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Giles Constable (1 June 1929 – 17 January 2021) was a 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 Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churches ...
and its abbot
Peter the Venerable Peter the Venerable ( – 25 December 1156), also known as Peter of Montboissier, was the abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Cluny. He has been honored as a saint, though he was never canonized in the Middle Ages. Since in 1862 Pope Pius IX ...
.


Early life

Constable was born in London, 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 Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
in 1950 and his Ph.D. at the same school in 1957.


Career

Constable taught at the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a 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 into 12 coll ...
from 1955 to 1958 and at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
from 1958 to 1984. He was the Henry Charles Lea-Professor of Medieval History at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
from 1966 to 1977. From 1977 to 1984 he was Director of the
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and garden of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, Mi ...
. He joined the faculty of the
Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...
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 Byzantium, medieval religious and social thought, the reformation of the twelfth century, twelfth-century crusading, and the history of Cluny. He died in Princeton, aged 91.


Honours

Constable was a member of the
Medieval Academy of America The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until c. 1980) 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 American Historical Association, and the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communi ...
, the
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigr ...
, the
Bavarian Academy of Sciences The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften) is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledg ...
, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, the
British Academy The British Academy 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 same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
, the Royal Historical Society, the Instituto Lombardo, the Accademia di Scienze e Lettere, and the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. He was a member of the scientific council of the Revue d'Histoire Ecclésiastique.Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
/ref>


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