Peter Clarke

Peter Clarke is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Southampton, specializing in the history of medieval canon law (c. 1150-1500). He is an active researcher and supervisor, currently accepting PhD students. His work bridges legal, religious, and social history with a particular focus on the institutional structures of the medieval Western Church.

His primary research interests include the canon law of the medieval Western Church, the records of the papal penitentiary, and clergy involvement in criminal violence in Later Medieval England and Wales. Clarke has shifted his recent focus to the papal penitentiary records, which dealt with sins requiring papal absolution and various papal favors concerning marriage, runaway religious figures, and violence.

His publication record shows consistent output in top medieval studies journals and presses, with a notable trend toward examining the intersection of ecclesiastical authority and social practice. Recent works demonstrate increasing attention to the practical application of canon law in everyday medieval life, particularly regarding violence, marriage dispensations, and the complex relationship between clerics and secular society.

Clarke has supervised multiple PhD students and has developed research-led teaching modules including 'Papal Power in Medieval Europe,' 'Sin and Society, c. 1100-1520,' and 'Medieval Love, Sex and Marriage.' He recently co-developed 'The Apocalyptic Fourteenth-Century,' examining crises that shook European society.

His current major project is the monograph 'Clergy and Criminal Violence in Later Medieval England and Wales' (forthcoming with Cambridge University Press), which examines how clerics' involvement in violence reveals their relationship with secular society and challenges assumptions about their privileged legal status.