Anthony Applemore Mornington Bryer (31 October 1937 – 22 October 2016) FSA FRHistS was a British historian of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and founder of the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies at the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
.
Biographical details
Anthony Bryer was born on 31 October 1937 in Southsea,
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
.
He was the son of Group Captain Gerald Bryer and Joan Bryer (née Rigsby). Part of his childhood was spent in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and he was acquainted with
Sir Steven Runciman
Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman ( – ), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume ''A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54).
He was a strong admirer of the Byzantine Empire. His history's negative ...
, historian and Byzantine Scholar.
In July 1961 he married Elizabeth Liscomb, who died in 1995.
In 1998 he married Jennifer A. Banks.
Bryer died on 22 October 2016.
Education and career
Bryer's post nominals include: Dip. (Sorbonne), MA, MA, DPhil (Oxford), FSA, FRHistS.
Bryer was educated at
Canford School
Canford School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18). Situated in 300 acres of parkland near to the market town of Wimborne Minster in Dorset, south west England, it is one of the largest s ...
, and after completing his
National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The l ...
he studied history at
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...
. He initially remained at Balliol for his doctorate on the
Empire of Trebizond
The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...
, which he completed in 1967, but in 1964 he moved to the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
where he created a programme in
Byzantine studies
Byzantine studies is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities that addresses the history, culture, demography, dress, religion/theology, art, literature/epigraphy, music, science, economy, coinage and politics of the Eastern Roman Empire. T ...
. In 1975 he founded the journal ''
Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies
''Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies'' or BMGS is a peer reviewed British journal which contains articles that pertain to both Byzantine Studies and Modern Greek studies, i.e. the language, literature, history and archaeology of the post-classica ...
''. From 1976, he was the founding Director of the Centre for Byzantine Studies, and in 1980 he was appointed Professor of Byzantine Studies, a post which he held until 1999.
In a distinguished career he has held fellowships at
Athens University
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...
,
Dumbarton Oaks
Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and garden of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, M ...
and
Merton College
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ch ...
, Oxford.
Photography
A number of photographs attributed to Bryer appear in the Conway Library at the
Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...
, London. This collection includes architectural images, religious and secular, across many countries and is in the process of being digitised as part of the Courtauld Connects project.
Awards and honours
![Anthony Bryer, Turkey](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Anthony_Bryer%2C_Turkey.jpg)
Bryer was awarded an
OBE in the
2009 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. to ...
for services to scholarship.
He was a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries of London
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...
.
Publications
Bryer's contribution to the study of Byzantine includes the following:
* Anthony Bryer, Jane Isaac,
David Winfield and Selina Ballance, 2002, The Post Byzantine Monuments at Pontos: A Source Book, Aldershot, Ashgate.
* Anthony Bryer and Mary Cunningham (Eds.), 1994, Mount Athos and Byzantine Monasticism, Papers from the 25th Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Brirmingham .
*Professor A.B. Bryer and Professor Elizabeth Jeffreys, 2006, Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, London, 21–26 August 2006: Vol. 1: Plenary Papers; Vol 2: Abstracts of Panel Papers; Vol. 3: Abstract of Communications.
References
External links
Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies
1937 births
2016 deaths
Academics of the University of Birmingham
Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
British historians
British Byzantinists
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Canford School
Scholars of Byzantine history
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