¾«¶«´«Ã½

Shaun's research is concerned with medieval Wales, and in particular the medieval bishops of ¾«¶«´«Ã½ and St Asaph and their acta.

In 2012 he was awarded a MA (taught, with Medieval Latin) - his MA dissertation combined medieval Welsh law and history, and was entitled ‘Arbitration and Dispute Resolution in Wales during the Age of the Princes.’ Shortly afterwards Shaun was employed by the National Trust as a researcher for the EU/Welsh Government-funded ‘Princes of Gwynedd’ project.

Shaun's PhD thesis (2021) includes a first edition of ¾«¶«´«Ã½ Episcopal Acta, 1092-1306, with Latin transcriptions in full, along with English summaries, in the format of the 'English Episcopal Acta' series. His thesis also contains biographies of the ten bishops of ¾«¶«´«Ã½ between 1092 and 1306, as well as an examination of the medieval diocese. To further his research, he received two Ranulf Higden palaeographical scholarships, a Royal Historical Society grant, and in 2017 attended the Department of ASNC, University of Cambridge.

The supervisors for his PhD were Professor Huw Pryce and Dr Euryn Rhys Roberts.

Shaun has taught on the 'Princes to Tudors' and 'Europe in the High Middle Ages' undergraduate modules, and was nominated for 'Best Postgraduate Teacher' in the student-led Teaching Awards.

He was appointed Honorary Research Associate in 2021, and is now compiling an edition of episcopal acta for the twelfth- and thirteenth-century bishops of St Asaph.

Shaun's first book ¾«¶«´«Ã½ Episcopal Acta, 1092-1306 was published in May 2025, and shortly afterwards he was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

He is the joint winner of the Francis Jones Prize, for the best work published in Welsh History in 2025, awarded by Jesus College, University of Oxford.

Email: hip402@bangor.ac.uk

Room 229, Main Arts, College Road, ¾«¶«´«Ã½.

• Joint Winner of the Francis Jones Prize 2025, Jesus College, Oxford
  2026
• Fellow, FRHistS
  The Royal Historical Society, 2025
• PhD: The Bishops of ¾«¶«´«Ã½ and their Acta, 1092-1306
  2021
• MA: MA Welsh History
  2012
• Solicitors' Final Examination, The Law Society
  1990
• BA: LLB (Hons) , School of Law
  Leeds University, 1989

Book:

¾«¶«´«Ã½ Episcopal Acta, 1092-1306 (Woodbridge, 2025)

Book Chapter:

'The Medieval Bishops of ¾«¶«´«Ã½, 1092-1283: Intrusion, Exile and Diplomacy', in Episcopal Power and Patronage in Medieval Europe, 988-1503, ed. E. A. Gatti and A. M. Silvestri (Brepols, 2026), pp. 285-318

Book Chapter:

'The Medieval Bishops of ¾«¶«´«Ã½ and the Writing of Welsh History', in Memory and Nation: Writing the History of Wales, ed. R. Thomas, S. Jarrett, and K. Olson (University of Wales Press, 2025), pp. 203-231 

Journal Article:

'Betrayal in the Belfry - The Bishop of ¾«¶«´«Ã½ and the demise of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales', Journal of the Mortimer History Society, 6 (2023), 67-86

Book Review:

'Heirs to the Princes. The Welsh Administrative Elite, from the Edwardian Conquest to the Black Death', The Medieval Review. Published online 9 June 2026

Book Review:

'An Edition of the Accounts of the Manor of Bickley, Cheshire, 1395-1465', Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 173 (2024), 179-80

Book Review:

'The Register of Simon Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1375-1381', History: The Journal of the Historical Association. Published online 23 May 2022

Book Review:

'Domesday DNA, Edgeworth', Transactions of The Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 171 (2022), 157-8

Book Review:

'Medieval Women and Urban Justice, Commerce, Crime and Community in England, 1300-1500', Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 170 (2021), 191-2

Book Review:

'The Economy of Medieval Wales, 1067-1536', Journal of the Mortimer History Society, 4 (2020), 106-9 

Book Review:

’Maritime Wales in the Middle Ages’, Archaeologia Cambrensis, 166 (2017), 350-1

2026

• Published
  McGuinness, S., 9 Jun 2026, In: The Medieval Review. 1 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
• Published
  McGuinness, S., 2026, Episcopal Power and Patronage in Medieval Europe, 998–1503. Brepols Publishers
  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

2025

• Published
  McGuinness, S., 27 May 2025, Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. 392 p. (The Canterbury and York Society; vol. CXIV)
  Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
• Published
  McGuinness, S., Jul 2025, Memory and Nation. Writing the History of Wales.. Thomas, R., Jarrett, S. & Olson, K. (eds.). University of Wales Press, Cardiff, p. 203-231 29 p.
  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

2024

• Published
  McGuinness, S., 16 Sept 2024, In: Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire. 173, p. 179-80 2 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review

2023

• Published
  McGuinness, S., 2023, In: Journal of the Mortimer History Society. 6, p. 67-86 20 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2022

• Published
  McGuinness, S., 1 Jan 2022, In: Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire. 171, p. 157-8 2 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
• Published
  McGuinness, S., Jun 2022, In: History. 107, 376, p. 577-578
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review

2021

• Published
  McGuinness, S., 2021, In: Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire. 170, p. 191-2 2 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review

2020

• Published
  McGuinness, S., 2020, In: Journal of the Mortimer History Society. 4, p. 106-109 4 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review

2017

• Published
  McGuinness, S., 2017, In: Archaeologia Cambrensis. 166, p. 350-351 2 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review

Awards:

                                   Joint Winner of the Francis Jones Prize 2025

                                               Jesus College, Oxford

Radio:

                                                 '¾«¶«´«Ã½ Cathedral at 1,500'

                                            BBC Radio Wales, December 2025

Papers given:

’The Bishops of ¾«¶«´«Ã½, and their Acta, 1092-1306’

Eighth ¾«¶«´«Ã½ Colloquium on Medieval Wales, 22-23 October 2016

‘The Medieval Bishops of ¾«¶«´«Ã½ (1092-1306) as Instruments of Diplomacy’

Power of the Bishop Conference, Cardiff University, 8-9 June 2017

’Cadwgan, Monk of Strata Florida, Abbot of Whitland, Bishop of ¾«¶«´«Ã½, and Monk of Dore’

Hereford Cathedral, 21 March 2018

’The Bishops of ¾«¶«´«Ã½, 1092-1306. Tested Loyalties. The Politics of Intrusion and Exile’

University of Cambridge, 27 April 2018

'The Medieval Bishops of ¾«¶«´«Ã½. Tested Loyalties - Identity and Ethnicity'

Leeds International Medieval Congress, 3 July 2019

''By the Grace of God, Bishop of ¾«¶«´«Ã½'. The Bishops of ¾«¶«´«Ã½, and their Acta, 1092-1306.''

Ecclesiastical History Society, 6 November 2019.

'Medieval Welsh Bishops and their Political Networks'

Leeds International Medieval Congress, 4 July 2023

'Betrayal in the Belfry -

The Bishop of ¾«¶«´«Ã½

and the death of Llywelyn, Prince of Wales' 

Canterbury and York Society AGM, University of York, 8 November 2023

'St Deiniol's Cathedral and the Medieval Bishops of ¾«¶«´«Ã½'

¾«¶«´«Ã½ Cathedral, 18 October 2025