Frank Barlow (19 April 1911 – 27 June 2009) was an English historian, known particularly for biographies of medieval figures. His subjects included Edward the Confessor,

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

and William Rufus.

Academic life

Barlow studied at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pr ...

. He was Professor of History at the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

from 1953 until he retired in 1976 and became Emeritus Professor. He was a Fellow of both 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 span ...

and the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...

, and was appointed commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours "for services to the study of

English medieval history England in the Middle Ages concerns the history of England during the medieval period, from the end of the 5th century through to the start of the Early Modern period in 1485. When England emerged from the collapse of the Roman Empire, the econ ...

Works

*''The Feudal Kingdom of England'' (1955) *''The Life of King Edward Who Rests at Westminster'' (1962, 2nd edition 1992), editor and translator *''Edward the Confessor'' (1970, 2nd edition 1997) *''The English Church 1066–1154'' (1979) *''The Norman Conquest and Beyond'' (1983) *''William Rufus'' (

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facult ...

, 1983) *''Thomas Becket'' (1986) *''The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio of Guy Bishop of Amiens'' (1999), editor and translator *''The Godwins: The Rise and Fall of a Noble Dynasty'' (2002) *''Writing Medieval Biography, 750–1250: Essays in Honour of Frank Barlow'' (2006), edited by David Bates, Julia Crick and Sarah Hamilton

References

External links

*
Who's who: Frank BarlowObituary, ''The Guardian'', printed 24 July 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barlow, Frank 1911 births 2009 deaths 20th-century English historians Academics of the University of Exeter Academics of University College London Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Anglo-Saxon studies scholars British medievalists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Fellows of the British Academy Intelligence Corps officers People from Wolstanton People educated at Newcastle-under-Lyme School