Katy Gibbons

I joined the University of Portsmouth in September 2009, having previously taught at the University of Warwick and the University of York. My PhD explored the English Catholic community in Paris in the reign of Elizabeth I, a subject which was the focus of my monograph in 2011. I have published on various aspects of early modern Catholic exile, including the exiles’ use of saints’ cults overseas and the ways in which exiles interacted with their host environment. I am currently working on issues of resistance and conformity amongst the English Catholic Community, and how the movement of people and objects (books and relics) shaped a minority religion in early modern England.

My main interests lie in religious change in early modern England and Europe. I am particularly interested in religious exile, its impact on the home and host societies, and what it reveals about the complex interactions between groups of coreligionists in different parts of Europe.

Research Clusters

• Social and Cultural History

Discipline Areas

• History 

Current Research Projects

My current project explores the complex and interrelated phenomena of English Catholic exile, resistance and conformity in an international context through a study of the Percy family, earls of Northumberland. I am also exploring the importance of material culture for early modern identities.