Jeffrey Burton Russell (1 August 1934 – 12 April 2023) was an American historian of medieval Europe and

religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

scholar.

Early life

Russell received his undergraduate degree from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1955 and his PhD in History from

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

in 1960.

Career

Russell held a number of academic posts, moving to the History Department at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

until his retirement. He taught History and Religious Studies at Berkeley, Riverside,

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, and Notre Dame. Russell published widely, largely on medieval European history and the history of Christian

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. His first book was ''Dissent and Reform in the Early Middle Ages'' (1965). He is most noted for his five-volume history of the concept of the Devil: ''The Devil'' (1977), ''Satan'' (1981), ''Lucifer'' (1984), ''Mephistopheles'' (1986) and ''The Prince of Darkness'' (1988), all published by

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University, an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. It is currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, maki ...

. In '' Inventing the Flat Earth'' (1991) he argues that 19th century anti-

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

invented and spread the falsehood that educated people in the Middle Ages believed that the earth was flat. As one writer summarizes, "Russell also examined a large selection of textbooks and found those written before 1870 usually included the correct account, but most textbooks written after 1880 uncritically repeated the erroneous claims in

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

John William Draper John William Draper (May 5, 1811 – January 4, 1882) was an English polymath: a scientist, philosopher, physician, chemist, historian and photographer. He is credited with pioneering portrait photography (1839–40) and producing the first deta ...

and

Andrew Dickson White Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who co-founded Cornell University, one of eight Ivy League universities in the United States, and served as its first president for nearly two de ...

. Russell concludes that Irving, Draper and White were the main writers responsible for introducing the erroneous flat-earth myth that is still with us today." Russell wrote two books on the history of the notion of

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

: ''A History of Heaven: The Singing Silence'' (1997), which deals with the period from around 200 B.C. up to

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

, and ''Paradise Mislaid'' (2006), which takes the story up to the early 21st century.

Works

The Library of Congress lists 18 books written by Russell: * ''Dissent and Reform in the Early Middle Ages'' (1965, 1982, 1992) * ''Medieval Civilization'' (1968) * ''History of Medieval Christianity: Prophecy & Order'' (1968, 1986, 2000) * ''Religious Dissent in the Middle Ages'' (edited by Jeffrey B. Russell) (1971) * ''Witchcraft in the Middle Ages'' (1972) * ''The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity'' (1977) * ''History of Witchcraft, Sorcerers, Heretics, and Pagans'' (1980, 2007) * ''Medieval Heresies: a Bibliography,'' 1960-1979 (with Carl T. Berkhout) (1981) * ''Satan: The Early Christian Tradition'' (1981) * ''Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages'' (1984) * ''Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern World'' (1986) * ''The Prince of Darkness: Radical Evil and the Power of Good in History'' (1988) * '' Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians'' (1991) * ''History of Heaven: the Singing Silence'' (1997) * "Devil, Heresy, and Witchcraft in the Middle Ages" in ''Essays in Honor of Jeffrey B. Russell'' (edited by Alberto Ferreiro) (1998) * '' Life of the Jura Fathers: The Life and Rule of the Holy Fathers Romanus, Lupicinus, and Eugendus, Abbots of the Monasteries in the Jura Mountains'' (1999) * ''Paradise Mislaid: How We Lost Heaven—and How We Can Regain It'' (2006) * ''Exposing Myths about Christianity: A Guide to Answering 145 Viral Lies and Legends'' (2012) Articles by Russell include: * "Flattening the Earth" (2002) Book reviews by Russell include: * "Satan: A Biography" (2007) * "Bad to the Bone" (2008) * "A God of the Times" (2009)

Honors and accolades

*Fulbright Fellow *Harvard Junior Fellow *Guggenheim Fellow (1968) * Fellow,

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 ...

(1985) * Faculty Research Lecturer, Academic Senate Award,

1990-91.

Early life

Career

Works

Honors and accolades

References

External links