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Faculty
Adam Matthews
Title
Assistant Professor of History
Department
History
Contact Info
Biography
Adam Matthews is an assistant professor of history. At Alma, he offers courses on European History before 1800. His research focuses on the legal, documentary and liturgical practices of the early and central Middle Ages. His current book project, “Thresholds of Heaven: Law, Liturgy, and Sacred Space in Catalonia and southern France, 800-1200,” examines how judges in the lands bordering the eastern Pyrenees Mountains capitalized on ever-evolving conceptions of sacred space in order to develop court strategies capable of solidifying judicial authority during moments of political weakness.
Educational Background:
- B.A. Wittenberg University
- M.A. Western Michigan University
- Ph.D. Columbia University
Signature Courses:
Law in the Premodern West; Age of Vikings; Medieval Worlds
Recent Work and Accomplishments
Matthews, A. Judges and the Creation of Sacred Space in Medieval Catalonia, 800-1100. Medieval People (forthcoming 2024).
Matthews, A. Within Sacred Boundaries: The limitations of Saintly Justice in the Province of Narbonne around the Year 1000. Journal of Medieval History 46:3 (2020), 284-305.