Peter David Partner (15 July 1924 – 17 January 2015) was a British historian, particularly of medieval Rome and the Middle East.

Life

Peter Partner was born 15 July 1924 to David and Bertha Partridge Partner in Little Heath, Hertfordshire. His father was with the Metropolitan Police and his mother ran a café in Barnet. During World War II, he served on minesweepers. After the war, he attended

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

to read law, but switched to history. In 1953, he married Leila May Fadil (d. 1990), niece of historian

Albert Hourani Albert Habib Hourani ( ar, ألبرت حبيب حوراني ''Albart Ḥabīb Ḥūrānī''; 31 March 1915 – 17 January 1993) was a Lebanese British historian, specialising in the history of the Middle East and Middle Eastern studies. Back ...

. Partner worked as a journalist many years with ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', writing the lead article the first week of the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

. He also wrote for ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' and broadcast frequently for the BBC on Arab topics. In 1955, Partner accepted a position to teach history at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

, where he remained for thirty years. Partner wrote a number of reviews for ''The New York Review of Books'', as well as articles for ''History Today'', and the ''Journal of Ecclesiastical History''.Partner, Peter. "Camera Papae: Problems of Papal finance in the Later Middle Ages", ''Journal of Ecclesiastical History'', 1958, pp. 55-68 He died on 17 January 2015 at the age of 90.

Works

Partner was a historian of medieval and Renaissance Rome, as well as the Middle East, and was known for his studies of papal administration and diplomacy during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. * ''The Papal State Under Martin V: The Administration and Government of the Temporal Power in the Early Fifteenth Century'' (British School at Rome, 1958) * ''A Short Political Guide to the Arab World'' (Pall Mall, 1960) * ''The Lands of St. Peter: The Papal State in the Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance'' (Eyre Methuen, 1972) * ''Renaissance Rome 1500-1559: A Portrait of a Society'' (University of California Press, 1976) * ''The Murdered Magicians: The Templars and their Myth'' (Oxford University Press, 1982) * ''Arab Voices: The BBC Arabic Service 1938-1988'' (BBC, 1988) * ''The Pope's Men: The Papal Civil Service in the Renaissance'' (Clarendon Press, 1990) * ''God of Battles: Holy Wars of Christianity and Islam'' (HarperCollins, 1997) * ''Two Thousand Years of Christianity'' (Andre Deutsch, 1999); 2 vols. ''The First Millennium'' and ''The Second Millennium'' * ''The Story of Christianity'' (Andre Deutsch, 2005)

References

External links

* 1924 births 2015 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford English historians People from Potters Bar {{England-historian-stub