Richard Barrie Dobson, (3 November 1931 – 29 March 2013) was an English historian, who was a leading authority on the legend of

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

as well as a scholar of ecclesiastical and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

history. He served as Professor of Medieval History at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

from 1988 to 1999.

Early life

Dobson was born on 3 November 1931 in Stockton-on-Tees. As his father worked for the Great Western Railway of Brazil his spent his early years in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. The family returned to England and he spent his boyhood living in Mickleton, North Riding of Yorkshire. He was educated at

Barnard Castle School ''When you are steeped in little things, you shall safely attempt great things.'' , established = 1883 , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding school , religious_affiliation = Inter-denominational with a non-conformist Christian ...

, a

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 ...

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

Teesdale Teesdale is a dale, or valley, in Northern England. The dale is in the River Tees’s drainage basin, most water flows stem from or converge into said river, including the Skerne and Leven. Upper Teesdale, more commonly just Teesdale, falls b ...

. Following his schooling, he was called up to the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

as part of

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

. He saw active service during the Malayan Emergency. Upon completion of his National Service, in 1951 he matriculated into

Wadham College Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, to study modern history. He graduated with a first-class

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

(BA) degree. He then joined Magdalen College, Oxford, where he completed a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(DPhil) degree. His

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was titled ''The Priory of Durham Priory in the Time of John Wessington, Prior 1416–1446'' and was completed in 1962.

Academic career

Dobson lectured in medieval history at 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 ...

from 1958 to 1964. He then joined the University of York as a history lecturer in 1964. He rose through the ranks in his department becoming a

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 ...

and then Professor of History in 1977. In 1984, he was appointed deputy vice-chancellor and thereby becoming the second most senior academic of the university. In 1988, he moved to the

to take up the post of Professor of Medieval History. He also became 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 Christ's College. He also held a number of senior positions outside of university. He was president of the Surtees Society from 1987 to 2002, president of the

Jewish Historical Society of England The Jewish Historical Society of England (JHSE) was founded in 1893 by several Anglo-Jewish scholars, including Lucien Wolf, who became the society's first president. Early presidents of the JHSE included Hermann Adler, Michael Adler, Joseph Jacob ...

from 1990 to 1991 and of the Ecclesiastical History Society from 1991 to 1992. He was one of the founding members of the

York Archaeological Trust The York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited (YAT) is an educational charity, established in 1972 in the city of York, England. It carries out archaeological investigations, fieldwork, excavation and research in York, Yo ...

in 1972. From 1990 to 1996, he was the trust's chairman.

Later life

Dobson died on 29 March 2013 at his home in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

aged 81 years. His funeral service was held at the York Unitarian Chapel on 16 April.

Personal life

Dobson married Narda Leon in 1959. They had met at the University of Oxford while they were both studying there. They had two children.

Honours

Dobson was elected to the fellowship of a number of

learned societies A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership may ...

: the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

in 1972, the Society of Antiquaries in 1979, and the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

in 1988.

Works

* ''Durham Priory, 1400-1450'' (1973) * ''The Peasants' Revolt of 1381'' (1970) * ''The Jews of Medieval York and the Massacre of March 1190'' (1974) * ''Rymes of Robyn Hood: An Introduction to the English Outlaw'' (with John Taylor) (1976) * ''The Church, Politics and Patronage in the Fifteenth Century'' (1984) * ''Preserving the perishable'' (1991) * ''Clifford's Tower and the Jews of Medieval York'' (1995) * ''Church and Society in the Medieval North of England'' (1996) * "The Northern Provinces in the Later Middle Ages", ''Northern History'', xlii, 51. (2005) * ''The Jewish Communities of Medieval England'' (2010)

References

External links

Obituary - The TelegraphObituary - The TimesObituary - The Guardian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Barrie 1931 births 2013 deaths 20th-century English historians British medievalists People from Stockton-on-Tees Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the British Academy Academics of the University of St Andrews Academics of the University of York Fellows of Christ's College, Cambridge British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency People educated at Barnard Castle School Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Professors of Medieval History (Cambridge) Presidents of the Ecclesiastical History Society Surtees Society