John Hine Mundy (December 29, 1917 – April 13, 2004) was a British-American

medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

. He was professor of history emeritus at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he taught for more than forty years.

Biography

Mundy was born on December 29, 1917, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. His father, John Mundy, was a cellist, and his mother was the Australian-born opera singer

Clytie Hine Clytie May Hine, (later Mundy) (8 May 188727 June 1983) was an Australian-born operatic soprano who became a renowned voice teacher in New York. Biography Clytie Hine was an only child, born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1887 to William Henr ...

, who was a principal of the

Beecham Opera Company The Beecham Opera Company was an opera company founded by Thomas Beecham which presented opera in English in London and on tour between 1916 and 1920.Jefferson, Alan (2004) "Beecham, Sir Thomas, second baronet (1879–1961)" ''Oxford Dictionary of ...

. His sister,

Meg Mundy Margaret Anne Mary Mundy (January 4, 1915 – January 12, 2016) was an English-born American actress and model. She was born in London, and in 1921, at the age of six, emigrated to the United States with her family. Personal life Mundy was born ...

, later became an actress. In 1921, his family emigrated to the United States, settling in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where his father played cello for the Vertchamps Quartet and the CBS Radio Orchestra, eventually becoming orchestra manager of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

. Mundy was educated at the Saint Thomas Choir School, where he was trained a chorister and boy soprano, and the Trinity School. Mundy graduated from

in 1940 with a bachelor's degree and in 1941 with a master's degree, where his master's thesis examined the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...

. In 1943, he was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and served with the Army Signal Corps in Europe. He was discharged in 1945 and returned to Columbia, earning his doctorate in 1950 and published his dissertation as ''Liberty and Political Power in Toulouse, 1050–1230.'' He continued his research interest in the city of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, writing about the city's society, government during 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 ...

. He became an assistant professor at Columbia in 1950, an associate professor in 1956, and full professor in 1962, before chairing the history department between 1967 and 1970. Mundy also held positions at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences. Mundy was the author of the textbook ''Europe in the High Middle Ages, 1150–1230'' that was known for its reliance on primary sources. He was also a recognized authority on medieval life. He was a two-time recipient of the

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in 1963 and 1977 and was elected a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1981. He was elected a fellow of the

Medieval Academy of America The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until c. 1980) is the largest organization in the United States promoting the field of medieval studies. It was founded in 1925 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The academy publishes ...

and became its president in 1981. Mundy died on April 13, 2004, at his home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mundy, John Hine 1917 births 2004 deaths Trinity School (New York City) alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Columbia University faculty 20th-century American historians American medievalists Historians of France