Anthony Applemore Mornington Bryer (31 October 1937 – 22 October 2016) was a British historian of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

who founded the journal '' Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies'' and the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

Biographical details

Anthony Bryer was born on 31 October 1937 in Southsea,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. He was the son of Group Captain Gerald Bryer OBE and Joan Bryer (née Grigsby), a

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

employee. Part of his childhood was spent in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

where he was first acquainted with

Sir Steven Runciman Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman (7 July 1903 – 1 November 2000), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume ''A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). His works had a profound impact on the popular ...

, historian and Byzantine scholar. In 1961 he married Elizabeth Lipscomb, a fellow Oxford student; they had three daughters. She died in 1995 and Bryer married Jennifer Ann Banks, a fellow Birmingham academic, in 1998. Bryer died on 22 October 2016.

Education and career

Bryer was educated at Copthorne Preparatory School (1945–51) and

Canford School Canford School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18). Situated in 300 acres of parkland near to the market town of Wimborne Minster in Dorset, south west England, it is one of the largest ...

(1951–55), and after completing his

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or 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 ...

he studied history at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

( BA 1958–61). He remained at Balliol as a Newman Scholar until 1964 while preparing his doctorate on the

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond or the Trapezuntine Empire was one of the three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire that existed during the 13th through to the 15th century. The empire consisted of the Pontus, or far northeastern corner of A ...

, which he completed in 1967. From 1964 he was Research Fellow and from 1965 Lecturer in Medieval History at the

, where he created a programme in

Byzantine studies Byzantine studies is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities that addresses the history, culture, demography, dress, religion/theology, art, literature/epigraphy, music, science, economy, coinage and politics of the Eastern Roman Empire. ...

. He founded the journal ''Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies'' in 1975, and the Centre for Byzantine Studies in 1976 (serving as its first director until 1994). He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1973, Reader in Byzantine Studies in 1977, and finally in 1980 appointed Professor of Byzantine Studies, a post which he held until his retirement in 1999. In a distinguished career he has held fellowships at

Athens University The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

Dumbarton Oaks Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and gardens of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife ...

and

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

, Oxford. He was Public Orator of the University of Birmingham from 1991 to 1999.

Photography

A number of photographs attributed to Bryer appear in the Conway Library at the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. The art collection is known particularly for ...

, London. This collection includes architectural images, religious and secular, across many countries and is in the process of being digitised as part of the Courtauld Connects project.

Awards and honours

Bryer was awarded an OBE in the 2009 New Year Honours for services to scholarship. He was elected a Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

in 1973.

Publications

Bryer's contribution to the study of the Byzantine world includes the following: * ''The Empire of Trebizond and the Pontos'', London: Variorum, 1988 * (with David Winfield
''The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos''
2 vols., Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections, 1985 * (with Heath W. Lowry) ''Continuity and Change in Late Byzantine and Early Ottoman Society'', Birmingham: University of Birmingham, 1986 * ''Peoples and Settlement in Anatolia and the Caucasus, 800–1900'', London: Variorum, 1988 * (editor, with Mary Cunningham), ''Mount Athos and Byzantine Monasticism: Papers from the 25th Symposium of Byzantine Studies'', Birmingham, 1994 * (with Jane Isaac, David Winfield and Selina Ballance) ''The Post-Byzantine Monuments of the Pontos: A Source Book'', Aldershot: Ashgate, 2002

Notes

External links

Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryer, Anthony 1937 births 2016 deaths Academics of the University of Birmingham Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford British historians British Byzantinists Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Canford School People educated at Copthorne Preparatory School Scholars of Byzantine history Explorers of West Asia