Julia Mary Howard Smith, (born 29 May 1956) is Chichele Professor of Medieval History at All Souls College, Oxford. She was formerly

Edwards Professor of Medieval History The Edwards Professor of Medieval History is a prestigious professorship at the University of Glasgow, in Scotland. Initially established in 1955 as the Chair of Medieval History, it was later renamed in 1989 to honor John Edwards, a renowned Glas ...

at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. She is a graduate of

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's 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 Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millice ...

, University of Cambridge (BA, 1978), and Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford (D.Phil., 1985).

Early life and education

Smith was born on 29 May 1956 in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, Cambridgeshire, England. She was educated at

South Hampstead High School ) , established = as St. Johns Wood School , closed = , type = Independent day school , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , head ...

, an all-girls

Private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in London. She studied at

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's 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 Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

, from 1975 to 1978, followed by postgraduate study 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 12t ...

, from 1978 to 1981.

Academic career

She lectured at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

, 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 ...

, and the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

in the 1980s. In 1986, she was appointed an

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree A docto ...

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, Hartford, Connecticut. In 1995, she joined 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 ...

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

in Medieval History. In 2005, she was appointed

at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. In 2016, Smith was appointed Chichele Professor of Medieval History 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 ...

and elected a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of All Souls College, Oxford. She gave her inaugural lecture as Chichele Professor on 31 January 2019: it was tiled "Thinking with Things: Reframing Relics in the Early Middle Ages". She has held a range of international research fellowships. From 1999 to 2000 she was a fellow at the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Study and in 2001 and 2013 she held a fellowship at the Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies,

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

Personal life

In 2005, Smith married fellow historian

Hamish Scott Hamish Scott (17 February 1924 – 12 March 2010) was a Scotland international rugby union footballer. He played at Flanker and Number Eight. Rugby career Amateur career Born in Edinburgh, Scott was raised in St Andrews and attended the U ...

Honours and awards

In 2010 she delivered the Raleigh Lecture on the subject of relics in the Medieval West. In 2011 she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Smith delivered the Birbkbeck lecture series at Trinity College, Cambridge in 2018, on the subject "The Religious Life of Things in Early Christianity".

Selected publications

*''Province and Empire: Brittany and the Carolingians''. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1992. *"Einhard: the sinner and the saint", ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society (Sixth series), 13'', 2003, pp. 55–77. *''Europe after Rome: a New Cultural History 500–1000''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, Oxford, 2005. *''Early Medieval Christianities, c. 600 – c. 1100'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

, Cambridge, 2008. (Edited with T. F. X. Noble) *"Portable Christianity: relics in the Medieval west (c. 700 – c. 1200)" in ''Proceedings of the British Academy'', 2012, 181 . pp. 143–167. ISSN 0068-1202

References

External links

*http://www.academia-net.org/profil/prof-julia-m-h-smith/1215915 {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Julia Academics of the University of Glasgow British women historians British medievalists Women medievalists Living people Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Chichele Professors of Medieval History 1956 births