Mary Christine Carpenter (born 7 December 1946) is an English historian who was professor of medieval English 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 ...

Early life and education

Carpenter was born on 7 December 1946 in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, England.Debrett's Limited: "Prof Christine Carpenter", ''Debrett's People of Today'', http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/browse/c/24457/(Mary)%20Christine+CARPENTER.aspx, accessed 7 September 2012. She received her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degrees from

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

.Francis Holland School: ''Brief CVs of Governors'', September 2012, http://www.fhs-sw1.org.uk/uploads/1/Brief_cvs_of_Governors_Sept_2012.pdf, accessed 7 September 2012. Her doctoral thesis was titled "Political society in Warwickshire, c.1401-72" and was submitted in 1976. Her doctoral supervisor was

G. L. Harriss Gerald Leslie Harriss Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (22 May 1925 – 2 November 2014) was an English historian of the Late Middle Ages. His work focused on the Parliament of England, parliamentary, financial and administrative history of th ...

Academia

Carpenter was a freelance tutor and lecturer at the

from 1976 to 1979. In 1979, she was elected 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 ...

New Hall, Cambridge New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. She was additionally a university assistant lecturer from 1983 to 1988 and a university

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

from 1988 to 1995. She was appointed Reader in Medieval English History in 1995 and made Professor of Medieval English History in 2005. Carpenter is author and editor of a number of English history books and papers. Her research interests focus on the political and constitutional history of England from 1066 to 1500, and in the political, social, economic, religious and cultural history of noble and gentry landowners in that period.Cambridge University Faculty of History: ''Professor Christine Carpenter'' http://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/directory/mcc1000@cam.ac.uk, accessed 7 September 2012. Carpenter supervises

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

work on government, politics and landed society from c. 1250 to 1500 and at the

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

level she teaches all aspects of English history from c. 1050 to 1500. Carpenter is the director of an

Arts and Humanities Research Council The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities. History The Arts a ...

-funded project to complete the calendaring of the 15th-century Inquisitions post mortem, and one of the editors of the

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

''Studies in Medieval Life and Thought'', in addition to serving on other editorial committees. In June 2012, Carpenter was selected to give the

Ford Lectures The Ford Lectures or the James Ford Lectures in British History, are an annual series of public lectures held at the University of Oxford on the subject of English or British history. They are usually devoted to a particular historical theme an ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in the 2015–2016 academic year.University of Cambridge: "An Oxford Triple for Cambridge Historians", ''Faculty of History News'', 1 June 2012, http://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/news/an-oxford-triple-for-cambridge-historians, accessed 7 September 2012.

Books and other works

* ''Locality and Polity: A Study of Warwickshire Landed Society 1401–1499'' (1992) (winner of the Royal Historical Society's Whitfield Prize for 1992) * Updated version of Kingsford's edition of ''The Stonor Letters and Papers 1290–1483'' (1996) * ''The Wars of the Roses: Politics and the Constitution c. 1437–1509'' (1997) * ''The Armburgh Papers'' (1998), an edition of the largest collection of 15th-century gentry letters discovered since the 19th century * ''Political Culture in Late Medieval Britain'' (2004), as co-editor with Linda Clark and author of the introduction * ''A New Constitutional History of Late-Medieval England, 1215–1509'' (Cambridge University Press, 2004) * ''Wisdom and Chivalry: Chaucer's Knight's Tale and Medieval Political Theory'' (2008) by S. H. Rigby. Reviewer: Professor Christine Carpenter, University of Cambridge.

Honours and awards

* Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

(

FRHistS The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

), 1982 * Faculty of History representative for The Prince's Teaching Institute * Royal Historical Society

Whitfield Prize The Whitfield Book Prize is a prize of £1,000 awarded annually by the Royal Historical Society to the best work on a subject of British or Irish history published within the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland during the calendar year. To be eli ...

, 1992 * Associate editor, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', 1994–2002 * James Ford Special Lecturer,

, 1996 * Guest lecturer,

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

, 2006 * Co-editor,

Studies in Medieval Life and Thought * Member, editorial board, ''The Fifteenth Century'' * Member, Medieval Sources Advisory Panel,

The National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

* Member, board of directors, Anglo-American Legal Tradition (AALT

* Member,

Review Panel *

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies 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 sa ...

Leverhulme Trust The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to cover ...

senior research fellow, 2002–2003 * Arts and Humanities Research Council major research grants, 1999–2008 * Member, council of governors,

Francis Holland School Francis Holland School is the name of three separate private day schools for girls in central London, England, governed by the Francis Holland (Church of England) Schools Trust. The schools are located at Clarence Gate (near Regent's Park ...

s * Professorial fellow,

New Hall New Hall may refer to: * New Hall, Fazakerley, a historic complex that was originally a model village, in Liverpool, England * New Hall, Woodford, a 17th-century cottage in Woodford, Greater Manchester, England * New Hall moated site, a scheduled ...

, 2005–2008

References

External links

University of Cambridge Faculty of History, Professor Christine Carpenter

BBC Radio 4 - The Tudor State with ... "Christine Carpenter, Fellow in History
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