Profile
Dr Rebecca Menmuir
Profile
I joined Lincoln as a Darby Fellow in 2024 from Queen Mary, London, where I was a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow. Prior to that I studied at Royal Holloway (BA), St Hilda’s Oxford (MSt), and Jesus Oxford (DPhil). I have experience teaching undergraduates and graduates at several Oxford colleges, as well as at universities in London and abroad (at the University of Groningen).
College teaching
I teach all core college papers in medieval literature and linguistics, covering the period 650–1550: Prelims Papers 1 (Linguistics) and 2 (Old English); FHS Paper 2 (Middle English); and Papers 1 (Old English) and 2 (medieval romance) for Course II students. I supervise final-year dissertations which focus on medieval literature, and am available for graduate teaching or supervision in relevant areas.
- Research
-
My primary research area is the reception of the classics in the Middle Ages, across Latin and vernacular literature, book history, and manuscript studies. My first book focused on the medieval reception of Ovid’s exile poetry; and my current book project explores medieval forgeries of Ovid.
I am additionally interested in medievalism and its relationship with forgery studies, ranging from Shakespeare to modern detective fiction. My particular focus is on the varieties of Chaucerian reception.
I am the Associate Editor for Chapters II-V of The Year’s Work in English Studies. I am currently on the editorial board for TEAMS’ Secular Commentary Series, and I am co-organising the 6th Middle Ages in the Modern World conference in 2027.
I am committed to widening access to medieval and classical literature, and have organised pilgrimages, tours, and talks based on my research. Queries about research collaborations, outreach, or other potential events are most welcome.
- Select publications
-
‘“I’d been Chaucer for a week!”: Forging the Medieval in Kipling’s Dayspring Mishandled’, The Review of English Studies (2026).
Medieval Responses to Ovid’s Exile, Cambridge University Press (2025).
Authenticity in Medieval and Early Modern Literature, De Gruyter (2025).
‘A Stylometric Reassessment of the Nux Attributed to Ovid’, Helios 52.1 (with Benjamin Nagy), Helios 52.1 (2025), 47–84
‘Glossing Books 1 & 2 / Glossing Book 3 of the Pseudo-Ovidian De vetula’ (with Simon Whedbee), The Journal of Medieval Latin 34 & 25 (2024, 2025)
Position
- Simon and June Li Fellow in English Literature