Sidney Painter (September 23, 1902 – January 12, 1960) was an American

medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vo ...

and historian. He was a fellow of the Mediaeval Academy and professor of history and chairman of the department of history at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. Painter was born in

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; after the

Taft School The Taft School is a private, coeducational school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. It teaches students in 9th through 12th grades and post-graduates. About three-quarters of Taft's roughly 600 students live on the school's ...

he attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

(AB 1925; PhD 1930). He was an influential member of American academia in the 1950s and served on many boards and committees. He was treasurer and secretary of the

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and was a member of the council of the Mediaeval Academy. He was made a fellow in 1953. He wrote many influential books. His doctoral thesis was later published as "William Marshal: Knight-Errant, Baron, and Regent of England", and was supervised by Professor Sydney K. Mitchell at

. He was an expert in medieval institutions but also believed in relating history from personal perspectives. He argued that the reign of King John cannot be understood without an intimate knowledge of the barons and their families and the division of family lands at the time. He died in Baltimore at the age of 57.

Works

''William Marshal: Knight-Errant, Baron, and Regent of England''
(1933)
''The Scourge of the Clergy: Peter of Dreux, Duke of Brittany''
(1937)
''Studies in the History of the English Feudal Barony''
(1943)
''The Reign of King John''
(1949) *''A History of the Middle Ages, 284–1500'' (1953), re-published as ''Western Europe in the Middle Ages, 300–1475'', co-authored by

Brian Tierney Brian P. Tierney (born 1957) is an American advertising and public relations executive and former publisher of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. Born in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, Tierney is chief executive officer of Brian Communications ...

(1983)
''French Chivalry: Chivalric Ideas and Practices in Mediaeval France''
(1961) *''Feudalism and Liberty: Articles and Addresses'' (1961) *''Mediaeval Society'' *''The Rise of the Feudal Monarchies''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Painter, Sidney Painer, Sidney 1960 deaths 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers American medievalists Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Johns Hopkins University faculty Yale University alumni American male non-fiction writers