Ryan Sheehan presents on French dynasty at Midwest Medieval History Conference

Ryan Sheehan, a history major in the Honors Tutorial College, presented his work on the Capetian dynasty of French kings at the fall 2022 Midwest Medieval History Conference in Cincinnati.

Sheehan took the podium to share his paper on “The Development of the French Royal Body in the Middle Ages” with an audience of medieval history professors and graduate students, a group of scholars he likely will see again as he plans to pursue graduate studies in medieval history.

Sheehan's paper examines the evolution of French kingship during the Middles Ages. In it, he argues that members of the Capetian dynasty identified as the most Christian kings by promoting the cult of Louis IX and beliefs in their religiously empowered royal bodies.

“It was fun to show off a semester’s worth of research to an audience of career medievalists,” Sheehan said. “And (I think) I was able to hold my own.”

Miriam Shadis, who also attended the conference, agreed, noting that she was “pleased and proud” with Sheehan’s presentation, adding that he defended his work “professionally and admirably.”

Sheehan’s paper for the Midwest Medieval History Conference was part of a larger work he developed last spring in his honors tutorial with Shadis, associate professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences. The tutorial was focused on medieval medicine, bodies, and knowledge.

Sheehan credits the History Department’s Undergraduate History Conference with preparing him for the medieval history conference. His first experience presenting his work to an audience of his peers and his professors was at the spring 2022 Undergraduate History Conference, where he shared a paper he had written for the history junior composition course on "Inequality in the Pactus Legis Salicae," a French civil law code dating back to about 500 CE.

This semester, Sheehan is continuing his work on early French politics as he completes his honors thesis.

Sheehan said that presenting at a professional conference, especially one dedicated to the Middle Ages, was a great opportunity.

“I learned a lot by listening to other papers, and I received advice and feedback from other participants,” said Sheehan, who further appreciated connecting with professors in other institutions and “receiving some advice from graduate students about the [graduate school] application process.”