Mathijs Speecke (°1993, Roeselare) studied History at Ghent University, where he obtained a master's degree, specializing in Medieval Studies. In March 2016, he started his Ph.D fellowship financed by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO): The Struggle for Urban Space in the Later Medieval City. The Case of Bruges (c. 1300 - c. 1580), under supervision of Jan Dumolyn. He is currently employed as a researcher involved in the LORD project (under supervision of Frederik Buylaert) as well as in the 'Jan Van Eyck: Kennisprofiel, Artistieke praktijk en Receptie' project (under supervision of Maximiliaan Martens and Jan Dumolyn).