Sean L. Field

Sean L. Field is a Professor of History at the University of Vermont's College of Arts and Sciences, specializing in Medieval Europe with particular focus on religious movements, royal dynasties, and women's roles in medieval society. He holds prestigious fellowships from the Medieval Academy of America and the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, and has been a Fulbright Fellow and UVM University Scholar. His research bridges historiography, hagiography, and textual analysis, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to medieval political theology and gender studies.

Field earned his Ph.D. from Northwestern University (2002) after completing a B.A. at the University of Michigan (1992) and M.A. at Northwestern (1997). His career includes residential fellowships at the Camargo Foundation (France) and the National Humanities Center (North Carolina). Notable works include A Female Apostle in Medieval Italy (2022) and translations of Rigord’s Gesta Philippi Augusti (2022) and Jean Gerson’s tract on Joan of Arc (2012). He is especially recognized for his 2023 translation of Jacques Dalarun’s To Govern is to Serve, exploring medieval democracy.

His research interests center on the intersections of royal power, religious institutions, and women’s contributions to medieval intellectual and spiritual life. Key themes include the Capetian dynasty’s engagement with sanctity, the circulation of vernacular religious texts, and the dynamics of medieval heresy trials. Field has contributed 16 authored or edited books and over 50 articles, frequently addressing marginalized voices like beguines and female mystics.

Awarded the CARA Excellence in Teaching Award (Medieval Academy of America), Field emphasizes pedagogical innovation while maintaining rigorous scholarly output. His work often involves recovering overlooked sources, such as unpublished prefaces to hagiographies or royal chronicles, to reconstruct nuanced historical narratives.