Mark Gregory Pegg (born 1963) is an Australian professor of

medieval history In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

, currently teaching in the United States at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

, Missouri. His scholarship focuses upon

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

, the

inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

, the Albigensian Crusade, and the history of

holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

. Apart from these specific scholarly pursuits, he writes more broadly about what shapes and defines the medieval West from 200 to 1500. He is the author of ''The Corruption of Angels: The Great Inquisition of 1245–1246'', ''A Most Holy War: The Albigensian Crusade and the Battle for Christendom'', and ''Beatrice's Last Smile: A New History of the Middle Ages''.

Biography

Pegg was born in 1963 in

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea c ...

, New South Wales, Australia, and grew up in

Woy Woy Woy Woy is a coastal town in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the southern reaches of Brisbane Water north of Sydney. It is a population centre within the local government area. Woy Woy is located in the no ...

. He received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1987 from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. Between 1988 and 1990 he was research assistant to the anthropologist Mary Douglas in London. He received his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

(1993) and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(1997) from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, where his dissertation advisor was

William Chester Jordan William Chester Jordan (born April 7, 1948) is an American medievalist, in which field he is a Haskins Medal winner. He is currently the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History at Princeton University. He is also a former Director of the Program i ...

. He was a Member of the

Institute for Advanced Studies The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...

in Princeton in 1997. He was a visiting assistant professor at Washington University in 1998 before being hired as a tenure-track assistant professor in 1999. He was promoted to associate professor in 2004 and full professor in 2009. In 2005, he was awarded an

Andrew W. Mellon Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...

New Directions Fellowship;"New Directions Fellowship – Recipients 2005"

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...

in 2009-2010, he received the Supplemental Award to the New Directions Fellowship. In 2016-2017 he was a Fellow at the Collegium de Lyon: Institut d'études avancées, Université de Lyon, and in Spring 2022 he was a visiting professor at the Université de Montpellier III (Paul-Valéry).

Works

Pegg publishes widely on the crusades, heresy, the inquisition, and the Middle Ages generally. Selected works include: ;Books * ''The Corruption of Angels: The Great Inquisition of 1245–1246'' (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001) . * ''A Most Holy War: The Albigensian Crusade and the Battle for Christendom'' (New York: Oxford University Press 2007) . * ''Beatrice's Last Smile: A New History of the Middle Ages'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2023) . ;Articles * "Le corps et l’autorité: la lèpre de Baudouin IV,” '' Annales ESC'', 45 (1990): 265–287. * "On the Cathars, the Albigensians, and good men of Languedoc," ''

Journal of Medieval History The ''Journal of Medieval History'' is a major international academic journal devoted to all aspects of the history of Europe in the Middle Ages. Each issue contains 4 or 5 original articles on European history, including the British Isles, North A ...

'', 27 (2001):181–195. * "The Paradigm of Catharism; or the Historians’ Illusion," in ''Cathars in Question'', ed. Antonio Sennis (Woodbridge: York Medieval Press—Boydell and Brewer, 2016), pp. 26–57. * "Le catharisme en questions : falsifiabilité, vérité historique et une nouvelle histoire du christianisme médiéval," ''Cahiers de Fanjeaux : Le catharisme en question'', 55 (2020): 331–369. * "The Albigensian Crusade and the Early Inquisitions into Heretical Depravity, 1208-1246," in ''The Cambridge World History of Genocide'', eds. Ben Kieran, T.M. Lemon, and Tristan Taylor (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022), 1, pp. 470–497.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20060828075850/http://news-info.wustl.edu/sb/page/normal/695.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20061019135220/http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~relst/pegg.htm
"Research profile: Mark Pegg"
in ''The Centre for Medieval Studies Newsletter'', vol. 4, no. 2, July 2001, pp. 11, 12. University of Sydney

by John H. Arnold, University of East Anglia, in ''H-France Review'', vol. 1, no. 31, November 2001 Living people Australian medievalists Australian historians Expatriate academics in the United States Washington University in St. Louis faculty Princeton University alumni University of Sydney alumni 1963 births {{Australia-academic-bio-stub