George Gordon Coulton (15 October 1858 – 4 March 1947) was a British

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

, known for numerous works on

medieval history In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. He was known also as a keen

controversialist Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topic ...

. Coulton was born in

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

and educated at

King's Lynn Grammar School King Edward VII Academy (known as KES Academy) is a large, mixed comprehensive secondary school in Gaywood Road ( A148), King's Lynn, Norfolk, England with around 1,300 pupils, including about 300 in sixth form education. Prior to the school ye ...

Felsted School (Keep your Faith) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Chris Townsend , r_head_l ...

, and

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...

. He taught for a short period, and was ordained in 1883. He did not however pursue a life in the

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 ...

, due to the absence of vocation, and took further teaching jobs, beginning as an

independent scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher ...

to study the history of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. A fierce

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...

, he was often, especially during the 1930s, embroiled in embittered journalistic controversy with

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...

, who detested him. In 1911 Coulton found a lecturing position 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 ...

. He became a Fellow of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

in 1919, and a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

in 1929.

Works

* ''Father Rhine'' (1898) travel writing * "The Monastic Legend: A Criticism of Abbot Gasquet's ''Henry VIII and the English Monasteries''" (1905), article, ''Medieval Studies'', issue 1. * ''Friar's Lantern'' (1906) * ''Pearl. A Fourteenth-Century Poem'' (1906) translator * ''From Saint Francis to Dante. Translations from the Chronicle of the Franciscan Salimbene (1221 - 1288)'' (1907) * ''Chaucer and his England'' (1908) * ''A Medieval Garner'' (1910) * ''Life in the Middle Ages'' (1910; revised 1928 in four volumes) * ''French Monasticism in 1503'' (1915) * ''The Main Illusions of Pacificism: a Criticism of Mr.

Norman Angell Sir Ralph Norman Angell (26 December 1872 – 7 October 1967) was an English Nobel Peace Prize winner. He was a lecturer, journalist, author and Member of Parliament for the Labour Party. Angell was one of the principal founders of the Union o ...

and of the

Union of Democratic Control The Union of Democratic Control was a British pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifist organisation, it was opposed to military influence in government. World War I The impetus for the ...

'' (1916) * ''The Plain man's religion in the Middle Ages'' (1916) pamphlet * ''The Case for Compulsory Military Service'' (1917) * ''Social Life in Britain from the Conquest to the Reformation'' (1918) * ''Christ, St Francis and To-Day'' (1919) * ''The Roman Catholic Church and the Bible. Some Historical Notes'' (1921) booklet * ''Monasticism: Its Cause and Effects. Sketch of the Social and Intellectual Part Played By World History By the Monastic Institution'' * ''Infant Perdition in the Middle Ages'' (1922) * ''Papal Infallibility'' (1922) * ''A Victorian Schoolmaster: Henry Hart of Sedbergh'' (1923) * ''The Death Penalty for Heresy from 1164 to 1921 AD'' (1924) * ''Roman Catholic Truth: An Open Discussion between G. G. Coulton and L. J. Walker'' (1924) * ''The Medieval Village'' (1925) ''Medieval Village, Manor & Monastery'' * ''Art and the Reformation'' (1928) also as ''Medieval Faith And Symbolism'' and ''Fate of Medieval Art in the Renaissance & Reformation'' * ''Miracle of the Blessed Virgin Mary'' (1928) editor * ''The Inquisition'' (1929) * ''Modern Faith'' (1929) * ''The Black Death'' (1929) * ''Crusades, Commerce and Adventure'' (1930) * ''The Works of

Liudprand of Cremona Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios (c. 920 – 972),"LIUTPRAND OF CREMONA" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 1241. was a historian, diplomat, ...

'' (1930) edited with

Eileen Power Eileen Edna Le Poer Power (9 January 18898 August 1940) was a British economic historian and medievalist. Early life and education Eileen Power was the eldest daughter of a stockbroker and was born at Altrincham, Cheshire (now part of Great ...

* ''Malta - And Beyond'' (1930) pamphlet * ''Froissart and His Chronicles: The Chronicler of European Chivalry'' (1930) * ''The Medieval Scene'' (1930) * ''Ten Medieval Studies, with Four Appendices'' (1930) * ''Romanism And Truth'' (1930, two volumes) * ''In Defence of the Reformation'' (1931) * ''Some Problems in Medieval Historiography'' (1932) Raleigh Lecture * ''Two saints: St. Bernard & St. Francis'' (1932) * ''Scottish Abbeys and Social Life'' * ''The Meaning of Medieval Moneys'' (1934) * ''Commentary on the Rule of St Augustine By Robertus Richardinus'' (1935) editor * ''

H. W. Fowler Henry Watson Fowler (10 March 1858 – 26 December 1933) was an English schoolmaster, lexicographer and commentator on the usage of the English language. He is notable for both ''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage'' and his work on the ''Con ...

'' (1935) * ''The Faith of St. Thomas More'' (1935) * ''Sectarian History: A Fresh Development'' (1937) pamphlet * ''The Scandal of

Cardinal Gasquet Francis Aidan Cardinal Gasquet (born Francis Neil Gasquet; 5 October 1846 – 5 April 1929) was an English Benedictine monk and historical scholar. He was created Cardinal in 1914. Life Gasquet was the third of six children of Raymond Gasquet ...

'' (1937) pamphlet * ''Inquisition and Liberty'' (1938) * ''Medieval Panorama'' (1938, 2 volumes) * ''Studies in Medieval Thought'' (1940) * ''Europe's Apprenticeship - a Survey of Medieval Latin with Examples'' (1940) * ''Fourscore Years: an Autobiography'' (1943), winner of the

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Unit ...

* ''Is The Catholic Church Anti-Social?'' (1946) with

Arnold Lunn Sir Arnold Henry Moore Lunn (18 April 1888 – 2 June 1974) was a skier, mountaineer and writer. He was knighted for "services to British Skiing and Anglo-Swiss relations" in 1952. His father was a lay Methodist minister, but Lunn was an agn ...

* ''Stained Glass of the 12th and 13th Centuries from French Cathedrals'' (1951) with

Marcel Aubert Marcel Aubert (April 9, 1884 – December 28, 1962) was a French art historian. Life Marcel Aubert was the son of an architect who died when he was only seven years old. Following his studies at the Lycée Condorcet, he entered the École Nat ...

* ''Five Centuries of Religion'' (1927-1950) in four volumes: I St. Bernard, his predecessors and successors, 1000-1200 AD, II The friars and the dead weight of tradition, 1200-1400 AD, III Getting & spending, IV The last days of medieval monachism

References

Sources

* Campion, Sarah (1948). ''Father: a Portrait of G.G. Coulton at Home''. London: Michael Joseph. LCCN 49000255

External links

* * *
Guide to the George Gordon Coulton Papers 1875-1941
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center

Papers/biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coulton, G. G. 1858 births 1947 deaths Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge British medievalists Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America 20th-century English historians Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Fellows of the British Academy James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients People educated at Felsted School People from King's Lynn