John Lister Illingworth Fennell (30 May 19189 August 1992) was a British historian of medieval
Russia
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n history and of
Russian literature. He taught at
Cambridge
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,
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
, and
London
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universities, and from 1964 at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, where he was a fellow first at
University College
In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...
, and later at
New College. He retired in 1985. His specialty was as a historian, translator, philologist, editor, and teacher of advanced students.
His specialty was the
era of Ivan III and 15th century Russia. In evaluating the overall significance of Ivan the Great, Fennell concludes that his reign was "militarily glorious and economically sound," and especially points to his territorial annexations and his centralized control over local rulers. However Fennell adds that his reign was also "a period of cultural depression and spiritual barrenness. Freedom was stamped out within the Russian lands. By his bigoted anti-Catholicism Ivan brought down the curtain between Russia and the west. For the sake of territorial aggrandizement he deprived his country of the fruits of Western learning and civilization."
Dimnick says of Fennell, "His achievements are unrivaled in the West, and almost so in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and Russia".
[M. Dimnik, "John Fennell's Contribution to Slavonic Studies," ''Oxford Slavonic Papers'' (1994), Vol. 27, pp 1-22.]
Bibliography
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* John Lister Illingworth Fennell, editor, ''Prince A. M. Kurbsky's History of Ivan IV'' (Cambridge, 1965)
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Notes
External links
*Translated Penguin Book - at
Penguin First Editionsreference site of early first edition Penguin Books.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fennell, John Lister Illingworth
1918 births
1992 deaths
Historians of Russia
20th-century British historians