People

Dr Thomas Freeman

Lecturer
School of Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies
Dr Thomas Freeman
  • Email

  • Telephone

    +44 (0) 1206 873407

  • Location

    5B.139, Colchester Campus

  • Academic support hours

    Tuesday 11:30-12:30 Friday 11:30-12:30

Profile

Biography

My interest in history goes a long way back and stems from curiosity. It began with curiosity about different cultures and religions. This rapidly led to a curiosity about the origins and developments of these cultures and beliefs. I decided to teach history, which I did in the US equivalent of a sixth-form college. I then decided to go more deeply into history, obtained a PhD and then taught history at an academic level.

Research and professional activities

Research interests

Medieval and Early Modern Martyrdom

Open to supervise

Perceptions of the Middle Ages in the Early Modern Period

Open to supervise

Early Modern Historical Writing

Open to supervise

Demonic Possession and Exorcism

Open to supervise

Early Modern Colchester

Open to supervise

Film and History

Open to supervise

English Reformation

Open to supervise

Current research

Preparing an abridged edition of John Foxe's Book of Martyrs for Penguin Books.

Preparing an edition of manuscript letters of English Protestant martyrs, 1555-1558

Investigating borrowings and shared research between sixteenth century Lutheran and English historians

Reformation perceptions of the Middle Ages

Teaching and supervision

Current teaching responsibilities

  • Early Modern Europe in Global Context: Encounters, Exchanges, and Exploitation (HR107)

  • Revolutions in History, 1776-1919: How to Change the World (HR176)

  • Exploring History: Research Workshop (HR242)

  • Life in the Three Kingdoms: Societies and cultures in early modern Britain and Ireland (HR251)

  • History Works: Career Portfolio (HR510)

Previous supervision

Simon Thomas Sherratt
Simon Thomas Sherratt
Thesis title: Objections to the British Funding-System and the National Debt 1793-1821: A New Perspective
Degree subject: History
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 10/1/2022
Helen Kirstine Kemp
Helen Kirstine Kemp
Thesis title: Collecting, Communicating, and Commemorating: The Significance of Thomas Plume's Manuscript Collection, Left to His Library in Maldon, Est. 1704
Degree subject: History
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 15/11/2017

Publications

Journal articles (21)

Freeman, TS., (2023). Memory, myth and memorialization: Catholic martyrs and martyrologies in early modern England. British Catholic History. 36 (4), 431-454

Freeman, TS., (2021). 1077 and all that: Gregory VII in Reformation historical writing. Renaissance Studies. 35 (1), 118-145

Freeman, TS. and Monta, SB., (2019). '"Straunge and prodigious miracles"? John Foxe's reformation of Virgin Martyr Legends. Reformation. 24 (2), 76-91

Freeman, TS. and Gehring, DS., (2018). Martyrologists without boundaries: the collaboration of John Foxe and Heinrich Pantaleon. Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 69 (4), 746-767

Freeman, TS., (2018). Restoration and Reaction: Reinterpreting the Marian Church. Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 69 (1), 105-112

Freeman, TS. and Royal, S., (2015). Stranger than Fiction in the Archives: The Controversial Death of William Cowbridge in 1538. British Catholic History. 32 (4), 451-472

Freeman, TS., (2012). Bloody Mary. TLS - The Times Literary Supplement (5693), 6-6

Freeman, TS., (2010). The Power of Polemic: Catholic Responses to the Calendar in Foxe's ?Book of Martyrs?. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 61 (03), 475-495

Freeman, TS., (2009). The Rise of Prison Literature. Huntington Library Quarterly. 72 (2), 133-146

FREEMAN, T., (2006). So Much at Stake: Martyrs and Martyrdom in Early Modern England The trail of martyrdom. Persecution and resistance in sixteenth-century England. By Sarah Covington. Pp. xii+289. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2003. $55 (cloth), $28 (paper). 0 268 04225 X; 0 268 04226 8 Making women martyrs in Tudor England. By Megan L. Hickerson. Pp. ix+239 incl. 2 figs. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. £50. 1 4039 3833 4 Martyrdom and literature in early modern England. By Susannah Brietz Monta. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Pp. viii+236. £55. 0 521 84498 3. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 57 (3), 535-541

Evenden, E., (2004). Print, Profit and Propaganda: The Elizabethan Privy Council and the 1570 Edition of Foxe's 'Book of Martyrs'. The English Historical Review. 119 (484), 1288-1307

(2002). Queries and Notes. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 53 (1), 200-200

(2002). Queries and Notes. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 53 (3), 651-652

Freeman, TS., (2002). 'As True a Subiect being Prysoner': John Foxe's Notes on the Imprisonment of Princess Elizabeth, 1554-5. The English Historical Review. 117 (470), 104-116

FREEMAN, TS., (2001). Early Modern Martyrs. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 52 (4), 696-701

Freeman, TS., (2000). “The Good Ministrye of Godlye and Vertuouse Women”: The Elizabethan Martyrologists and the Female Supporters of the Marian Martyrs. The Journal of British Studies. 39 (01), 8-33

FREEMAN, TS., (2000). FATE, FACTION, AND FICTION IN FOXE'S BOOK OF MARTYRS. The Historical Journal. 43 (3), 601-623

FREEMAN, TS., (1998). Review Article. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 49 (2), 317-328

FREEMAN, TS., (1997). ‘The Reformation of the Church in this Parliament’: Thomas Norton, John Foxe and the Parliament of 1571. Parliamentary History. 16 (2), 131-147

Freeman, TS. and Borges, MJ., (1996). ‘A grave and heinous incident against our holy Catholic Faith’: Two Accounts of William Gardiner's Desecration of the Portuguese Royal Chapel in 1552. Historical Research. 69 (168), 1-17

Freeman, TS., (1995). Research, rumour and propaganda: Anne Boleyn in Foxe's ‘Book of Martyrs’. The Historical Journal. 38 (4), 797-819

Books (6)

Freeman, TS., (2019). Biography and History in Film. Palgrave Macmillan

Betteridge, T. and Freeman, TS., (2016). Introduction: All is True - Henry VIII In and Out of History. 9781409400158

Freeman, TS., (2016). Henry VIII and History. Routledge. 9781409400158

Betteridge, T. and Freeman, TS., (2012). Henry VIII and history. Routledge. 9781409400158

Doran, S. and Freeman, TS., (2011). Mary Tudor Old and New Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan. 9780230004627

Evenden, E. and Freeman, TS., (2011). Religion and the Book in Early Modern England: The Making of John Foxe's 'Book of Martyrs'. Cambridge University Press. 9780521833493

Book chapters (10)

Freeman, T., (2021). Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots: Afterlives in Film. In: Elizabeth and Mary Cousins, Rivals, Queens. Editors: Doran, S., . HarperCollins UK. 276- 281. 000653192X. 9780006531920

Freeman, TS., (2019). Filming a Legend: Anthony Mann’s El Cid (1961). In: Palgrave Studies in the History of the Media. Springer International Publishing. 43- 75. 9783319894072

Freeman, TS. and Smith, DL., (2019). ‘Movies That Exist Merely to Tell Entertaining Lies’?: Biography on Film. In: Palgrave Studies in the History of the Media. Springer International Publishing. 1- 42. 9783319894072

Freeman, TS., (2016). Hands Defiled with Blood: Henry VIII in Foxe’s ‘Book of Martyrs’*. In: Henry VIII and History. 87- 118. 9781409400158

Brietz Monta, S. and Freeman, TS., (2013). Holinshed and Foxe. In: The Oxford Handbook of Holinshed's Chronicles. Editors: Kewes, P., Archer, IW. and Heal, F., . Oxford University Press. 217- 234. 9780199565757

Freeman, TS., (2013). One Survived: The Account of Katherine Parr in Foxe?s ?Book of Martyrs?. In: Henry VIII and the Court: Art, Politics and Performance. Editors: Betteridge, T. and Lipscomb, S., . Ashgate. 235- 254. 9781409411857

Freeman, TS. and Monta, S., (2013). The Style of Authorship in John Foxe's Acts and Monuments. In: The Oxford Handbook of English Prose, 1500-1640. Editors: Hadfield, A., . Oxford University Press. 522- 543. 978-0-19-958068-2

Betteridge, T. and Freeman, TS., (2012). Introduction: All is true - Henry VIII in and out of history. In: Henry VIII and History. Editors: Betteridge, T. and Freeman, TS., . Routledge. 1- 19. 9781409400158

Freeman, TS., (2012). Hands defiled with blood: Henry VIII in Foxe's 'Book of Martyrs'. In: Henry VIII and History. Editors: Betteridge, T. and Freeman, TS., . Routledge. 87- 118. 9781409400158

Freeman, TS., (2011). Burning Zeal: Mary Tudor and the Marian Persecution. In: Mary Tudor Old and New Perspectives. Editors: Doran, S. and Freeman, TS., . Palgrave Macmillan. 171- 205. 9780230004627

Contact

tfreeman@essex.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1206 873407

Location:

5B.139, Colchester Campus

Academic support hours:

Tuesday 11:30-12:30 Friday 11:30-12:30