Dr Jonathan Davies

Contact Information:

Office: FAB 3.64
Telephone: 02476 523420.
Email: j.d.davies@warwick.ac.uk
Office Hours in 2024/25: Term 1: The hour following my seminars [in my seminar room in Venice]. Terms 2 and 3: Tuesdays, 12.00-2.00 [in my office, FAB 3.64].

Academic Profile

I studied Medieval and Modern History at the University of Liverpool, where I won the H.M. Finnegan Prize for Medieval History and received a B.A. (Hons), First Class. I remained at Liverpool for my postgraduate research. My doctoral dissertation focused on the University of Florence between 1385 and 1473. My research in Italy was supported by a two-year Leverhulme Trust Study Abroad Studentship. I was awarded a PhD in 1993.
I held a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Leeds. I was also a member of the Committee of the Institute for Medieval StudiesLink opens in a new window .
I was a Research Fellow in the AHRB Centre for the Study of Renaissance Elites and Court Cultures at Warwick.
In 2003 I was appointed to a Lectureship in Italian Renaissance History at Warwick. In September 2006 I became an Assistant Professor. In October 2008 I was promoted to Associate Professor.
I am the founder of STVDIOLink opens in a new window, the interdisciplinary research group which promotes the study of the Renaissance.
From 2005 to 2014 I was the co-founder and co-director of the Warburg Institute-University of Warwick Research Training Programme, 'Resources and Techniques for the Study of Renaissance and Early Modern Culture'Link opens in a new window.
I was the joint coordinator of the The History of Violence NetworkLink opens in a new window.
I am a member of the European History Research CentreLink opens in a new window.
I was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical SocietyLink opens in a new window in 2001. I have served as a member of the Council of the Society for Renaissance StudiesLink opens in a new window . I am also a member of the Renaissance Society of AmericaLink opens in a new window.

Undergraduate Modules Taught

Postgraduate Courses and Modules Taught

Research

My current research concentrates on the folklore of Europe (including the British Isles) from prehistory to the present and on violence in early modern Europe (including the British Isles), especially its literary representations. I also have longstanding interests in the history of the Italian states (especially Tuscany) between 1350 and 1600.

Research Supervision

I am happy to supervise postgraduate students on any aspect of my research interests. My current doctoral students are:

Wanxin Du, "Violent Crimes and Criminal Justice in the State of Siena, 1590-1650"Link opens in a new window

Sophie Hartles, "Laughter and Violence in the Italian Renaissance: The Physical and Emotional Abuse of the beffa"Link opens in a new window

Authored Books

Edited Books

A Cultural History of Violence in the Renaissance (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2025)
Jonathan Davies and John Monfasani, eds, Renaissance Politics and Culture: Essays in Honour of Robert BlackLink opens in a new window (Leiden: Brill, 2021)
Aspects of Violence in Early Modern EuropeLink opens in a new window (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013)

Articles in Refereed Journals

"Violence and Italian Universities during the RenaissanceLink opens in a new window", Renaissance Studies 27/4 (2013), 504-16.
"Elites and Examiners at Italian Universities during the Late Middle Ages," Medieval Prosopography 21 (2001), 191-209.
"The Studio pisano under Florentine Domination, 1406-1472," History of Universities 16 (1) (2000), 197-235.
"A 'Paper University'? The Studio lucchese, 1369-1487," History of Universities 15 (1997-99): 261-306.
"Corruption of the Examination Process at the University of Florence," History of Universities 14 (1995-96): 69-93.
With P.E.H. Hair, "Sierra Leone and the Grand Duke of Tuscany," History in Africa 20 (1993): 61-9.
"Marsilo Ficino: Lecturer at the Studio fiorentino," Renaissance Quarterly 45 (1992): 785-90.

Chapters in Books

"Literary Representations of Violence" in Jonathan Davies, ed., A Cultural History of Violence in the Renaissance (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2025)
"Il governo delle università in Toscana dalle repubbliche al principato" in Carla Frova and Stefania Zucchini, eds, La tradizione degli studia comunali nelle città di età modernaLink opens in a new window (Florence: Leo S. Olschki, 2023), 1-12.
"The Impact of War" in Beat Kümin, ed., The European World 1500-1800: An Introduction to Early Modern HistoryLink opens in a new window, 4th ed. (Abingdon: Routledge, 2022), 415-424.
"Robert Black: A Life of Scholarship" in Jonathan Davies and John Monfasani, eds, Renaissance Politics and Culture: Essays in Honour of Robert Black (Leiden: Brill, 2021), 1-13.
"The Ideal Student: Manuals of Student Behaviour in Early Modern Italy" in Richard Kirwan, ed., Scholarly Self-Fashioning and Community in the Early Modern UniversityLink opens in a new window (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013), 21-38.
"The Studio fiorentino in the Renaissance" in Amedeo Belluzzi and Emanuela Ferretti, eds, La sede della Sapienza a Firenze (Florence: Istituto Geografico Militare, 2009), 19-29.
"Italian Universities and the Wars of Italy", in Christine Shaw, ed., Italy and the European Powers: The Impact of War, 1503-1530Link opens in a new window (Leiden, Boston, and Cologne: Brill, 2006), 297-305.

Reviews

I have reviewed for the American Historical Review, the Burlington Magazine, European History Quarterly, H-Italy, Renaissance Quarterly, and the Sixteenth Century Journal.

Please see the Venice Programme videoLink opens in a new window

Warwick History of Violence NetworkLink opens in a new window