Sir James Clarke Holt (26 April 1922 – 9 April 2014), also known as J. C. Holt and Jim Holt, was an English

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 a ...

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 ...

, known particularly for his work on

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by t ...

. He was the third

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , establish ...

, serving between 1981 and 1988.British Academy Fellowship entry

Career

Educated at

Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational independent day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Entrance is by examination, except for the sixth form, where admission is based on GCSE results. The school gi ...

, Holt's studies at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

, were interrupted by war service with the British Army, including 14 months in north-west Europe in 1944–1945. Returning to The Queen's College in 1945, he graduated with

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in history in 1947, and subsequently took his

DPhil 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 ...

with a thesis titled ''The "Northern" Barons Under

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

'' in 1952, at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

. He held the positions of Lecturer (1949–1962) and then

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

of Medieval History (1962–65) at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

, Professor of History at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

(1965–1978) and Professor of Medieval History at the University of Cambridge from 1978 until his retirement in 1988. From 1981 until 1988 he served as the Master of Fitzwilliam College. He was on the governing body of

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

from 1969 to 1979.

Honours

Holt 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 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 s ...

in 1978 and was its Vice President from 1987 to 1989, was president 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 ...

(1981–1985), and was knighted for his work as an historian.

Publications

Holt made his name with the book ''Magna Carta'', which came out in its original edition in 1965. In this work he treated the

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the re ...

in the context of the political framework of its time. The book has since been fully revised, and is still considered authoritative within its field. He also published other works on the same period, such as ''The Northerners: A Study in the Reign of King John'', and ''Robin Hood''.

Selected works

*''The Northerners: A Study in the Reign of King John'', (1961) *''Magna Carta'', (1965) *''What's in a Name? Family Nomenclature and the Norman Conquest''. (The Stenton Lecture 1981). University of Reading, 1982. *''Robin Hood'', (London, 1982) *''Magna Carta and Medieval Government'', (1985) *''Foundations for the Future: The University of Cambridge'', (1995) *''Colonial England, 1066–1215'', (1997) * ''Magna Carta'' (Cambridge, 2015)

Personal life

Holt married Alice Suley in 1951; they had one son. Holt was "passionate about cricket".

Death

He died on 9 April 2014, aged 91.Professor Sir James Holt dies
Fitzwilliam College News accessed 11 April 2014

References

External links

(interview took place in Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, 16 May 2008). Includes photograph & autobiographical details.
MP3 audio file of the Interview with Prof Sir James Holt, 16 May 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, James 1922 births 2014 deaths People educated at Bradford Grammar School English historians Fellows of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Masters of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of The Queen's College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Presidents of the Royal Historical Society Academics of the University of Nottingham Academics of the University of Reading Knights Bachelor Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Professors of Medieval History (Cambridge) British medievalists Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Governors of Abingdon School