Susan Elizabeth Brigden (born 26 June 1951) is a historian and academic specialising in the

English Renaissance The English Renaissance was a Cultural movement, cultural and Art movement, artistic movement in England during the late 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginni ...

and

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. She was Reader in Early Modern History at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of Lincoln College, before retiring at the end of 2016.

Academic career

Brigden was educated at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

(BA) and

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

, where she graduated with a PhD in 1979. Her doctoral supervisor was the eminent Tudor historian Geoffrey Elton, and her thesis was titled 'The early Reformation in London, 1520-1547: the conflict in the parishes'. She stated that her interest in Tudor history was "rather accidental". She missed out on her first choice special subject at the University of Manchester and was instead allocated to a paper on the Reformation taught by Christopher Haigh. Her interest in the period grew from there and she wrote her undergraduate thesis on the Pilgrimage of Grace. In 1980, Brigden was elected the first Darby Fellow in History at Lincoln College. In 1985 she became the first woman to be elected to a Tutorial Fellowship at the college. In 1984 she became a university lecturer in the Faculty of History,

. She later became Reader in Early Modern History. In addition to her teaching duties at Lincoln College, Brigden held a variety of college offices, including Garden Master, Tutor for Women, Fellow for Alumni Relations, Welfare Dean and Sub-Rector. Prior to arriving at Lincoln Brigden taught at

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

and

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

. Among Brigden's former doctoral students are Alexandra Gajda of

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

; Peter Marshall, a fellow winner of the Wolfson History Prize; and Lucy Wooding, who succeeded Brigden as Lincoln College's early modern history tutor in 2016.

Broadcasting

In May 2024 Brigden appeared on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

programme '' In Our Time'' discussing the life of Thomas Wyatt alongside Laura Ashe and Brian Cummings.

Honours

Brigden won the Wolfson History Prize in 2013 for her book '' Thomas Wyatt: The Heart's Forest''. In 2014 she was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

(FBA), the United Kingdom's

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, and serves as a public policy advisors, research ...

for the humanities and social sciences. She is also an elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS).

Personal life

Brigden is married to Jeremy Wormell.

Publications

*''London and the Reformation'' (1989) *''New Worlds, Lost Worlds: The Rule of the Tudors 1485-1603'' (2000) *''Thomas Wyatt: the Heart's Forest'' (2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brigden, Susan 1951 births Living people Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford British women historians Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Historians of the University of Oxford Tudor historians Historians of London 20th-century English historians 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English historians 21st-century English women writers Wolfson History Prize winners