Sir Frederick Maurice Powicke (1879–1963) was an English medieval historian. He was a fellow of

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

and was a professor at Queen's University, Belfast and the Victoria University of Manchester, and from 1928 until his retirement

Regius Professor A Regius Professor is a university Professor (highest academic rank), professor who has, or originally had, Monarchy of the United Kingdom, royal patronage or appointment. They are a unique feature of academia in the United Kingdom and Republic ...

at the University of Oxford. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1946.

Life

Powicke was born on 16 June 1879 in

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

, the son of Martha, the youngest daughter of William Collyer of Brigstock, and Frederick James Powicke, a Congregational minister and historian of 17th-century puritanism. Powicke was educated at Owens College, Manchester, where he took his first degree, and 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 ...

, where he took another with first-class honours.'POWICKE, Sir (Frederick) Maurice', in '' Who Was Who'' (London: A. & C. Black) From 1908 to 1915 he was a Fellow of

, although in 1909 he was appointed as Professor of Modern History in the Queen's University, Belfast, where he remained for ten years. From 1919 to 1928 he was Professor of Mediæval History at the Victoria University of Manchester, and during his time in Manchester he was a member of the Chetham Society and served on its council from 1920 to 1933. He also served as Ford's Lecturer in English History at Oxford for 1927. In 1928 he became Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, remaining in post until 1947. He was President of the Royal Historical Society from 1933 to 1937. He was a tough, difficult man, small in build. At Oxford, he was determined to reinvigorate history there and made the university the leading centre in the England for historical study. Powicke was the author of the volume ''The Thirteenth Century'' in the Oxford History of England. In 1909, Powicke married Susan Irvine Martin, daughter of Anna and Thomas Martin Lindsay. Together they had two daughters. Their daughter Janet married the historian Richard Pares. He died in the

Radcliffe Infirmary The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. History The initial proposals to build a hospital in Oxford were put forw ...

in Oxford on 19 May 1963.

Works

* ''The Loss of Normandy 1189–1204: Studies in the History of the Angevin Empire'' (1913) * ''Bismarck and the Origin of the German Empire'' (1914) * ''Ailred of Rievaulx and his biographer Walter Daniel'' (1922) * ''Stephen Langton'' (1927) Ford Lectures * ''Gerald of Wales'' (1928) * ''Historical Study at Oxford'' (1929) Inaugural lecture * ''Robert Grosseteste and the Nicomachean Ethics'' (1930) * '' Sir Henry Spelman and the 'Concilia' '' (1930) Raleigh Lecture on History * ''The Medieval Books of Merton College'' (1931) A catalogue * ''Oxford Essays in Medieval History. Presented to Herbert Edward Salter'' (1934) editor *''The Christian Life in the Middle Ages'' (1935) essays *'' International Bibliography of Historical Sciences. Twelfth year'' (1937) editor *''History, Freedom and Religion'' (1938) Riddell Memorial Lectures *''Handbook of British Chronology'' (1939) editor *''Three Lectures'' (1947) *''King Henry III and the Lord Edward: the Community of the Realm in the Thirteenth Century'' (1947) 2 volumes (2nd ed., 1968) *''Mediaeval England, 1066–1485'' (1948) *''Ways of Medieval Life and Thought: Essays and Addresses'' (1949) *''Walteri Danielis: Vita Ailredi Abbatis Rievall: The Life of Ailred of Rievaulx by Walter Daniel'' (1950) editor *''Oxford History of England – Thirteenth Century 1216 – 1307'' (1953) *''The Reformation in England'' (1953) *''Modern Historians and the Study of History: Essays and Papers'' (London: Odhams Press, 1955)

Collaborations

* ''The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages'' (3 vols) by Hastings Rashdall, editor with A. B. Emden *''The Battle of Lewes 1264'' (1964) with R. F. Treharne and Charles Lemmon * ''The Administration of the Honor of Leicester in the Fourteenth Century'' (1940) with L. Fox * ''Essays in Medieval History Presented to Thomas Frederick Tout'' (1925) editor with A. G. Little

Honours

*Fellow of the British Academy, 1927 *Corresponding Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, 1929 *Honorary Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, 1939 * Knight Bachelor, 1946 *Honorary Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, 1947 *Hon. Member of

Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street in Bost ...

, 1947 *Hon. Member of American Historical Association *Hon. Member of

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

, 1949 *Hon. DLitt, Cambridge *Hon. DLitt, Durham *Hon. LLD,

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

*Hon. LLD, Glasgow *Hon. LittD, Manchester, Liverpool, Queen's University Belfast, London, and Harvard *Hon. Doctorate, University of Caen

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

*Liber Memorialis Sir Maurice Powicke, Dublin 1963 *Studies in Mediaeval History Presented to Frederick Maurice Powicke. (1969) edited by

Richard William Hunt Richard William Hunt (11 April 1908 – 13 November 1979) was a scholar, grammarian, palaeographer, editor, and author of a number of books about medieval history. He began his career as a lecturer in palaeography at Liverpool University, and ...

, William Abel Pantin and

R. W. Southern Sir Richard William Southern (8 February 1912 – 6 February 2001), who published under the name R. W. Southern, was a noted English medieval historian based at the University of Oxford. Biography Southern was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne o ...

*''Inventing the Middle Ages'' by Norman Cantor *W. A. Pantin, "Frederick Maurice Powicke," ''The English Historical Review'', 80, No. 314 (Jan. 1965): pp. 1–9.

External links

Chetham Society
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powicke, F. M. English historians 1879 births 1963 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Presidents of the Royal Historical Society Regius Professors of History (University of Oxford) Knights Bachelor Fellows of the British Academy Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Members of the Royal Irish Academy Surtees Society Chetham Society