolyn Muessig on Julian of Norwich: AJ Langley speaks with scholars about their favourite mystic, why they love mysticism as a subject, and the weird and wonderful world of mystical experiences. In this episode she speaks to Dr Carolyn Muessig on the English medieval mystic Julian of Norwich.
Great Lives BBC Radio 4: Dorothy Byrne on Catherine of Siena: The president of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge and former Channel 4 editor champions the life of a 14th-century mystic. Like Dorothy Byrne, famous for her scathing attacks on broadcasting executives in the 2019 MacTaggart Lecture, Catherine of Siena stood up to powerful men. She lobbied Popes, attacked corruption in the Catholic church, and played an active role in the troubled Italian politics of the late 14th century. Alongside Francis of Assisi, she is one of two patron saints of Italy. Carolyn Muessig, Chair of Christian Thought at the University of Calgary, provides the expert analysis.
Professional Favourites Since 1 July 2020:
Catherine of Siena and Teresa of Avila, Dialogues, Doctors and Directions (2020)
Sewing Hope: Exhibition on Preaching by Word and Deed (2022)
Faith Crawl: Religion and Pluralism (2023)
UCALGARY NEWS July 5, 2024 Study Abroad: The History of Religion in Italy
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