Robert Berkhofer

Robert Berkhofer is a professor of History with a specialization in medieval history. He earned his Ph.D. in History from Harvard University in 1997, M.A. in History from Harvard in 1990, and B.A. in History magna cum laude from Cornell University in 1988. His research centers on medieval France and England (900-1200), exploring historical writing, forgery, lordship, law and society, transformations in literate practices affecting power and wealth, and their broader societal and cultural impacts. Berkhofer analyzes archival documents from monastic scriptoria and princely chanceries to reveal medieval mentalities and draws comparisons between European histories and other premodern worlds. Specific topics include abbatial lordship, Pope Alexander III's decretal on authentic scripts, inventories, marriage of unfree persons, and cartularies. In his career, he has served as Professor of History and Director of the Medieval Institute at Western Michigan University since 2001, progressing from Assistant Professor (2001-2006) to Associate Professor (2006-present), and previously as Assistant Professor at Western Kentucky University (1998-2001).

Berkhofer has garnered significant awards and fellowships, including Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge University (2020), Solmsen Fellow at the Institute for Research in the Humanities, University of Wisconsin (2008-2009), Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Historical Research, London (2007-2008), British Academy Exchange Fellow via the American Philosophical Society (2007-2008), Fulbright Scholar to France (1992-1993), and Western Michigan University's Arts and Sciences Faculty Achievement Award for Teaching (2007). His major publications include Day of Reckoning: Power and Accountability in Medieval France (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004), which reexamines power transformations through literacy, legal studies, memory, ritual, and manorial economy at major Benedictine monasteries in northern France and Flanders; The Experience of Power in Medieval Europe, 950-1350 (co-edited with Alan Cooper and Adam J. Kosto, Ashgate, 2005); and Forgeries and Historical Writing in Medieval England, France and Flanders, 900-1200 (Boydell Press, 2022). Notable articles feature in Past & Present (2001), Anglo-Norman Studies (2013), and Haskins Society Journal (2006). His scholarship has profoundly influenced understandings of medieval power dynamics, archival manipulation, and monastic reforms. Berkhofer has held leadership roles such as President of the Haskins Society (2017-2020), co-editor of The Medieval Review (2001-2006), and founding editorial board member of Oxford Bibliographies Online: Medieval Studies (2010-2012). He teaches courses on medieval Europe, crusades, family history, and power structures, emphasizing primary source analysis.

Professional Email: robert.berkhofer@wmich.edu