Gerald Leslie Harriss FBA (22 May 1925 – 2 November 2014) was an English historian of the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

. His work focused on the

parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, financial and administrative history of the period. Harriss was a Fellow of

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

Career

G. L. Harriss first came up to read Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford as an undergraduate in 1943 where he was tutored by K. B. McFarlane. After two years in the Royal Navy from 1944 to 1946, he returned to complete his degree and went on to research for a D.Phil. under the supervision of

C. A. J. Armstrong Charles Arthur John Armstrong (25 June 1909 – 9 August 1994) was a leading post-war English historian, known for his studies of the First Battle of St Albans and the medieval Duchy of Burgundy. Early life and discovery of the Mancini MS Edu ...

, being elected to a Senior Demyship of Magdalen, which he held from 1950 to 1952. Harriss' first academic post was as an assistant lecturer in the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

from 1955 to 1956, before he was appointed a lecturer and later Reader in Medieval History in the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

from 1956 to 1967. In 1967, Harriss succeeded McFarlane, who had died suddenly the previous year, as Fellow and Tutor in Modern History of Magdalen College, also serving as College Librarian from 1968 to 1983. From 1990 to 1992, Harriss was Reader in Medieval History in the University of Oxford. Upon his retirement in 1992 he was elected an Emeritus Fellow of Magdalen College. In 1986, G. L. Harriss 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 ...

. ''Rulers and Ruled in Late Medieval England. Essays presented to Gerald Harriss'' (Hambledon, 1995), a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

in his honour, edited by two of his former research students, Rowena E. Archer and Simon Walker, was published in 1995. Harriss' important contributions to medieval history were based upon his research into the growing financial demands and prerogatives of late medieval English government, which resulted in a series of important articles such as "Fictitious Loans", Ec.HR, 2nd series, 8 (1955-6), pp. 187–99; "Preference at the Medieval Exchequer", BIHR, 30 (1957), pp. 17–40; and "Aids, Loans and Benevolences", ''Historical Journal'', 6 (1963), pp. 1–19. In his magnum opus, ''King, Parliament and Public Finance in Medieval England to 1369'' (Oxford, 1975), Harriss placed the parliamentary-controlled system of royal finance in the context of the emergence of the crown as a corporate body separate from the person of the king, and its role in the development of English political society and the constitution. Harriss later benefited from the work of Simon Walker, particularly in relation to the retinue of

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399), was an English royal prince, military leader and statesman. He was the fourth son (third surviving) of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Because ...

and the development of private forms of political authority alongside that of the crown. As well as succeeding McFarlane at Magdalen, Harriss also edited a posthumous collection of McFarlane's essays, ''Lancastrian Kings and Lollard Knights'', in 1972. In 1997, Harriss edited ''Letters to Friends 1940–1966'', a collection of McFarlane's correspondence with several of his distinguished students, including R. R. Davies,

Karl Leyser Karl Joseph Leyser (24 October 1920 – 27 May 1992) was a German-born British historian who was Fellow and Tutor in History, Magdalen College, Oxford, from 1948 to 1984, and Chichele Professor of Medieval History at Oxford University, from 198 ...

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...

, and Harriss himself, published privately by Magdalen College.

Select publications

*''King, Parliament and Public Finance in Medieval England to 1369'', 1975 *''Henry V: The Practice of Kingship'' (ed.), 1985 *''Cardinal Beaufort. A Study in Lancastrian Ascendency and Decline'', 1988 *'Political Society and the Growth of Government in Late Medieval England', (journal article) 1993
''Shaping the Nation. England, 1360–1461''
2005

Related publication

*''Rulers and Ruled in Late Medieval England. Essays presented to Gerald Harris'', 1995

References

External links

* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Harriss, G. L. 1925 births 2014 deaths 20th-century English historians 20th-century English male writers Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Academics of the University of Manchester Academics of Durham University Historians of the University of Oxford English medievalists Royal Navy personnel of World War II