Julian Leidy

Research Topic

Trans Subjectivity in the Middle Ages

Supervisor: Hannah Skoda

I study social inclusion and exclusion and the experiences of marginalised individuals in the later Middle Ages. My DPhil dissertation is concerned with the subjectivities and experiences of medieval gender-nonconforming individuals and the textured ways in which those individuals were represented, perceived, and treated by others. I explore the ways in which those individuals can be understood as trans(gender) and suggest that understanding them as trans offers valuable insights into their individual subjectivities, experiences of their gender and body, and agency. My project is particularly focused on late medieval Venice but connects and compares other cases of trans individuals from across Europe between c. 1350 and c. 1550.

I am also interested in disability and embodiment, gender and masculinity, and sexuality and queerness in the Middle Ages. 

I graduated with a first-class MA in medieval history from the University of St Andrews in 2022, having written my dissertation on gender nonconformity and transgressive sexuality in the late Middle Ages. I received my MSt in history from Corpus Christi, Oxford in 2024; my thesis explored intersections between disability, community, and sanctity in Siena from 1250-1350.

In addition to my academic studies, I work as an editor and contributor at JancisRobinson.com, one of the world’s leading wine publications, and am the president of the Oxford University Blind Wine Tasting Society.