Aengus Ward

Professor Aengus Ward is a Professor in Medieval Iberian Studies at the Department of Modern Languages, University of Birmingham. He has been a member of the faculty since 1994, progressing from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer, Reader, and ultimately Professor. His academic journey began with an MA from University College Dublin (National University of Ireland), followed by a PhD from the University of Birmingham completed in 1995.

His research focuses on medieval Spanish history and historiography, textual editing, diachronic phonology and syntax, with a particular emphasis on digital approaches to medieval manuscript studies. Ward is the principal investigator of the Estoria de Espanna Digital project, the first major digital edition of a sustained text in medieval Spanish prose, which was AHRC-funded between 2013 and 2017.

Ward has developed innovative teaching methods, including the final year module "The Digital Past" which trains students to use digital tools to engage with medieval manuscripts. He also teaches courses on medieval and early-modern culture, Spanish language and linguistics, and themes of tolerance and intolerance in the context of the Spanish Inquisition.

His research has led to collaborations with institutions worldwide including the Biblioteca Nacional de España, École Normale Supérieure (Lyon), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Universidad de Sevilla, and others. Ward has given invited talks at prestigious institutions such as the Sorbonne, University of Oxford, and Georgetown University.

• MA: University College Dublin, National University of Ireland
• PhD: University of Birmingham (1995)

Ward's publications demonstrate an evolving research trajectory from medieval Iberian historiography and textual editing to interdisciplinary study of discursive practices, and more recently to cutting-edge digital editing and digital cultures. His work bridges traditional philological analysis with innovative digital methodologies.

He has received recognition through his leadership of the Estoria de Espanna Digital project and related exhibitions at major institutions including the Biblioteca Nacional de España, the Universidad de Salamanca, and the Biblioteca de Menédez Pelayo in Santander.

Ward actively mentors the next generation of scholars, currently supervising three PhD students and having previously guided numerous doctoral and master's candidates in areas ranging from Alfonso X's historiography to language policy in the Iberian Peninsula. His research group has attracted doctoral and post-doctoral visitors from Spanish universities including the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and the Universidad de Sevilla.