Henrietta Leyser is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

. She is an expert on the history of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

England, in particular the role of women.

Career

Leyser is an Emeritus fellow at

St Peter's College, Oxford St Peter's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom. It occupies the site of two of the university's medieval halls, dating back to at least the 14th ...

and a Fellow of 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 ...

. Leyser was W. John Bennett Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Institute and the Centre for Medieval Studies at the

Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies The Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (PIMS) is a research institute in the University of Toronto that is dedicated to advanced studies in the culture of the Middle Ages. Governance The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toronto, currently Th ...

, 2011-12. She was a Distinguished Visitor at the Centre of Medieval Studies, University of Toronto (January-April 2012). Leyser has contributed biographies to the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. In 2011, she received a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' entitled ''Motherhood, Religion, and Society in Medieval Europe, 400-1400: Essays Presented to Henrietta Leyser'', edited by her son Conrad Leyser and Lesley Smith (Farnham: Ashgate). She was married to the historian

Karl Leyser Karl Joseph Leyser (24 October 1920 – 27 May 1992) was a German-born British historian who was Fellow and Tutor in History, Magdalen College, Oxford, from 1948 to 1984, and Chichele Professor of Medieval History at Oxford University, from 1984 t ...

(1920–92). Their children are Dame

Ottoline Leyser Dame Henrietta Miriam Ottoline Leyser (born 7 March 1965) is a British plant biologist and Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Cambridge, Chief Executive Officer of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Sainsbury Laboratory, ...

, Regius Professor of Botany, and Conrad Leyser, also a medieval historian.

Select bibliography

* (1984) ''Hermits and the New Monasticism: A Study of Religious Communities in Western Europe, 1000-1150'', Macmillan, * (1995) ''Medieval Women: A Social History of Women in England 450-1500'',

Weidenfeld & Nicolson Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991. History George Weidenfeld a ...

, * (2001) co-edited with Richard Gameson, ''Belief and Culture in the Middle Ages: Studies Presented to Henry Mayr-Harting''. New York:

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 ...

. *(2005) co-edited with Samuel Fanous, ''Christina of Markyate: A Twelfth Century Holy Woman'', London & New York:

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

, *(2015) ''Beda: A Journey to the Seven Kingdoms at the Time of Bede'', Head of Zeus, * (2016) ''A Short History of the Anglo-Saxons'', I.B. Tauris Short Histories,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leyser, Henrietta British medievalists Women medievalists British women historians Living people Fellows of St Peter's College, Oxford Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the Royal Historical Society