Sara Butler 
Associate Professor
Office Bobet Hall 422, Box 191
E-mail: sbutler@loyno.edu
Phone: 504-865-2099
Curriculum Vitae
Personal Sketch
Sara Butler joined the Department of History in 2004. She received her Ph.D. in Medieval History, Dalhousie University, 2001.
Teaching/Learning
Currently Dr. Butler teaches the following courses: (for majors) The Middle Ages, Saints and Demons in Medieval Europe, Medieval Crime and Community, English History to 1688; (for non-majors) World Civilization until 1650, Between Eve and Mary: Women in Medieval Europe, Medieval Sex and Gender, The Crusades.
Butler’s philosophy of teaching is that history does not have to be dreary! The medieval era was a period of cultural vitality and intellectual and spiritual enthusiasm; such an absorbing history deserves an animated approach. Students learn best when they are participating. Therefore, every effort is made to make teaching an interactive experience, employing small-group discussions, impromptu debates, even role playing where appropriate.
Research interests
Medieval social history of the law, specifically marriage as a power relationship and the role of the jury in the criminal courts of medieval England.
Select Publications
“Abortion by Assault: Violence against Pregnant Women in Thirteenth- and Fourteenth-Century England.” Journal of Women’s History 17.4 (Winter, 2005): 9-31.(pdf available)
“Runaway Wives: Husband Desertion in Medieval England.” Journal of Social History 40.2
(December, 2006): 337-59. (pdf available)
“Degrees of Culpability: Suicide Verdicts, Mercy, and the Jury in Medieval England.” Journal
of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 36.2 (Spring, 2006): 263-90. (pdf available)
“The Law as a Weapon in Marital Disputes: Evidence from the Late Medieval Court of
Chancery, 1424-1529.” Journal of British Studies 43.3 (July, 2004): 291-316. (pdf available)