Charles William Previté-Orton (16 January 1877 – 11 March 1947) was a British medieval historian and the first Professor of Medieval 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 ...

on the establishment of the position in 1937.Venn database of Cambridge University offices and officers
/ref> Previté-Orton was born on 16 January 1877 in Arnesby in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, the son of William Previté (later Previté Orton), vicar of Arnesby, and Elizabeth Swaffield Orton. After losing an eye at the age of 14, he was not sufficiently well to attend university until 1905 at the age of 28. By that time, he had already published a book of verse entitled ''Cinara and Other Poems'' (1900). A scholar of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, he was placed in the first class of each part of the history

tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...

and was elected a fellow of his college in 1911, where he remained for the duration of his life. From 1925 to 1938 he was editor of the ''

English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly by Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, a ...

''; he 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 ...

in 1929 and was appointed as Cambridge's first Professor of Medieval History in 1937, holding the position until 1942. He died on 11 March 1947. Previté-Orton's major work, in conjunction with

Zachary Nugent Brooke Zachary Nugent Brooke (1 December 1883 – 2 October 1946) was a British medieval historian. Life Born on 1 December 1883, Brooke was educated at Bradfield College in Berkshire and St John's College, Cambridge. In 1908, he was elected to a Dros ...

, was to oversee as editor the later volumes of the eight-volume ''

Cambridge Medieval History ''The Cambridge Medieval History'' is a history of medieval Europe in eight volumes published by Cambridge University Press and Macmillan between 1911 and 1936. Publication was delayed by the First World War and changes in the editorial team. O ...

'', completed in 1937. However, he achieved his greatest historical influence among general readers rather than scholars through his three general textbooks, ''Outlines of Medieval History'' (1916), Methuen's textbook ''A History of Europe, 1198–1378'' (1937), and the posthumously published '' Shorter Cambridge Medieval History'' (2 vols., 1952). According to

Barrie Dobson Richard Barrie Dobson, (3 November 1931 – 29 March 2013) was an English historian who was a leading authority on the legend of Robin Hood as well as a scholar of ecclesiastical and Jewish history. He served as Professor of Medieval History ...

, who would some four decades later succeed to the chair of medieval history at Cambridge, In 1913, Previté-Orton married his first cousin, Ellery Swaffield Orton; they had a daughter, Rosalind.The English Historical Review, no. CCXLV, Oct. 1947, Oxford University Press, pp. 433–7

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Previte-Orton, Charles William 1877 births 1947 deaths People from Arnesby English medievalists Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Professors of Medieval History (Cambridge) Fellows of the British Academy Writers from Leicestershire History journal editors 20th-century English historians 20th-century English male writers