Edward Robert Norman (born 22 November 1938) is an ecclesiastical historian and former

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

priest. From 1999 to 2004, he was Canon Chancellor of York Minster. He was educated at

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

, where he received an Open Scholarship.

Early life

Norman was educated at

Chatham House Grammar School (May Chatham House Flourish) , established = 1797 , free_label_3 = Merged , free_3 = 2011 , closed = , type = Grammar schoolAcademy , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , head ...

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and the

Monoux School Sir George Monoux College is a sixth form college located in Walthamstow, London. It is a medium-sized college with around 1,620 full-time students as of 2018. Brief history Sir George Monoux, the founder of the Grammar School (later College ...

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

. He went up to

, on an Open Scholarship.

Career

Norman lectured in history at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

for many years. He was a fellow of Selwyn College (from 1962 to 1964) before moving to

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, to take up a similar position. Today, he is an emeritus fellow of

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

. He was dean of Peterhouse for 17 years and then dean and chaplain at

Christ Church College, Canterbury , mottoeng = The truth shall set you free , established = 2005 – gained University status 1962 – teacher training college , type = Public , religious_affiliation = Church of England , city ...

. He was also professor of history at the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

. He is a member of the conservative-leaning

Peterhouse school of history The Peterhouse School of History, named after the college of the same name at the University of Cambridge, focused on the study of "high politics" in history. Maurice Cowling, the most prominent member of the Peterhouse school, described this as ...

and was associated with the influential Cambridge Right, along with Roger Scruton and

Maurice Cowling Maurice John Cowling (6 September 1926 – 24 August 2005) was a British historian and a Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge. Early life Cowling was born in West Norwood, South London, son of Reginald Frederick Cowling (1901–1962), a patent agent ...

. On 7 October 2012, he was received into the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

by way of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Norman was the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Reith Lecturer in 1978. For his series of six radio lectures, titled "Christianity and the World", he discussed the relationship between religion and politics.

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

once invited him to

Chequers Chequers ( ), or Chequers Court, is the country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is located near the village of Ellesborough, halfway between Princes Risborough and Wendover in Bucking ...

, although Norman insists he is not a Thatcherite and says he is "appalled by the results of naked

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

". Norman's book ''Church and Society in Modern England'', published a year after Thatcher's election as Conservative leader, argued that Christianity and Conservatism were natural allies based on the moral superiority of the free market. The free market, Norman argued, left the individual responsible for their choices rather than dependent on state welfare, which rendered people "moral cripples". Thatcher exclaimed: "Dr Norman, you are a prophet".John Campbell, ''Margaret Thatcher. Volume One: The Grocer's Daughter'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 2000), p. 373.

Writings

*''The Catholic Church and Ireland'' (1965) *''The Conscience of the State in North America'' (1968) *''Anti-Catholicism in Victorian England'' (1968) *''The Early Development of Irish Society'' (1969) *''A History of Modern Ireland'' (1971) *''Church and Society in Modern England'' (1976) *"Christianity and Politics" in

(ed.), ''Conservative Essays'' (Cassell, 1978, pp. 69–81.) *
Christianity and the World
' BBC Reith Lectures (1978) *''Christianity and the World Order'' Book based on the BBC Reith Lectures (1979) *''Christianity in the Southern Hemisphere'' (1981) *''The English Catholic Church in the Nineteenth Century'' (1983) *''Roman Catholicism in England'' (1985) *''The Victorian Christian Socialists'' (1987) *''The House of God: Church Architecture, Style and History'' (1990) *''Entering the Darkness: Christianity and its modern substitutes'' (1991) *''An Anglican Catechism'' (2001) *''Out of the Depths'' (2001) *''Secularisation'' (2002) *''Anglican Difficulties'' (2004) *''The Mercy of God's Humility'' (2004) *''The Roman Catholic Church'' (2006)

References

External links

'Anglicanism is going to tip into the sea'

'The Roman Catholic Church by Edward Norman - Book Review by Michael Arditti in the UK's Indpedendent, April 2007'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Edward 1938 births Living people British historians Anglican priest converts to Roman Catholicism 20th-century English Anglican priests English Roman Catholics People associated with Canterbury Christ Church University Fellows of Peterhouse, Cambridge Alumni of Lincoln Theological College People educated at Chatham House Grammar School Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge Fellows of Selwyn College, Cambridge Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge