Thomas Kaal
Thomas Kaal is a historian of late medieval Europe, with a focus on transcultural and transreligious dynamics, religious deviance, the history of historiography, and the history of experience. For his PhD at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, he researched the religiosity of converts from Judaism to Christianity (conversos) in fifteenth-century Castile. Having joined the GHIL as a Research Fellow in June 2025, he combines his interest in medieval religious cultures with a long-standing fascination for the sonic realm and music. Alongside his degree in History and Spanish, Thomas Kaal also studied Music (piano and singing) at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. His new research project explores connections between the experience of sound and religious belief in late medieval England.
Research Project
“Please people with likerous voice?”
Sound and Belief in Late Medieval England
Sound was a fundamental part of medieval life. With literacy limited, hearing was central to how people made sense of their world. While most never read religious texts, many regularly heard them. Engagement with religious sound and music varied widely, as did the meanings attributed to these experiences. This project focuses on late medieval England and examines the role of the acoustic dimension in the acquisition, performance, and transformation of religious belief.
Responsibilities at the GHIL
- Research Fellow in Medieval History
- Coordination of the Medieval Research Seminar
Research Interests
- Late Medieval European History, with a focus on the Iberian Peninsula and England
- Jewish-Christian Relations in the Middle Ages
- Religious Deviance and the Inquisition
- History of Experience
- Sound Studies and Musicology in Historical Context
- Concepts of Church Reform and the Emergence of Reform Movements in the Late Middle Ages
Education and Academic Background
| June 2025– | Research Fellow at the German Historical Institute London |
| November 2024 | PhD in Medieval History at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin |
| 2021-2024 | Research and Teaching Fellow at Queen Mary University of London |
| June 2019 | Erstes Staatsexamen für das Lehramt an Gymnasien (German Teaching Qualification for Secondary Education) |
| 2014-2019 | Studied History and Spanish at Goethe University Frankfurt and the Universidad de Alcalá |
| 2015-2020 | Studied Music Education at Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (main subjects: piano and singing) |
Fellowships, Grants, and Scholarships
| 2020-2024 | PhD Fellowship of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation |
| 2017-2018 | Erasmus Scholarship |
Honours and Distinctions
| 2020 | Historiae-faveo Prize of Goethe University Frankfurt |
Memberships and Affiliations
- Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy
- Member of the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland
- Member of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Ibero-Mediaevistik
Publications
Reviews and Miscellaneous Publications
Blog contributions:
‘Averroism in Iberia: Yitzhak Baer, Álvaro Pelayo and Questions about Jewishness’, in Ibero-Mediaevistik:Mittelalterforschung zur Iberischen Halbinsel, September 2024 (Read here).
‘Converso Unbelief in Fortalitium Fidei by Friar Alonso de Espina’, in Ibero-Mediaevistik:Mittelalterforschung zur Iberischen Halbinsel, February 2023 (Read here).