His research focuses on medieval church history and law with a particular emphasis on northern Europe. He has published articles on Latin-Christian Scandinavia in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, as well as a chapter on the papacy for the Cambridge History of Christianity. His current work examines notions of ecclesiastical community and authority in local and regional canon law from eleventh to the early thirteenth century. His project as an ACTI Fellow in Fall 2016 investigates the developing canon law on cemeteries in this period. This research traces the growing concern over such issues as transgressive behavior in graveyards and burial of the “unworthy dead,” all seen in the context of changing perceptions of the “society of the dead” and an increasing emphasis on the obligations of the living to the departed.