PhD Graduation

The Centre for Legal History is delighted to note that Matthew Cleary has graduated with his doctorate at the graduation ceremony of the Edinburgh Law School on 1 December 2023. The title of his thesis is “Testamentary Law in England, c. 1450-1540”. His primary supervisor was Dr Guido Rossi. Matthew is currently a Senior Research Fellow on the Heisenberg Project: Grotius Census Bibliography at the Max-Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International law at the University of Heidelberg. The December graduation is one when many research and masters students graduate because of the structure of the academic year. As often for the December graduation, it was a beautifully sunny but rather cold day. The photo shows Matthew in front of the McEwan Hall, the aula magna of Edinburgh University, completed in 1897, specially designed for graduation ceremonies, the gift to the University of Sir William McEwan. The Hall has a richly decorated interior and a wonderful organ. McEwan, a major beer magnate, was a politician and noted philanthropist. We congratulate Matthew.