Patrick J. Geary

Patrick Geary is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Medieval History at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. His work extends over a vast range of topics in medieval history, both chronologically and conceptually—from religiosity to language, gender, ethnicity, social structure, and political organization. Much of his work reflects on the ways that the Middle Ages are used (and abused) by contemporary writers, politicians, and ideologues. Many of his essays and books remain standard literature in the field and have been translated in multiple languages. Currently, Geary is leading an international team of historians, geneticists, and archaeologists from Italy, Hungary, Germany, Austria, The Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom that studies the migration of European societies north and south of the Alps through the analysis of ancient DNA in Longobard-era cemeteries in Hungary and in Italy. He also directs the St. Gall Plan Project, an Internet-based initiative funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that provides tools for the study of Carolingian monasticism.