Abigail Brundin is

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and the first female Director of the

British School in Rome The British School at Rome (BSR) is an interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture. History The British School at Rome (BSR) was established in 1901 and granted a UK Royal Charter in 1912. Its mission is " ...

. She is an expert on the literature and culture of Italy in the

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

and early modern periods. Prior to her appointment at the BSR, she was Professor of Italian in the Faculty of Modern & Medieval Languages, and a Fellow of St Catherine's College,

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Education

Brundin received her PhD. from the University of Cambridge in 2000. Her thesis was entitled ''Vittoria Colonna, 1490-1547: Petrachism and Evangelism in Sixteenth-Century Italy''.

Career

Brundin was appointed as lecturer in the Department of Italian at the University of Cambridge in 2002, and as a Fellow of St Catharine’s College in 2000. Brundin's work focuses on the culture and literature of renaissance and early-modern. She has published on women writers in the early history of printing, beginning with

Vittoria Colonna Vittoria Colonna (April 149225 February 1547), marchioness of Pescara, was an Italian noblewoman and poet. As an educated, married noblewoman whose husband was in captivity, Colonna was able to develop relationships within the intellectual circl ...

, an Italian poet. She has published on poetry in convents, literature and religious reform, and devotional culture of the home. In 2013, she collaborated with the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

to research and curate an exhibition of Italian books at

Belton House Belton House is a Grade I listed country house in the parish of Belton near Grantham in Lincolnshire, England, built between 1685 and 1688 by Sir John Brownlow, 3rd Baronet. It is surrounded by formal gardens and a series of avenues leading t ...

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Brundin co-led the project ''Domestic Devotions: The Place of Piety in the Italian Renaissance Home, 1400-1600'', which was funded by a grant of £2.4m from the

European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific ...

''.'' In 2017, the project developed the exhibition ''Madonnas and Miracles: the Holy Home in Renaissance Italy'', in collaboration with the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

, Cambridge. The exhibition was visited by around 50,000 people. The project book, ''The Sacred Home in Renaissance Italy'', was co-authored by Brundin with

Deborah Howard Deborah Janet Howard, (born 1946) is a British art historian and academic. Her principal research interests are the art and architecture of Venice and the Veneto; the relationship between Italy and the Eastern Mediterranean, and music and archit ...

and Mary Lavan and was published by Oxford University Press in 2018''.'' The book won the Bainton Prize for History/Theology, and received an Honorable Mention for the Society for Renaissance Studies Book Prize. Since its establishment in 1901, the British School in Rome has had eighteen directors, none of whom have been women. Brundin began her Directorship at the British School in Rome in September 2021, taking over from interim Director

Chris Wickham Christopher John Wickham, (born 18 May 1950) is a British historian and academic. From 2005 to 2016, he was Chichele Professor of Medieval History at the University of Oxford and Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford: he is now emeritus professor ...

Selected bibliography

* Abigail Brundin, Deborah Howard, Mary Laven, ''The Sacred Home in Renaissance Italy'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018) * ''Companion to Vittoria Colonna'', ed. Abigail Brundin, Tatiana Crivelli and Maria Serena Sapegno (Leiden: Brill, 2016) * ''Forms of Faith in Sixteenth-Century Italy'', ed. Abigail Brundin and Matthew Treherne (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2009) * ''Vittoria Colonna and the Spiritual Poetics of the Italian Reformation''. Catholic Christendom 1200-1650 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008) * Vittoria Colonna, ''Sonnets for Michelangelo'', ed. and trans. Abigail Brundin. The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe (Chicago and London: Chicago University Press, 2005)

References

External links

* Inaugural lecture for the Centre for Advanced Studies in Languages and Cultures (CASiLaC), School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Her lecture is ‘Domestic Devotions: the Place of Piety in the Renaissance Italian Home’: https://vimeo.com/129082615 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brundin, Abigail Alumni of the University of Cambridge Historians of Italy Academics of the University of Cambridge Year of birth missing (living people) Living people