About

I am a history student in the second oldest city of the Netherlands, Nijmegen (which, nevertheless, is persistent in insisting it’s oldest – whatever). The answer “Where are you from?” will be answered with a slightly puzzled look and a grin, at which I will disclose that, while I was born in Twello, Gelderland, I moved to Schiedam (near Rotterdam, Z-Holland) when I was three and moved to Maastricht when I was 12. Another year was spent in Leuven, and two in the tiny village of Kanne, near the chateau. I presently have a room in a former monastery on the wooded outskirts of Nijmegen. There is a pillar in my room. This year, I will be found most often in the city of Ghent, where I am studying history (MA). As if this wasn’t enough, I am also completing a research master in Nijmegen.

My interest lies in particular with political, cultural and social history 1200-1830. The ways in which these interacted and influenced each other is always interesting, and areas where different cultures met, such as the Rhineland, or the Anglo-Welsh border, are of particular interest to me. Of special interest to me is the history of Maastricht, a vibrant city with well-documented history and great importance in the middle ages; in the articles section you will find more than a few pieces relating to its past. Since starting the study of history in 2007 I have been specialising in late medieval history. My BA thesis dealt with the religious justification of war in the course of the Hussite wars in the 1420s-1430s (both from the perspective of the crusaders and the hussites). Together with Andrew Dunn, I have altered a computer game (Age of Empires II) to more realistically resemble the Middle Ages. More info on that last point can be found on the Age of Chivalry page.