Our Team
Clara Chamberlain, Co-Founder & President
Clara Chamberlain (University of East Anglia, she/her) is a CHASE-funded scholar working towards a thesis entitled “Not-So-New-Worlds? Examining the Literary Genealogies of Sixteenth-Century Spanish Narratives of Conquest”. Her current research investigates the influence of crusade literature and late medieval chivalric fiction on early accounts of the Americas written by Spanish soldiers and clerics. Inspired by her previous work and travels in (and love of) Latin America and the Mediterranean, her thesis interrogates the late medieval ideological bedrock of the conquistadors’ self-mythologising.
Outside of her PhD, Clara is passionate about all things public history and works to ensure that research into the past is made more accessible and entertaining for the casual learner. She writes a light-hearted Substack blog with a ‘Horrible Histories’ for adults kind of vibe and co-founded MEMRN alongside Harry to offer researchers and non-academic enthusiasts a supportive and inclusive space to collaborate.
Harry Gilbert, Co-Founder & Vice-President
Harry Gilbert (University of Kent, he/him) is a CHASE-funded scholar working towards his thesis entitled “Echoes of the Past: Hagiography, Diplomatic, and the Power of the Written Word in the Post-Conquest Scriptorium of Rochester Cathedral Priory”. Harry’s research explores the ways in which the reformed community of Rochester Cathedral Priory utilised and manipulated memories of the past for their own benefit through works original to their own scriptorium, specifically several works of hagiography concerning past bishops and a cartulary interspersed with their own unique narratives.
Harry also channels his love of local histories into his membership of his local council’s heritage team, working across several brilliant heritage sites, from castles to Tudor townhouses. Aside from work, Harry is an avid D&D fan and a father to two little girls who regularly guest star at MEMRN’s online meetings.
Max Roantree, Social Media & Communications Lead
Max Roantree (he/him) is an independent MEMs scholar. During his MA studies at the University of East Anglia, Max’s research explored the role of the fantastic within medieval literature, with a particular focus the narrative function of the dragon across medieval genres from the hagiographical to the chivalric. Max is currently on a break from academia, but can’t keep away from MEMs studies! He joined the MEMRN committee in 2024.
Besides continuing his own research, Max is a competitive archer competing nationwide. He once even managed to fire an arrow down the middle of another (just like Robin Hood, eh?) Max self-identifies as a massive nerd and plays every board game, TTRPG, and anything in-between that he can get his hands on.
Ruby Whitehouse, Funding & Administration Assistant
Ruby Whitehouse (University of East Anglia, she/her) is a CHASE-funded PhD student working on a thesis entitled ‘”Al Biclagged in Clay”: Changeable Bodies, Ecologies and Identities in Medieval Literary Wetlands’. Her research is concerned with the role bogs, fens, marshes and other wetlands play in the imagination of medieval Britain, with a particular focus on how these spaces engage with bodies – human, saintly, monstrous, (un)dead and all those in between. Spanning multiple genres, regions and centuries, her thesis explores the space these geographically marginal places occupy in the wider medieval literary landscape.
Outside of her PhD, Ruby is especially passionate about public engagement with East Anglian literature, history and folklore through the lens of landscape and community. She writes Modern English adaptions of Middle English plays, which most recently included a (very wormy) reworking of The Last Judgment from the N-Town, Chester and Towneley cycles.
Kate Hilton, Online Events Co-Ordinator
Kate Hilton (she/they) is an independent scholar interested in the representation of all things botanical in medieval art and architecture. Their MA explored the depiction of landscapes in Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies manuscript tradition, examining how the illustrations often highlighted women’s autonomy whilst reinforcing symbols of elite land use. Kate has also researched the preservation of botanical knowledge through networks of female patronage across medieval and early modern France, focusing particularly on Anne of Brittany’s early sixteenth-century book of hours, which blurs the boundaries between decorative and didactic.
Outside of academia, Kate is enthusiastic about bringing art history to a wider audience, through public talks and impromptu speeches to their friends. She is also an avid scrapbooker, calligrapher, and fibre artist, inspired by the craftspeople of the Middle Ages.
TBC – Social Media Officer
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TBC – Committee Support Officer
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TBC – Committee Support Officer
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