Dr Elizabeth New

BA (Exeter) MA (York) PhD (London)

Dr Elizabeth New

Reader in History

History and Welsh History

Contact Details

Dr Elizabeth New BA (Exeter), MA (York), PhD (London) is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Her research interests focus on high and later medieval England and Wales, especially its social, cultural and religious history; the visual and material culture of medieval Britain and northern Europe; medieval seals and sealing practices; and heritage studies. Dr New received a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship in 2020-23, and was Co-Investigator for the AHRC Imprint: a forensic and historical investigation of fingerprints on medieval seals project www.imprintseals.org 

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Dr Elizabeth New works on the social, cultural and religious history and material and visual culture of medieval Britain, and on aspects of heritage studies. In 2020-23 she held a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship, ‘Identity, interaction and exchange in medieval England’, that drew on a range of historical and scientific research methods to explore the ways in which people, especially of the under-investigated middling and lower levels of society, used seals as a means of identification and representation, and in relation to social, cultural and legal interactions and exchange. A major new monograph, Impressing People. Identity, interaction and exchange in medieval England and Wales emerged from this, and currently is under consideration with a publisher. In addition to this book Dr New is working on a series of publications that highlight how a holistic approach to seals and sealing practices, and in particular their full integration into medieval studies, can provide new insights into society and reveal important nuances of cultural meaning. Dr New was Co-Investigator for the AHRC project Imprint: a forensic and historical investigation of fingerprints on medieval seals www.imprintseals.org and previously was Senior Researcher for the AHRC Seals in Medieval Wales project.

Dr New’s critical edition of the records of the Jesus Guild in St Paul's Cathedral (Oxford, Bodleian Tanner MS 221), which provide valuable insights into socio-economic networks and the 'economy of salvation' on the eve of the Reformation, was recently published https://boydellandbrewer.com/9780900952623/records-of-the-jesus-guild-in-st-pauls-cathedral-c-1450-1550/ This is one element in Dr New’s ongoing work on aspects of the Holy Name (the subject of her PhD) in relation to expressions of Christocentric devotion, a monograph about which is under crontract with Boydell & Brewer.

Dr New has a range of interests relating to heritage, material culture, and historiography, and currently is investigating a group of medievalists active during the period of the ‘professionalization’ of history.

Shropshire: Art, Architecture and Archaeology from Roman Wroxeter to the Sixteenth Century. / McNeill, John (Editor); New, Elizabeth.
Taylor & Francis, 2026. 450 p. (British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions; Vol. 45).

Research output: Book/Report › Edited book

Making an Impression: Digital Investigation of Palm Prints on Medieval Wax Seals. / Hoskin, Philippa; New, Elizabeth.
Archival Materialities in a Digital Age. ed. / Eirini Goudarouli; Andrew Prescott. British Academy, 2025.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Seals and the Culture of Sealing in Medieval England. / New, Elizabeth.
1st ed. London: Bloomsbury, 2025. 304 p.

Research output: Book/Report › Book

Guidelines for cataloguing and recording seals. / Berry, Charlotte; Hoskin, Philippa; New, Elizabeth.
Archives and Records Association . 2024, Best Practice Guide.

Research output: Other contribution

’The Medium is the Message’: Wax as an Active Agent in the Sealing Process in Medieval England. / New, Elizabeth.
Das Siegel als Medium der Kommunikation und des Transfers im europäischen Mittelalter. ed. / Markus Späth; Andrea Stieldorf . Cologne, 2024. (Beihefte des Archiv für Diplomatik ).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

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