Dr Karl Kinsella

Biography

I am a medieval art and architectural historian with an interest in cultural history and heritage. I received my DPhil from the University of Oxford for a study on textual and visual representations of architecture in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. After graduate, I became a lecturer at the University of York's Art History department for two years, where I enjoyed working with the collections of York Minster and medieval buildings there. In 2018, I took up the position of Shuffrey Junior Research Fellow in Architectural History at Lincoln College, Oxford. After three years, I came to Aberdeen to teach and research medieval art and architecture using the rich materials of the city and the University Library to do so.

External Memberships

British Archaeological Association (Council Member)

Prizes and Awards

Hawksmoor Medal in Architectural History 2013

Research Overview

My research examines the development of architectural drawing and the role of architecture in the imagination of contemporary viewers (1100-1400). I am a cultural historian who focuses on representations of buildings in manuscripts, mosaics and in sculpture. My research to date places priority on the interaction between word and image in architectural contexts, especially theological texts written in Latin.  

Current Research

My current research draws on a variety of sources to establish possible theories of architecture in late medieval Europe. Collections of art and architectural theoretical texts frequently leave out the Middle Ages, a period of time that arguably defined much of the urban space throughout Europe. The impression is a period populated by those who were apathetic about the buildings that defined their towns and cities, which is far from the truth. There were contemporary criteria by which art and architecture were judged, but they are not collected within a singular treatiuse like those by Vitruvius or Alberti. My current research aims to fill the gap between these two well-known authors.

Past Research

My books, 'God's Own Language: Architectural Drawing in the Twelfth Century' was by MIT Press in 2023. It focuses on the Scottish theologian Richard of Saint Victor and his commentary on the book of Ezekiel from the later twelfth century. Richard provides over a dozen plans and elevations to illustrate what exactly the prophet saw and draws on contemporary developments in the practice of geometry to do so. The commentary's drawings are filled with details and Richard is the first to refer to a ground plan drawing as a 'plan'. 

I have also written on the enigmatic twelfth-century author Honorius Augustodunensis (Also known as Honorius of Autun), and his architectural commentary, which embeds each part the church building with meaning. For Honorius the columns are the bishops who support the church, the windows are the learned men who keep people safe from the storms of heresy, and even the roof tiles are the armies who keep the people safe from harm. 

I have also worked on the intersection of Christian and Jewish art, especially shared visions and representations of the Temple in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. 

Knowledge Exchange

I have given public talks to adults and children on a variety of architectural subjects from Hittite sculpture (Ashmolean Museum) to medieval cathedrals.

I appeared on radio to discuss Notre-Dame Cathedral in wake of the fire in 2019.

I have published with The Conversation, the i paper, and Aeon in the near future.