We are delighted to announce the publication of Constructive Iconoclasm: The Late Medieval Image Debate in English and French Literature, 1160–1500 by Yun Ni (PhD ’19).

The book appears in Brill’s distinguished Medieval and Renaissance Authors and Texts (MRAT) series.

This study challenges the familiar narrative that iconoclasm begins with the Protestant Reformation. Tracing debates about images in twelfth- to fifteenth- century French and English texts—from saints’ lives and Arthurian romance to Chaucer and late medieval drama—Ni demonstrates that medieval writers did not see iconoclasm as merely destructive. Instead, they employed accusations of idolatry and acts of image-breaking as generative forces that reshaped political legitimacy, psychological interiority, and communal ritual life. By showing how the creation and destruction of images were mutually constitutive, Constructive Iconoclasm expands our understanding of medieval intellectual history and the cultural work of literature.
Ni situates vernacular literary texts alongside theology, philosophy, and political thought, bringing English and French traditions into dialogue and offering new perspectives on the long history of iconoclasm.

Ni reflects:
“I am grateful to the Harvard Department of Comparative Literature for fostering an intellectual environment in which I could pursue European medieval literature on its own terms, an experience that has fundamentally shaped my approach to scholarship. That foundation continues to guide my work in advancing rigorous inquiry across cultures and disciplines, and I regard it as one of the department’s most enduring gifts.”

About the Author

Yun Ni is Assistant Professor of English at Peking University. She received her PhD in Comparative Literature from Harvard University in 2019. Her research focuses on late medieval English literature, philosophy, religious culture, and premodern cross-cultural studies. Her work has appeared in Medium Ævum, The Chaucer Review, JEGP, Parergon, Neophilologus, and Religion and Literature.
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