Thomas Julian Brown, FBA, FSA, FKC (1923–1987), commonly called Julian Brown, was an English

palaeographer Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysi ...

. He was the Professor of Palaeography at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

from 1961 to 1984.

Early life and education

Born on 24 February 1923, Brown was the son of a

land agent Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts. Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large estate (house), landed estate for a member of the landed gentry, supervising the farmi ...

father and a mother (Helen) who received the

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

for services in the

WRVS The Royal Voluntary Service (known as the Women's Voluntary Services (WVS) from 1938 to 1966; Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) from 1966 to 2004 and WRVS from 2004 to 2013) is a voluntary organisation concerned with helping people in need ...

in the Second World War. His half-sister (by his father Thomas's first wife) was Mabel Raven Brown, known as Betty (married name Gilson; 1909–1965), who became a botanist and fellow of

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sid ...

. After attending

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, Julian Brown attended

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, before serving in the Army during Second World War. He returned to Christ Church after demobilisation and graduated with a

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

degree in 1948.

Career

In 1950, Brown was appointed an assistant keeper of the Department of Manuscripts at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

."Brown, Prof. Thomas Julian"
'' Who Was Who '' (online ed., Oxford University Press, 2021). Retrieved 8 August 2021. In 1953, the museum initiated a project to publish a

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, Old master print, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from ...

of the Book of Landisfarne with a volume of

commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

; the other staff in the department were too busy to complete the

palaeographical Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysi ...

commentary, so the responsibility passed to Brown, who had no formal instruction in the subject and had only been at the museum for three years. The commentary appeared in 1960 as part of the second volume of ''Evangeliorum Quattuor Codex Lindisfarnensis'' and it established his reputation. That year, he succeeded

Francis Wormald Francis Wormald (1904 - 11 January 1972), was a British educator who served as director of the Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training ...

as Professor of Palaeography at

. He published ''The

Stonyhurst Gospel The St Cuthbert Gospel, also known as the Stonyhurst Gospel or the St Cuthbert Gospel of St John, is an early 8th-century pocket gospel book, written in Latin. Its finely decorated leather binding is the earliest known Western bookbinding to ...

of St John'' (1969), ''The

Durham Ritual The Durham Rite is a historical fusion of the Roman Rite and the Gallican Rite in the English bishopric of Durham. Antecedents and testimonies The earliest document giving an account of liturgical services in the Diocese of Durham is the so-called ...

'' (1969) and, with C. D. Verey and E. Coatsworth, ''

Durham Gospels The Durham Gospels is a very incomplete late 7th-century insular Gospel Book, now kept in the Durham Cathedral Dean and Chapter Library (MS A.II.17). A single folio of this manuscript is now in Magdalene College, Cambridge (Pepysian MS 2981). ...

'' (1980). He retired from his chair at King's in 1984, having served as

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the Faculty of Arts from 1968 to 1970.Alexander (1989), p. 358. He published ''Codex Vaticanus Palatinus Latinus 235'' in 1989 (edited with T. Mackay). Brown was elected a fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...

in 1956. He gave the Jarrow Lecture in 1971; he was the E. A. Lowe Memorial Lecturer at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...

, in 1973 and the Lyell Reader in Bibliography 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 ...

for 1976–77. In 1978, he gave the R. W. Chambers Memorial Lecture at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

.Alexander (1989), pp. 349, 352. Elected a

fellow of King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

in 1975, he was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

in 1986. He was elected 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 1982. He died, aged 63, on 19 January 1987; he was survived by his second wife and the two children from his first marriage which ended in divorce."Professor Julian Brown", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' (London), 24 January 1987, p. 18. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Julian 1923 births 1987 deaths English palaeographers Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Academics of King's College London Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of King's College London British Army personnel of World War II