The Authors
The Devil's Historians was written by Amy S. Kaufman and Paul B. Sturtevant.
The Devil’s Historians sprang from Amy’s extensive scholarship on medievalism and extremism and Paul’s expertise on the sociology and psychology of how we learn about and use the Middle Ages in our everyday lives.
A new wave of violent authoritarians has adopted the Middle Ages as their favourite historical era. In response, Amy and Paul collaborated to launch a series at The Public Medievalist, a free online magazine, to debunk toxic myths about the Middle Ages. They have worked to share a broader, better image of what the medieval world actually was.
They wrote this book for everyone who shares a passion for history, but fears how the medieval past is used by some in the present.
Amy S. Kaufman, Ph.D.
is a former professor of classical and medieval literature who left academia to write full time. She has published a number of articles on Arthurian legend, Chaucer, and the use of the Middle Ages in popular culture. She has also guest-edited issues of Arthuriana and The Year’s Work in Medievalism and written about medievalism, extremism, and politics for The Public Medievalist and The Washington Post.
Amy’s medieval scholarship focuses on shattering myths about women and gender in the Middle Ages, while her work on modern medievalism and popular culture explores the way extremists from ISIS recruiters to neo-Nazis use misbeliefs about the Middle Ages as propaganda and an incitement to violence.
Amy is currently working on two new books: a memoir about the decline of academia and the rise of Trump, and a historical fantasy set in 12th-century Córdoba. You can find more of Amy’s work at her website: amyskaufman.com.
Paul B. Sturtevant, Ph.D.
is an author, an historian, a speaker, and a public medievalist. He is a leading expert on the public’s perception of the past. His research has delved into how education, museums, and popular culture shape how we understand the past and the present.
His first book, The Middle Ages in Popular Imagination: Memory, Film, and Medievalism delves into the ways we learn about medieval history by consuming pop culture. It was published in 2018 by Bloomsbury, and is currently being translated into Spanish and Portuguese.
He works as a Visitor Research Specialist for the Smithsonian Institution, has been published in a variety of newspapers, and given lectures on medieval public history around the world.
He is the founder and Editor-in-chief of The Public Medievalist, an award-winning and popular collaborative history webzine. You can find more of his work at paulsturtevant.com.
