Caroline Penrose Bammel, (''née'' Hammond; 6 July 1940 – 31 October 1995), also known as Caroline Hammond Bammel, was a Cornish

ecclesiastical historian Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of the ...

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

, and academic, who specialised in the

history of early Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and bey ...

. She was 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 ...

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the un ...

, from 1968 to 1995, and Reader in Early Church History at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

from 1992 to 1995.

Early life and education

Bammel was born on 6 July 1940 in Falmouth, Cornwall. She first met her father, N. G. L. Hammond, at the age of five as he had been away fighting in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She was educated at Clifton High School, then an all-girls

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in Clifton, Bristol. In October 1959 she

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

into

, to study

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. Her

tutors Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

included Alison Duke and

Robert Runcie Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, (2 October 1921 – 11 July 2000) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991, having previously been Bishop of St Albans. He travelled the world widely ...

. She graduated with a second class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1962. Bammel remained at Girton College to research "the continuity and discontinuity between the 'classical' Greek and Latin world and the new attitudes brought into being as people in the Roman Empire became Christian", and completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1966. Her

doctoral supervisor A doctoral advisor (also dissertation director, dissertation advisor; or doctoral supervisor) is a member of a university faculty whose role is to guide graduate students who are candidates for a doctorate, helping them select coursework, as well ...

was Henry Chadwick. and her thesis was entitled 'The manuscript tradition of Origen's commentary on Romans in the Latin translation by Rufinus'.

Academic career

For the 1965/1966 academic year, Bammel was an

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. There, she was able to attend the graduate seminar run by

Bernhard Bischoff Bernhard Bischoff (20 December 1906 – 17 September 1991) was a German historian, paleographer, and philologist; he was born in Altendorf (administrative division of Altenburg, Thuringia), and he died in Munich. Biography He was the son of Em ...

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

. Bammel then returned to

, and held a research fellowship for the next two years. In 1968, she was elected a

of Girton College, and made a college lecturer in classics. She was additionally appointed Director of Studies in theology in 1976. In 1975, she also joined the staff of the Faculty of Divinity; she was an assistant lecturer from 1975 to 1980, a lecturer from 1980 to 1992, and Reader in Early Church History from 1992. Bammel's research concerned the

. She took a particular interest in

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

, the Greek early Christian theologian, and other

early Christian writers Various History of Christianity#Early_Christianity_(c._27_–_fourth_century), early Christian writers wrote gospels and other books, some of which were canonized as the Development of the New Testament canon, New Testament canon developed. The A ...

. In 1994, Bammel 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 for the humanities and social sciences.

Personal life

In 1979, the then Caroline Hammond married Ernst Bammel, a fellow lecturer in the Faculty of Divinity. She had learnt German while an undergraduate and became fluent during her year researching in Germany. As her husband was German, they mainly spoke German at home. They did not have any children.

Death

In her late forties, Bammel was diagnosed with terminal cancer. On 31 October 1995, after a number of years living with the disease, she died in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, England; she was aged 55. She is buried in the Bammel family grave in Kessenich, Bonn, Germany.

Selected works

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bammel, Caroline 1940 births 1995 deaths 20th-century English historians Historians of Christianity English women historians Fellows of Girton College, Cambridge People from Falmouth, Cornwall People educated at Clifton High School, Bristol Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich English classical scholars British women classical scholars Classical scholars of the University of Cambridge British historians of religion 20th-century English women writers