History and Classics PhD thesis collection
Recent Submissions
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'What they call free in this country': refugees from slavery in Revolutionary America, 1775-1783
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-06-07)This thesis explores how Black refugees experienced refuge with the British military during the American Revolutionary War, 1775-1783. It examines how refugees from slavery created and were denied sanctuary with the British ... -
Atimia: dishonour, disfranchisement, and civic disability in archaic and classical Athens
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-05-22)This thesis centres around the legal penalty of atimia (‘dishonour’ or ‘disrespect’) in the archaic and classical periods of Greek history, analysed against the wider backdrop of the role of timē (‘honour’/‘worth’ or ... -
Non-Physical cruelty and the divorce court in England 1857-1914: expectations and experiences of marriage
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-05-19)This thesis examines a period of over 50 years – from 1857, when the Divorce Court was established, until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, when there was significant disruption to marital life and gender relations ... -
Transformational conservative? Constructing Ronald Reagan's presidential legacy, c.1984-1998
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-04-25)This thesis explores the construction of Ronald Reagan’s legacy during his years as President of the United States, and in the period immediately following his departure from office. As the first successful two-term ... -
Monetary exchanges and social capital in the tenth century Byzantine court
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-04-12)The tenth-century Book of Ceremonies (De Ceremoniis), compiled during the sole rule of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 945-959) and in the years after his death, has long been a source of interest for Byzantinists, ... -
Boundaries of childhood: growing up in Scotland 1930-1975
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-03-27)Much has been written about the history of childhood: little has been written about the history of being a child. This gap is particularly acute in the debate about the loss of British children’s ‘freedom’ to travel and ... -
Hardest conflict: morale in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-03-15)This thesis provides the first examination of Continental Army morale. It investigates the morale of enlisted, ordinary soldiers during the American Revolutionary War, from 1775 to 1783. This thesis does not attempt to ... -
Polybius' characterisation of Hannibal. A study on personality, character and narrative identity in the Histories
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-03-15)This research offers a re-evaluation of Polybius’ literary style through an analysis of his characterisations. Using narratology, psychology, and philosophy I study the depiction of Hannibal Barca to illustrate some ... -
Educating slaves: a comparative approach to education in Roman slavery
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-03-15)The purpose of this thesis is to explore the role of education in Roman slavery. In doing so, it seeks to establish how Roman slavers, primarily of elite status, conceptualised their willingness to educate (some of) ... -
Itinerary of William of Malmesbury: a study of a Benedictine Monk’s mobility in the Early Twelfth Century
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-03-14)As one of the most famous English monastic historians in the early twelfth century, William of Malmesbury is believed to have travelled widely in order to collect information and materials for his writings. Despite ... -
Carmina Magica: reading magic and ritual in Latin love elegy
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-02-13)Carmina Magica: Reading Magic and Ritual in Latin Love Elegy focuses on the relationship between magic, ritual, and poetics in the works of each of the major extant Latin elegists — Tibullus, Propertius, and Ovid — with ... -
Doubtful disputations: controversies in philosophical theology circa 1700
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-02-08)This research examines how controversial culture shaped philosophical theology in England circa 1700. This period saw numerous debates at the intersection of philosophy (including natural philosophy) and theology. Works ... -
Parliament, the parties and the Scottish question, 1974-1979
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-01-18)This thesis investigates the rise and fall of the Scottish assembly project of the 1970s. It provides the first full-length historical study to focus on the devolution debate of the 1974-1979 Parliament. At the heart ... -
Slave ‘crime and punishment’: management, authority and discretion in Roman law and literature
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-01-18)This thesis investigates elite approximations to ‘crime and punishment’ in Roman slavery. ‘Crime’ and ‘punishment’ are understood here in a malleable sense, including delicts and crimes known in Roman law (and their ... -
Loyalty in captivity: ideas and identity among Ulster Loyalist paramilitary prisoners, 1972 - 1988
(The University of Edinburgh, 2023-01-10)This study explores the prison experience of Ulster loyalist paramilitary prisoners during the 'Troubles' conflict, those belonging to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA), who waged ... -
Orange Order in Belfast and Glasgow, 1910 - 1914
(The University of Edinburgh, 2022-12-21)This PhD thesis examines the Orange Order in Belfast and Glasgow during the years of the third Home Rule crisis, 1910 to 1914. It argues that Orangeism was a remarkably flexible construction and that during this period the ... -
Text as political weapon: the legacy of the Attic orators in Early Hellenistic Athens (322-261 BCE)
(The University of Edinburgh, 2022-12-13)This thesis investigates the transmission and political reception of fourth-century Athenian political oratory in early Hellenistic Athens (henceforth EHA) – viz. the period spanning from the Lamian War (322 BCE) to the ... -
Revolutionary reverberations: Russia and Ireland in war and revolution, 1905-1923
(The University of Edinburgh, 2022-12-08)The period between 1905 and 1923 was one of immense political instability around the world, but particularly in Russia and Ireland. Both countries emerged from this period with new state structures: Russia as part of the ... -
From the Adriatic to the Alps: an examination of inland trade in Northern Italy between the First Century BC and Fifth Century AD
(The University of Edinburgh, 2022-11-23)Within the Italian peninsula, Northern Italy has previously been maligned as a marginal and unimportant inland region during the Roman era. Inland areas are assumed to have been difficult to access, with long-distance ... -
Electoral truce and party politics in Scotland during the Second World War
(The University of Edinburgh, 2022-11-21)This thesis focuses on Scottish politics during the Second World War and argues that the electoral truce, which was agreed at the outbreak of war, had a significant impact on the dynamics of party-politics in Scotland. ...
