Ernest Fraser Jacob (12 September 1894 – 7 October 1971) was a British medievalist and scholar who was President of the Chetham Society, Lancashire Parish Register Society and Ecclesiastical History Society.

Education

He was educated at Twyford School, Winchester College, and then for a period at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

- broken by service in World War I. He won a fellowship to

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

, and taught there and at Christ Church where his pupils included

A. L. Rowse Alfred Leslie Rowse (4 December 1903 – 3 October 1997) was a British historian and writer, best known for his work on Elizabethan England and books relating to Cornwall. Born in Cornwall and raised in modest circumstances, he was encourag ...

Professor

He was then professor of history at Manchester University from 1929 to 1944 before returning to Oxford as

Chichele Professor of Modern History The Chichele Professorships are statutory professorships at the University of Oxford named in honour of Henry Chichele (also spelt Chicheley or Checheley, although the spelling of the academic position is consistently "Chichele"), an Archbishop of ...

at All Souls from 1950 until 1961. He was an able academic politician, and is said to have recruited Sir Lewis Namier to Manchester by reading in his newspaper that Namier had no position, making a phone call to invite him to take a chair, and only then walking over to tell the vice-chancellor of the recruitment. Jacob was a Member of the Chetham Society, serving as a Member of Council from 1931 and as president from 1938 until 1971. He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, Royal Historical Society and British Academy and also President of the

Ecclesiastical History Society The Ecclesiastical History Society (EHS) is a British learned historical society founded in 1961 to foster interest in, and to advance the study of, all areas of the history of the Christian Church through twice yearly conferences and publication ...

(1965–66).Past Presidents - Ecclesiastical History Society
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Legacy

Jacob is remembered as the link between the old school of 'structuralist' medievalists, including distinguished names such as William Stubbs,

T. F. Tout Thomas Frederick Tout (28 September 1855 – 23 October 1929) was a British historian of the medieval period. He was one of the founders of the Historical Association in 1906. Early life Born in London, he was a pupil of St Olave's Grammar Sch ...

and

F. W. Maitland Frederic William Maitland (28 May 1850 – ) was an English historian and lawyer who is regarded as the modern father of English legal history. Early life and education, 1850–72 Frederic William Maitland was born at 53 Guilford Street, Lo ...

, and the subsequent school of more socio-political medieval historiography, to which

J. S. Roskell John Smith Roskell (1913–1998) was an English historian of the Middle Ages. Roskell was born on 2 July 1913 in Norden, near Rochdale. He won a scholarship to Rochdale Municipal Secondary School before attending Accrington Grammar School. In ...

K.B. McFarlane Kenneth Bruce McFarlane, FBA (18 October 1903 – 16 July 1966) was one of the 20th century's most influential historians of late medieval England. Life McFarlane was born on 18 October 1903, the only child of A. McFarlane, OBE. His father was ...

and

C. A. J. Armstrong Charles Arthur John Armstrong (born 1909), known as John Armstrong, was a leading post-war English historian, known for his studies of the First Battle of St Albans and the medieval Duchy of Burgundy. Early life and discovery of the Mancini ...

belonged. His professorships at Manchester and Oxford did much to make the two schools England's academic centres for medieval studies. He also contributed the ''Fifteenth Century'' volume to the landmark

Oxford History of England The Oxford History of England (1934–1965) was a notable book series on the history of the United Kingdom. Published by Oxford University Press, it was originally intended to span from Roman Britain to the outbreak of the First World War in fourte ...

series.

List of works

* ''The Legacy of the Middle Ages'' (Oxford University Press, 1926) co-authored with C. G. Crump * ''The Holy Roman Empire'' (Ernest Benn, 1928) no. 9 "Benn's Sixpenny Library" * ''Essays in the Conciliar Epoch'' (Manchester University Press, 1943) * ''Henry V and the Invasion of France'' (The English Universities Press, 1947) "Teach Yourself History" series * ''The Medieval Registers of Canterbury and York'' (St. Anthony's Hall, 1953) * ''Italian Renaissance Studies: A Tribute to the Late Cecilia M. Ady'' (Faber, 1960) editor * ''The Fifteenth Century 1399-1485'' (Oxford University Press, 1961) volume 6 in the "Oxford History of England" series * ''Archbishop Henry Chichele'' (Nelson, 1967) * ''Essays in Later Medieval History'' (Manchester University Press, 1968)

References

External links

Chetham Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacob, E. F. 1894 births 1971 deaths People educated at Winchester College Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester Alumni of New College, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford British medievalists People educated at Twyford School Chichele Professors of Modern History 20th-century British historians Presidents of the Ecclesiastical History Society Chetham Society Lancashire Parish Register Society