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Rick Heiser, Ph.D.

Professor of History
History

While I have been teaching college students since 1988, my history with Presbyterian College began in 1999.

My academic career started when I completed a B.A. at Nyack College, a private Christian liberal arts college. During the four years of my undergraduate study, I had been inspired by faculty who modeled excellent instruction in history and genuine interest in their students. It became a career goal to follow in their footsteps. So, from Nyack College, I attended Florida State University where I took both graduate degrees (M.A. and Ph.D.) in medieval European history. My doctoral dissertation concerned the lower government officials of the reign of Richard I Lionheart, the crusader king of England who died in 1199. From that research, I have published a few articles and in 2000 co-authored with my former professor, Dr. Ralph V. Turner, a book entitled The Reign of Richard Lionheart.

Over the course of my career as a professor, I have taught many different courses, but the fields where I have been asked to do most of my teaching cover western history from its beginnings to about 1700 A.D. What follows is a list of the courses that I have taught at PC:

  • Ancient and Medieval Europe
  • Greeks, Romans, and Barbarians
  • Medieval England and France
  • Tudor and Stuart England
  • Renaissance and Reformation
  • History of Scotland
  • Medieval Warfare
  • Ancient and Medieval Law
  • History of Christianity
  • Senior Seminar (Topics I have taught include the Crusades, Inquisition, Rome, the Byzantines, the Stuart Dynasty of England, the Tudor Dynasty of England, and the Continental Reformation)
  • Short-term Study Abroad (Destinations to which I have taken students include France, England, Scotland, Italy, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Portugal and the Azores, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, and Spain)

My wife and I have four grown children who have begun to give us grandchildren. We enjoy living in the Upstate of South Carolina. Our church is an important part of our lives, while some of our hobbies and activities include camping and gardening.

Education

Ph.D., History, Florida State University
M.A., History, Florida State University
B.A., History, Nyack College

Research or Areas of Specialty

12th-century England

My doctoral dissertation concerned the lower government officials of the reign of Richard I Lionheart, the crusader king of England who died in 1199. From that research, I have published a few articles and in 2000 co-authored with my former professor, Dr. Ralph V. Turner, a book entitled The Reign of Richard Lionheart.

Recognitions

  • PC:
    • PC Professor of the Year Award, 2009
    • SCICU Excellence in Teaching Award, 2009
  • Nyack College
  • Faculty Merit Award, 1995

Classes at PC

  • Teaching fields:
    • Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern Europe
  • Over the course of my career as a professor, I have taught many different courses, but the fields where I have been asked to do most of my teaching cover western history from its beginnings to about 1700 A.D. What follows is a list of the courses that I have taught at PC:
    • Ancient and Medieval Europe
    • Greeks, Romans, and Barbarians
    • Medieval England and France
    • Tudor and Stuart England
    • Renaissance and Reformation
    • History of Scotland
    • Medieval Warfare
    • Ancient and Medieval Law
    • History of Christianity
  • Parade of the Great and Not-so-Great
  • Celtic Trials
    • Senior Seminar/Capstone (Topics I have taught include the Crusades, Inquisition, Rome, the Byzantines, the Stuart Dynasty of England, the Tudor Dynasty of England, and the Continental Reformation)
    • Short-term Study Abroad (Destinations to which I have taken students include France, England, Scotland, Italy, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Portugal and the Azores, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Spain, and Ireland)

Publications

Books:

The Reign of Richard Lionheart: Ruler of the Angevin Empire, 1189-1199. Co-authored with Ralph V. Turner. Medieval World Series, ed. David Bates (Longman, 2000).

Journal Articles:

‘The court of the Lionheart on crusade, 1190-2,’ Journal of Medieval History 43 (2017): 505-522.

‘Castles, Constables, and Politics in Late Twelfth-Century English Governance,’ Albion 32 (2000): 19-36.

‘The Extent of the Lionheart’s Folly: Richard I’s Arrangements for Count John and Archbishop Geoffrey Prior to the Third Crusade,’ Nottingham Medieval Studies 43 (1999): 79-89.

‘Richard I and His Appointments to English Shrievalties,’ English Historical Review 112 (1997): 1-19.

‘The Sheriffs of Richard I: Trends of Management as Seen in the Shrieval Appointments from 1189 to 1194,’ The Haskins Society Journal 4 (1992): 109-122.

‘The Households of the Justiciars of Richard I: An Enquiry into the Second Level of Medieval English Government,’ The Haskins Society Journal 2 (1990): 223-235.

‘The Royal Familiares of King Richard I,’ Medieval Prosopography 10 (August 1989): 25-50.