Ian Forrest

Professor Ian Forrest is a Professor and Head of School in the School of Humanities at the University of Glasgow. His research focuses on medieval church history, particularly exploring themes of power dynamics, heresy detection, and institutional trust mechanisms. He has authored influential works such as *Trustworthy Men: How Inequality and Faith Made the Medieval Church* (2018) and *Gender and Authority in the Late Medieval Church* (2025, forthcoming). His scholarship bridges medieval studies with interdisciplinary fields like anarchist theory and global economic history.

Key research interests include:

• Medieval ecclesiastical governance
• Heresy and inquisition practices
• Social power structures in late medieval Europe
• Trust mechanisms in medieval institutions
• Gender roles in religious institutions

Recent publications highlight his engagement with long-distance trade networks (2018), the commodification of heresy (2023), and interdisciplinary historical methodologies (2020). He has edited major scholarly editions like *The Visitation of Hereford Diocese in 1397* (2023) and contributed to major companions like *A Companion to Crime and Deviance in the Middle Ages*.

His work often critiques traditional historiographical approaches, advocating for more inclusive and intersectional analyses of medieval society. Current projects include examining gender dynamics within medieval church hierarchies and reinterpreting archival sources through an anarchist studies lens.