Who are we?

The Global Medieval Peasants Research (GMPR) Network’s mission is to aid international discourse surrounding the subject of peasants in the pre-modern, ‘medieval’ world (c. 500-1500) and promote the latest scholarship addressing these diverse populations. The world is built upon the backs of those who toil in the fields and labour in the towns. Yet their voices often remain hard to access. For those who we may term ‘peasants’—or, alternatively, ‘subaltern’—in the pre-modern world, this problem is arguably even more acute.

As an academic network, we plan conference activities and workshops, coordinate a blog and publishing opportunities, and provide resources for both academic and public engagement. We are happy to work with museums, galleries, schools, and other public-facing institutions to support and assist with exhibitions, events, and educational materials.

Research supported and promoted through GMPR Network events is done so with the aim of addressing inequality in all of its forms. We hope to better understand how institutions, in the medieval world and today, contribute to sustained poverty and the marginalization of those considered ‘subaltern’ in status. What we learn about the mechanisms of medieval peasantry and poverty should be used to inform out understanding of poverty today.