Giles Constable
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Giles Constable (1 June 1929 – 17 January 2021) was an English historian of the Middle Ages. Constable was mainly interested in the religion and culture of the 11th and 12th centuries, in particular the
abbey of Cluny Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with ...
and its abbot Peter the Venerable.


Early life and education

Constable was born in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England, the son of the art historian William George Constable and Olivia Roberts. He received his A.B. at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in 1950 and his Ph.D. at the same school in 1957.


Career

Constable taught at the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
from 1955 to 1958 and at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
from 1958 to 1984. He was the Henry Charles Lea-Professor of Medieval History at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
from 1966 to 1977. From 1977 to 1984 he was Director of the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library. He joined the faculty of the
Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...
as a Medieval History Professor in the School of Historical Studies in 1985 and became professor emeritus in 2003. Institute for Advanced Study : Brief CV and Bibliography of Giles Constable
/ref> A vigorous explorer of medieval religious and intellectual history, Constable was the author or editor of more than twenty books on medieval religious and intellectual history. His most influential works, centered around the religious and cultural history of the twelfth century, illuminated the origins of monastic tithes, Peter the Venerable, the people and power of the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
, medieval religious and social thought, the reformation of the twelfth century, twelfth-century crusading, and the history of
Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...
. He died in
Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...
aged 91.


Honours

Constable was a Fellow of the
Medieval Academy of America The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until ) is the largest organization in the United States promoting the field of medieval studies. It was founded in 1925 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The academy publishes the q ...
, the
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, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...
, the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
, the
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...
, the
Bavarian Academy of Sciences The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...
, the
Bavarian Academy of Sciences The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...
, the
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 ...
, 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 ...
, the Instituto Lombardo, the Accademia di Scienze e Lettere, and the
Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei The (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed"), anglicised as the Lincean Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rome, Italy. Founded in ...
. He was a member of the scientific council of the
Revue d'Histoire Ecclésiastique ''Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique'' is a peer review, peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of ecclesiastical history. Independent third-party sources have described it as "The best international church-historical journal".James E. Bradley ...
.


Bibliography

* ''The Abbey of Cluny : A Collection of Essays to Mark the Eleven-Hundredth Anniversary Of Its Foundation'' (2010), * ''Three Treatises from Bec on the Nature of Monastic Life'' (2008), * ''The Rothschilds and the Gold Rush: Benjamin Davidson and Heinrich Schliemann in California, 1851-52'' (2005), * ''Sacrilege and Redemption in Renaissance Florence: The Case of Antonio Rinaldeschi'', co-auth. William J. Connell (2005; 2008), * ''Cluny from The Tenth to the Twelfth Centuries : Further Studies'' (2000), * ''The Reformation of the Twelfth Century'' (1996), * ''Three Studies in Medieval Religious and Social Thought'' (1995), * ''Monks, Hermits, and Crusaders in Medieval Europe'' (1988), * ''Culture and Spirituality in Medieval Europe'' (1988), * ''Medieval Monasticism : A Select Bibliography'' (1976), * ''Letters and Letter-Collections'' (1976), OCLC 4641316 * ''The Letters of Peter the Venerable'' (1967), OCLC 6710086 * ''Monastic Tithes : From Their Origins to the Twelfth Century'' (1964), OCLC 21932950


References


External links


Home page of Giles Constable at the Institute for Advanced Study

Curriculum vitae of Giles Constable at the Institute for Advanced Study
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constable, Giles 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American medievalists British historians British medievalists Institute for Advanced Study faculty Catholic University of America faculty Princeton University faculty Harvard University faculty University of Iowa faculty Harvard University alumni Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Members of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences Members of the Lincean Academy Fellows of the British Academy 1929 births 2021 deaths Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America American male non-fiction writers