Jennifer O'Reilly FRSA MRIA (1943–2016) was a

medieval 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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

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 ...

of Britain and Ireland known for her work on text and image, the writings of

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...

, and medieval

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

Career

Jennifer O’Reilly received her B.A. Honours degree in History in 1964 from the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

, followed by a Dip.Ed. (Distinction) from the Department of Education at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1965. She returned to Nottingham for her

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

Art History Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

, which was awarded in 1972. Subsequently she taught at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

(1974–75), before moving to

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

(UCC), where she worked until her retirement in 2008. She also had a prominent role in setting up the degree programme in History of Art at UCC. Her monograph, ''Studies in the Iconography of the Virtues and Vices in the Middle Ages'' was published in 1988. A book of essays in her honour was published in 2011, Listen, o isles, unto me: studies in medieval word and image in honour of Jennifer O'Reilly'.'' In retirement she continued to publish extensively and gave the Jarrow Lecture and the Brixworth Lecture in 2014. Three volumes of her collected essays were published by

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

in 2019, edited by Diarmuid Scully, Máirín MacCarron, Carol Farr and Elizabeth Mullins, including both previous publications and formerly unpublished work. The first volume includes her work on Bede,

Adomnán Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (, la, Adamnanus, Adomnanus; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the ''Life of Co ...

and

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

, and the second and third cover the Insular Gospel Books, the Codex Amiatinus, the

Book of Kells The Book of Kells ( la, Codex Cenannensis; ga, Leabhar Cheanannais; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New ...

and

Anglo-Saxon Art Anglo-Saxon art covers art produced within the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, beginning with the Migration period style that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them from the continent in the 5th century, and ending in 1066 with the Norma ...

Honours

* Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries (2005) * Member of the

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 ...

(2007) * The Jarrow Lecture (2014) * The Brixworth Lecture (2014) * Festschrift (2011) ''Listen, O Isles, Unto Me: studies in medieval word and image in Honour of Jennifer O'Reilly'', edited by Elizabeth Mullins and Diarmuid Scully (Cork University Press)

Selected publications

*
History, Hagiography and Biblical Exegesis: Essays on Bede, Adomnán and Thomas Becket
', eds. Diarmuid Scully and Máirín MacCarron (Routledge, 2019) *
Early Medieval Text and Image: The Insular Gospel Books
', eds. Carol Farr and Elizabeth Mullins (Routledge, 2019) *
Early Medieval Text and Image: The Codex Amiatinus, the Book of Kells and Anglo-Saxon Art
', eds. Carol Farr and Elizabeth Mullins (Routledge 2019) * ‘St Paul and the sign of Jonah. Theology and Scripture in Bede’s ''Historia Ecclesiastica''’, (Jarrow Lecture, 2014) *''Studies in the iconography of the Virtues and Vices in the Middle Ages'' (New York and London, 1988)

The Jennifer O'Reilly Memorial Lecture series

An annual memorial lecture in honour of Jennifer O’Reilly was established in 2017 by the School of History at

. * Dr Alan Thacker ( Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study), 'Bede and Cassiodorus', 2017 * Professor Jane Hawkes (

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 ...

), �
Venerating the Cross around the year 800 in Anglo-Saxon England
��, 2018 * Professor Máire Herbert (

), �
At the Ends of the Earth: Conversion and its consequences in some Insular Sources
��, 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OReilly, Jennifer Alumni of the University of Nottingham 20th-century British historians 21st-century British historians 1943 births 2016 deaths