Jonathan Morton

Jonathan Morton is a Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, affiliated with the Premodern Sciences Research Group. His work bridges medieval literary studies, philosophy, and the history of scientific thought through interdisciplinary analysis of textual and cultural artifacts.

He received his doctorate from the University of Oxford, where his dissertation evolved into the monograph The "Roman de la rose" in its Philosophical Context (Oxford University Press, 2018). Prior academic appointments include a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at King's College London and a Junior Research Fellowship at New College, Oxford.

Morton's research investigates how medieval literature mediates between knowledge systems, sensory experience, and desire, with particular focus on allegorical traditions like the Romance of the Rose, bestiaries, and thought experiments. He examines intersections of artistic expression with philosophical inquiry and emerging scientific frameworks in premodern Europe, emphasizing how literary forms shaped epistemological development.

His publication record reveals concentrated exploration of medieval cognitive technologies, ethical frameworks in courtly literature, and theological dimensions of scientific representation. Key thematic threads include the materiality of knowledge production, cross-cultural transmission of ideas, and the role of imagination in medieval epistemology across French, Anglo-Norman, and broader European contexts.

Major scholarly recognition includes:

• Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship
• Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Scholarship

As an active contributor to the Premodern Sciences Research Group, Morton has organized and presented at seminars addressing medieval robotics, cognitive technologies, and the science of character. His collaborative editorial projects demonstrate sustained engagement with interdisciplinary methodologies connecting literary studies to the history of science, including co-editing volumes on medieval thought experiments and the philosophical dimensions of the Romance of the Rose.