My main research areas are portraiture and commemoration (esp. of children), tomb monuments (esp. medieval), death and the danse macabre. My publications include two co-edited volumes and many articles in international journals, conference proceedings and exhibition catalogues.

My most recent book is the richly illustrated, critical text edition of John Lydgate's Dance of Death poem and the French Danse Macabre, which appeared with Brill in April 2021: see picture and https://brill.com/view/title/58766. Another co-edited volume on the origins and dissemination of the medieval Danse macabre motif in literature and drama across Europe was published by Brill in 2025 and a second volume is being finalised for publication in 2026.

Another aspect of my current research focuses on medieval effigial tombs of ‘precious metal’, especially gilt ‘bronze’ and silver, in medieval Europe. An example is the stunning tomb monument in Braga Cathedral (Portugal) to Prince Afonso, a ten-year-old crown-prince who died in 1400. This research has been presented in a major survey article in the journal Church Monuments (2015) and in various conference papers abroad.

See also my publications at https://independent.academia.edu/SophieOosterwijk.