Dr Eloise Davies

I am a historian of religion and political thought. My work explores debate over the relationship between spiritual and temporal authority in the medieval and early modern periods, c. 1350 and 1700, with a particular focus on English and Italian contexts.

I am especially interested in the political and religious thought of early modern Venice. As an Italian Catholic power, but one which chafed against the excesses of papal authority, the history of Venice captures important and often overlooked tensions which defined the politics and political thought of the Reformation period. My research into seventeenth-century Anglo-Venetian relations was recently awarded the Institute of Historical Research's Sir John Neale Prize for Early Modern British History (2021) and The Society for Court Studies Essay Prize (2022). I have also pursued research on the relationship between politics and religion in other settings: my published work includes a study of the neglected political thought of the late medieval mystic Catherine of Siena (Renaissance Studies, 2021) and an exploration of the political significance of blasphemy legislation in 1690s England (The English Historical Review, 2020).

Having completed my BA, MPhil and PhD at the University of Cambridge, I moved to Oxford as College Lecturer in Early Modern History at Pembroke College (2021–22). In 2022, I took up a Departmental Lectureship in Political Theory at the Department of Politics and International Relations and Oriel College. For the most up-to-date information, see my DPIR profile.