Robin Fleming, medieval historian at Boston College, named MacArthur Fellow

A medieval historian from Boston College and two MIT professors were recently recognized for their work, and awarded fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation....

Robin Fleming, a medieval historian and professor in the Department of History at Boston College was one of more than a dozen recognized by the foundation for her work unearthing the rich history of medieval Britain, after the fall of Rome, and shedding light on the on the how lower-class citizens of that time lived their lives. “With her probing research and her ability to relate her findings with remarkable clarity, Fleming is changing the way historians view early medieval Britain and providing a framework for incorporating material culture into the writing of history,” the foundation said of her work. She uses skeletal remains to “talk about the distant past,” according to a video that features her work.

“Things are often overlooked by historians,” said Fleming. “There’s a huge, gaping hole between the Roman period and the early medieval period. There’s this line between the two periods…I want to move that line.”...