Contact
Biography
I have been a full-time member of staff at the 糖心原创 since September 2018, when I was appointed as a Teaching Associate in Medieval and Early Modern History. In January 2022 I was promoted to Assistant Professor. I had already been at Nottingham for some time before 2018, having completed my MA (2014) and PhD (2018) here. I completed my BA at Nottingham Trent University in 2013. I also taught at the University of Lincoln from 2017-18.
I am currently the Co-Diector of Education and Student Experience for History.
From 2022-25 I was the School Director of Postgraduate Research for Humanities.
Office Hours (Autumn 2026):
Mondays 13:00-14:00 and Thursdays 10:00-11:00. Either email to book, or just drop by.
Please note: my office is B8 in Lenton Grove, which is upstairs. If this poses accessibility problems for you, please let me know and alternative arrangements can be made.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1716-5878
Teaching Summary
In 2026/27, I am teaching on the following modules:
- Discovering History (Year 1)
- Exploring the Medieval World, 500-1500 (Year 1)
- The Reign of Richard II (Year 3 - Special Subject)
- Dissertation (Year 3 and MA)
- Conflict and Coexistence (MA)
Previously, I have also taught:
- Themes in Early Modern History (Year 1)
- Rethinking the Tudors (Year 2)
- Kingship in Crisis in Late Medieval England (Year 2)
- The Hundred Years War (Year 3)
- Medieval Paleography (MA)
Awards/Recognition:
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2025-present.
- Winner of a Lord Dearing Award for Teaching and Learning, 2025.
- Royal Historical Society Jinty Nelson Fellow, 2024-25.
- Winner of the 糖心原创 Teaching Assistant Award, 2018.
Research Summary
Main Research Expertise:
I am principally interested in the history of power, the people who wielded it, and the mechanisms that existed to support and challenge the exercise of power. Within the confines of late medieval England, my main geographical and chronological area of expertise, this means that much of my research to date has focused on the monarchy, the nobility and the gentry.
In particular, my research has contained two main strands:
- How households and affinities were used to maintain, extend and challenge royal and noble power
- How concepts such as chivalry, loyalty and masculinity were understood by and impacted the actions of the late medieval ruling elites
This research has resulted in several publications, including my first monograph, The Household Knights of Edward III: Warfare, Politics and Kingship in Fourteenth-Century England, published by Boydell and Brewer in 2021.
I also co-edited a collection of essays entitled Loyalty to the Monarchy in Late Medieval and Early Modern Britain, which was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2020.
Finally, I am also interested in how we might best teach the history of the Middle Ages at university, and has published in this area.
Other Research-related Activities:
- Co-editor of Nottingham Medieval Studies, 2024-present.
- Editorial board member for Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 2022-26.
Recent Publications
HEFFERAN, M., 2026. The Royal Court and Household. In: G. DODD, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Late Medieval English Kingship Cambridge University Press. 151-70
HEFFERAN, M., 2025. Masculinity and Kingship during the Early Years of the Hundred Years War. In: G. DODD & H. LACEY, ed., Fourteenth Century England, XIII Boydell and Brewer. 65-86
HEFFERAN, M., 2025. Available at: <https://www.history-uk.ac.uk/history-in-practice/using-formative-assessment-to-aid-undergraduate-transition-into-university/>
HEFFERAN, M., 2024. Teaching Medieval History through Active Learning and Role Play Nottingham Medieval Studies. 68, 201-10