Sir Frederick Maurice Powicke (1879–1963) was an English medieval historian. He was 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 Merton College, Oxford and was a professor at

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and the

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

, and from 1928 until his retirement Regius Professor at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He was made a

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in 1946.

Life

Powicke was born on 16 June 1879 in Alnwick, the son of Martha, the youngest daughter of William Collyer of Brigstock, and Frederick James Powicke, a

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

minister and historian of 17th-century puritanism. Powicke was educated at

Owens College, Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

, where he took his first degree, and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he took another 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 ...

.'POWICKE, Sir (Frederick) Maurice', in ''

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'' (London: A. & C. Black) From 1908 to 1915 he was 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 Merton College, Oxford, although in 1909 he was appointed as Professor of Modern History in the

, where he remained for ten years. From 1919 to 1928 he was Professor of Mediæval History at the

, and during his time in Manchester he was a member of the

Chetham Society The Chetham Society "for the publication of remains historic and literary connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester" is a text publication society and registered charity (No. 700047) established on 23 March 1843. History The ...

and served on its council from 1920 to 1933. He also served as Ford's Lecturer in English History at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

for 1927. In 1928 he became Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, remaining in post until 1947. He was President of the Royal Historical Society from 1933 to 1937. He was a tough, difficult man, small in build. At Oxford, he was determined to reinvigorate history there and made the university the leading centre in the England for historical study. Powicke was the author of the volume ''The Thirteenth Century'' in the Oxford History of England. In 1909, Powicke married Susan Irvine Martin, daughter of Anna and

Thomas Martin Lindsay Thomas Martin Lindsay FRSE (1843–1914) was a Scottish historian, professor and principal of the Free Church College, Glasgow. He wrote chiefly on church history, his major works including ''Luther and the German Reformation'' (1900), and ''A His ...

. Together they had two daughters. Their daughter Janet married the historian

Richard Pares Richard Pares (25 August 1902 – 3 May 1958) was a British historian. He "was considered to be among the outstanding British historians of his time." Family life and education The eldest son of the five children of the historian Bernard Pares ...

. He died in the Radcliffe Infirmary in

on 19 May 1963.

Works

* ''The Loss of Normandy 1189–1204: Studies in the History of the Angevin Empire'' (1913) * ''Bismarck and the Origin of the German Empire'' (1914) * ''Ailred of Rievaulx and his biographer Walter Daniel'' (1922) * ''Stephen Langton'' (1927) Ford Lectures * ''Gerald of Wales'' (1928) * ''Historical Study at Oxford'' (1929) Inaugural lecture * ''Robert Grosseteste and the Nicomachean Ethics'' (1930) * '' Sir Henry Spelman and the 'Concilia' '' (1930) Raleigh Lecture on History * ''The Medieval Books of Merton College'' (1931) A catalogue * ''Oxford Essays in Medieval History. Presented to Herbert Edward Salter'' (1934) editor *''The Christian Life in the Middle Ages'' (1935) essays *''

International Bibliography of Historical Sciences ''International Bibliography of Historical Sciences'' (''Internationale bibliographie der geschichtswissenschaften'' / ''Bibliografia internacional de ciencias historicas'' / ''Bibliographie internationale des sciences historiques'' / ''Bibliograf ...

. Twelfth year'' (1937) editor *''History, Freedom and Religion'' (1938) Riddell Memorial Lectures *''Handbook of British Chronology'' (1939) editor *''Three Lectures'' (1947) *''King Henry III and the Lord Edward: the Community of the Realm in the Thirteenth Century'' (1947) 2 volumes (2nd ed., 1968) *''Mediaeval England, 1066–1485'' (1948) *''Ways of Medieval Life and Thought: Essays and Addresses'' (1949) *''Walteri Danielis: Vita Ailredi Abbatis Rievall: The Life of Ailred of Rievaulx by Walter Daniel'' (1950) editor *''Oxford History of England – Thirteenth Century 1216 – 1307'' (1953) *''The Reformation in England'' (1953) *''Modern Historians and the Study of History: Essays and Papers'' (London: Odhams Press, 1955)

Collaborations

* ''The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages'' (3 vols) by

Hastings Rashdall Hastings Rashdall (24 June 1858 – 9 February 1924) was an English philosopher, theologian, historian, and Anglican priest. He expounded a theory known as ideal utilitarianism, and he was a major historian of the universities of the Middle A ...

, editor with A. B. Emden *''The Battle of Lewes 1264'' (1964) with R. F. Treharne and Charles Lemmon * ''The Administration of the Honor of Leicester in the Fourteenth Century'' (1940) with L. Fox * ''Essays in Medieval History Presented to Thomas Frederick Tout'' (1925) editor with

A. G. Little Andrew George Little (28 September 1863 – 22 October 1945) was an English historian, specialising in the Franciscans (known as the Greyfriars) in medieval England. He was Professor of History at the University College of South Wales, Cardiff, ...

Honours

*Fellow 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 spa ...

, 1927 *Corresponding Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, 1929 *Honorary Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, 1939 *

, 1946 *Honorary Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, 1947 *Hon. Member of Massachusetts Historical Society, 1947 *Hon. Member of

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

*Hon. Member of Royal Irish Academy, 1949 *Hon. DLitt,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

*Hon. DLitt,

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

*Hon. LLD, St Andrews *Hon. LLD,

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*Hon. LittD, Manchester, Liverpool, Queen's University Belfast, London, and Harvard *Hon. Doctorate,

University of Caen The University of Caen Normandy (French: ''Université de Caen Normandie''), also known as Unicaen, is a public university in Caen, France. History The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector ...

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

*Liber Memorialis Sir Maurice Powicke, Dublin 1963 *Studies in Mediaeval History Presented to Frederick Maurice Powicke. (1969) edited by Richard William Hunt,

William Abel Pantin William Abel Pantin (1 May 1902 – 10 November 1973) was an historian of medieval England who spent most of his academic life at the University of Oxford. Life Pantin was born in Blackheath, south London, on 1 May 1902. He was educated at We ...

and R. W. Southern *''Inventing the Middle Ages'' by Norman Cantor *W. A. Pantin, "Frederick Maurice Powicke," ''The English Historical Review'', 80, No. 314 (Jan. 1965): pp. 1–9.

External links

Chetham Society
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powicke, F. M. English historians 1879 births 1963 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Presidents of the Royal Historical Society Regius Professors of History (University of Oxford) Knights Bachelor Fellows of the British Academy Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Members of the Royal Irish Academy Surtees Society Chetham Society