Eduardo Benitez-Inglott Y Ballesteros

Research Topic

Inquisition in late medieval England and Castile-León: socio-political uncertainty, human doubt, and the coming of heresy

Eduardo's groundbreaking comparative project tackles a simple (yet difficult!) question: ‘In what way did medieval socio-political uncertainty “create” heresy?’ Inquisition in England and Castile-León draws upon an unprecedented range of literary, visual, and legal sources and sets them against a rich anthropological background (with theories ranging from Émile Durkheim and Max Weber to René Girard) to provide an answer. All this will allow Eduardo to understand the changing perceptions of religious authorities in medieval England and Castile towards minority groups (Wycliffites and Judeoconversos, respectively). 

In the short term the project's aims are twofold. Firstly, to understand how wide-scale socio-political events cause a shift in inquisitorial discourse in the regions and period concerned. Secondly, to lead the way in intiating a systematic dismantling of the Leyenda Negra ('Black Legend') in relation to the Spanish Inquisition (1478-1834) by demonstrating the presence of inquisition in both regions in the Late Middle Ages.

In the long term Eduardo's aim is to to inform the Present with reference to the Past for effective policy-making to generate trust and toleration. Very relevant to our modern society, Eduardo's project highlights the relation between crises and scapegoating and can be of use for United Kingdom and Spanish government organisations, as well as international bodies such as the ECRI (European Commission against Racism and Intolerance), the European Parliament's LIBE (Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs), and the United Nation's Forum on Minority Issues.  

Supervisor: Dr John H. Edwards (Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages; Faculty of History)

Research Interests

Eduardo is an interdisciplinary student with interests ranging from anthropology to manuscript studies and covering religious history, art, and literary studies.

Publications and Conferences

• 'Condemnant quo non intellegunt: State-sponsored (mis)representation of Wycliffites and conversos in fifteenth-century England and Castile', Aberystwyth Early Modern Conference 2020: Community and Identity, Aberystwyth University - Prifysgol Aberystwyth (29-30 June 2020). [Due to the risks posed by COVID-19 (coronavirus) the organising committee has POSTPONED this event. Pending reschedule: new date to be posted when announced.]
• 'The Politics of Heresy: the Scapegoating of Minorities in Fifteenth-century England and Castile', The Oxford Transnational and Global History Seminar, University of Oxford. [TGHS has POSTPONED this event. Pending reschedule: new date to be posted when announced.]
• 'Alfred the Great as an English Gregory', Medieval and Early Modern Studies Festival, University of Kent (14-15 June 2019).
• 'A Lollard Preacher and the Eucharist: "De oblacione iugis sacrificii"', Medieval Church and Culture Seminar, University of Oxford (22 May 2018).
• 'The Black Death and Lay Piety in Medieval England’, St Catherine's College Exchange Conference, University of Oxford (28 February 2018).

Public Engagement

Eduardo is committed to sharing his project and discoveries with those beyond the academic environment. He believes that History can be of immense use for the present, in particular concerning the wellbeing of religious, social, and ethnic minorities. To that intent he is currently involved with the media. 

• Interview: 'Un Canario en Oxford' ('A Canarian at Oxford'), Canarias7 (29/12/2019). 
• Interview in the radio programme  'La Alpispa', Radio Televisión Canaria (03/01/2020) [appearing between 01:04:16 and 01:18:35].

Conference papers and publications will be made available at academia.edu in due course. Eduardo can also be found at ORCID.

Eduardo read History at King's College London (2014-1017), his first dissertation dwelling on the impact of the Gregorian Reforms in the final protocols of English and Castilian royal charters and his second on the place of Lollardy in early English Protestantism (1520s-1530s). He then pursued a Master of Studies (MSt) Medieval Studies (2017-1018)  at St Catherine's College, Oxford, exploring the Eucharistic 'affiliations' of early academic Wycliffism (pre-1414).  

As of October 2017 the University Council elected him Associate of King's College London (AKC).

During the 2019-2020 academic year Eduardo will be the course rep for Medieval History DPhil students at the Faculty, sitting at the Graduate Joint Consultative Committee (GJCC). Feel free to contact him with any suggestions, questions, and/or concerns.