Dr Tom Turpie

Lecturer

History University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA

Dr Tom Turpie

Contact details

About me

I am a late medieval and early renaissance Scottish specialist with expertise in religious and urban history, and a strong interest in community engagement. I am particularly interested in how society functioned in the 12th to 17th centuries, and how the people and religious, economic, political and social structures of pre-modern Scotland understood and coped with the cataclysmic environmental, religious and political changes of that period.

It was at Stirling as an undergraduate that I developed my passion for medieval, and specifically Scottish, history and after graduating in 2005 I decided to take this interest further. Moving to Edinburgh I completed a MSc in Medieval History and then a PhD which explored the role of local and national saints’ cults and shrines in the devotional culture of late medieval and early modern Scotland. My research in this area has been heavily influenced by Eamon Duffy, and a most positive vision of the vitality of religious life in late medieval England that he has espoused in works such as 'Stripping of the Altars' (1992).

Since completing my doctorate at Edinburgh in 2011, I have worked on a series of research projects which have helped to broaden my interests to include late medieval religious practice and sacred landscapes more generally, medieval and early modern burghs, as well as a keen interest in the response to infectious disease (especially Plague), climate stresses and warfare in pre-modern Scotland.

Working as a freelance historian, I have also collaborated on a number of projects outside of academia, writing short books on the Declaration of Arbroath (2020), a guidebook for Dunfermline (2020/2023), and collaborating on large projects including the Family Names UK Project (2013-2014), the Fife Pilgrim Way (2016), Kilrenny, Anstruther and Cellardyke Burgh Survey (2016-2017) and Inverkeithing Community Burgh Survey (2020-). Working with community groups and other heritage stakeholders has also helped me to develop a strong interest in how Scotland's pre-modern past is used in the present, and can be utilised in the future, as well as methodologies for helping local communities to better understand and explain their own past.

My research span the religious and economic history of pre-modern Scotland, as well as how this period is, and has been, used in a community and heritage context. I have a particular interest in;

a) the cult of the saints b) religious practice and belief in the wider population (beyond the political elite) c) medieval and early modern burghs and their international connections d) the impact and response to climate change and epidemic disease in the past

I am currently working on these main research projects;

i. The Parish Church in Late Medieval Scotland. Building on my work on the Corpus of Scottish Medieval Parish Churches (2012-2013) (https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/corpusofscottishchurches/index.php) and Sacred Landscapes of Fife (2020-2022) (https://sacredlandscapes.org/projects/sacred-landscapes-of-fife/), to explore what patronage and investment in these churches can tell us about the health of religious life in late medieval Scotland beyond the elite

ii. Devotion to the Saints, Piety and Religious Practice and the Late Medieval Crisis. Continuing my research into the trends in devotion to the saints in medieval Scotland, with a particular concern for connections between religious practice and pandemic disease, climate change and warfare

iii. Public and Community History. a) Exploring the public history application of medieval and early modern research (for example in pilgrim way projects, community history/archaeology projects such as Burgh Surveys and other publications) b) To further develop methodologies to help communities across Scotland access the past of their places through collaboration and co-production, c) explore and promote the Health and Wellbeing potential of Heritage Activities

Award

Nomination Research Culture award in the category ‘Outstanding Collaborator’.
University of Stirling

RATE Teaching Award Nominations in various categories
University of Stirling

Nominated for Recognising Achievement in Teaching Excellent (RATE) Awards as below; 2024- Outstanding Academic Mentor 2021- Fantastic Feedback 2020- Excellence in teaching in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Best Tutor 2019- Excellence in teaching in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities and Best Tutor 2017- Excellence in teaching in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities and Fantastic Feedback Award and I love my Tutor Award 2016- I love my Tutor Award and Excellence in teaching in the School of Arts & Humanities

Highly Commended Marsh Award for Community Archaeology Projects
Fife Council and Council for British Archaeology
The Inverkeithing Community Burgh Survey was winner of the Highly Commended Marsh Award for community archaeology projects (Council for British Archaeology (CBA) in 2021. Innovative archaeology outreach group recognised by National Awards | Fife Council

Jeremiah Dalziel prize for British History
University of Edinburgh
The prize is awarded annually to the most deserving students registered at the University of Edinburgh as candidates for a postgraduate degree in the field of British History. The award was received in 2011 for my dissertation entitled; ‘Scottish saints cults and pilgrimage from the Black Death to the Reformation, c.1349-1560’

Magnus Magnusson Essay Prize
The essay prize is named in memory of Magnus Magnusson KBE, scholar and journalist of the northern world and is awarded by the Scottish Society for Northern Studies. I was awarded the prize in 2011 for my essay; ‘The many lives of St Duthac of Tain. Tracing the origins of a late medieval Scottish saint’, Northern Studies, 44 (2013), 3-20

Community Contribution

Project Historian, Inverkeithing Community Burgh Survey
Northlight Heritage and Fife Council

https://fifehistoricbuildings.org.uk/project/inverkeithing/
The Inverkeithing Community Burgh Survey is the latest in the Scottish Burgh Survey Series. It provides an exciting opportunity for Inverkeithing’s community to share a journey of exploration and discover the fascinating history and archaeology of the town. The results will be published in a book. There have be opportunities for people to volunteer, learn, contribute and participate in four key areas of activity: Archaeological Excavations – take part in a dig on your doorstep! Help uncover and analyse what past residents of Inverkeithing left behind, hid or threw away. Archive Research – document detectives, learn how to access and use historic documents and maps to reveal Inverkeithing’s most important stories. Standing Building Surveys – learn how to read buildings, understand the significance of built evidence, and help record the Town House and Friary buildings Oral Histories – help collect and preserve memories of Inverkeithing’s places and people. As Project Historian, Dr Turpie is; •Responsible for the historical research training and supervision of volunteers •coproduction of the Burgh Survey

Wellbeing Through Heritage in Dunfermline and West Fife
Handbook introducing people to heritage and history volunteering opportunities and activities in Dunfermline and West Fife

Education

BA (Hons) History
University of Stirling

MSc in Medieval History
University of Edinburgh

PhD in History
University of Edinburgh

Event / Presentation

Poor, small and plain or splendid and venerable buildings? The Parish Church in late medieval Fife

Saline and District Heritage Society, 22 November 2023

‘Splendid and venerable buildings: How to discover more about Scotland’s Medieval Parish Churches’,
National Records of Scotland
National Records of Scotland Seminar Series, 14 November 2022

Other Project

Project Historian. Kilrenny and Anstruther Burgh Survey

https://www.facebook.com/AnstrutherSurvey
•Project historian on the Public History enterprise, Kilrenny, Anstruther and Cellardyke Burgh Survey •Role involved historical research on Anstruther and Kilrenny and co-authoring the survey monograph due for publication in 2017 •Role also included organising and supervising local volunteer involvement in the project and supplying material for social media and project marketing

Professional membership

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Research programmes

Research themes