Dr Claire Kennan
- Roles
- Researcher
- Author
Head of Research Impact, Culture and Engagement
About
Claire is a medieval historian, public engagement and research impact specialist with experience of working in higher education and independent research organisations. She specialises in the history of Britain between 1300 and 1500, with a particular focus on the social and cultural impact of the Black Death, the pre-Reformation parish, popular piety and medieval guilds.
Research activity
Claire's PhD entitled ‘Guilds and Society in Louth, Lincolnshire c.1450-1550’ was completed in 2018 under the supervision of Professor Nigel Saul at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is currently working on her first book and is the series co-editor for ‘Reinterpreting the Middle Ages: From Medieval to Neo’ (published by Brepols).
Prior to joining The National Archives in 2025 as the Head of Research Impact, Culture and Engagement, Claire was a Research Impact Manager for both the University of Reading and King’s College London working across a broad range of academic disciplines including art, archaeology, literature, history, philosophy, law and business. In 2019 Claire was one of the AHRC’s Creative Economy Engagement Fellows at The National Archives and between 2017 and 2020 she was the Medieval Specialist on the £1 million National Lottery Heritage Fund Citizens Project. She is currently a collaborator on the £10 million CAD SSHRC-funded Environments of Change project and the £1.5 million AHRC Inclusive Histories project.
Claire communicates her research to broad audiences including school learners, teachers, independent researchers and the media. She is a regular subject expert for the Prince’s Teaching Institute and has presented her research on TV shows, podcasts and YouTube videos with the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, BBC Radio 4, the History Channel and History Hit.
Publications
'Decoding the Medieval: From Manipulation to Other' (with Emma J. Wells), in 'What is Medieval? Decoding Approaches to the medieval and medievalism in the 21st century' (Brepols, 2024).
'Power, Piety and Presence: The Cult of Corpus Christi and the 1389 Guild Enquiry in Lincolnshire', in Creativity, Contradictions and Commemoration in the Reign of Richard II, ed. by Jessica Lutkin and J. S. Hamilton (Boydell, 2022).
'On the Threshold? The Role of Women in Lincolnshire's Late Medieval Parish Guilds', in Gender in Medieval Places, Spaces and Thresholds, ed. by Victoria Blud, Diane Heath and Einat Klafter (Institute of Historical Research, 2019).