Jennifer Wormald (18 January 1942 – 9 December 2015) was a Scottish historian who studied

late medieval The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the period of 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 (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

and early modern Scotland.

Life

Jennifer (Jenny) was born in Glasgow on 18 January 1942, and was adopted by Margaret (née Dunlop) and Dr Thomas Tannahill, a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

, and was then known as Jenny Tannahill. She was educated at Glasgow High School for Girls, and went on to study history at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, where she completed her PhD Her thesis was on the history of the late medieval Scottish nobility through analysis of a document known as a bond of manrent. Wormald taught at the University of Glasgow between 1966 and 1985, and then St Hilda's College,

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 ...

, between 1985 and 2005. She held a variety of other posts in this time, including Fellow Librarian and Senior Tutor at St Hilda's. Her most important research was on bloodfeud in early modern Scotland, particularly in her article "Bloodfeud, Kindred and Government in Early Modern Scotland", which was highly influential. Wormald also produced a study of the reign of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

. She was most recently an Honorary Fellow in Scottish History at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. Wormald was elected an Honorary Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usu ...

on 30 November 2015.

Personal life

In 1963, Jennifer Tannahill married Alfred Lawson Brown. As Brown was a devout

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, she converted to Catholicism when they married. They had one son and later divorced. In 1980 she married the historian Patrick Wormald, and together they had two sons. They divorced in 2001.

Death

She died in Edinburgh on 9 December 2015. She is buried in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

on the south side of the main entrance path.

Select bibliography

* "Bloodfeud, Kindred and Government in Early Modern Scotland", ''Past and Present'', 87 (1980). * ''Court, Kirk and Community: Scotland 1470–1625''. Edward Arnold. 1981. ** reprinted Edinburgh University Press. 1991. * "James VI and I: Two Kings or One?", ''History'', 68 (1983). * "Gunpowder, Treason and Scots", ''Journal of British Studies'', 24 (1985). * ''Lords and Men in Scotland: Bonds of

Manrent Manrent refers to a Scottish contract of the mid-15th century to the early 17th century, usually military in nature and involving Scottish clans. The bond of manrent was commonly an instrument in which a weaker man or clan pledged to serve, in ...

, 1442-1603''. John Donald. 1985. * ''Mary Queen of Scots: A Study in Failure''. George Philip. 1988. ** 2nd edition, as ''Mary Queen of Scots: Politics, Passion and a Kingdom Lost''. George Philip. 2001. * (editor) ''Scotland Revisited''. Collins & Brown. 1991. * (Editor & contributor), ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Scotland''. Oxford University Press. 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wormald, Jenny 20th-century Scottish historians Academics of the University of Glasgow Fellows of St Hilda's College, Oxford Scottish women historians 1942 births 2015 deaths Scottish adoptees Converts to Roman Catholicism Fellows of the Royal Historical Society People educated at the High School of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Writers from Glasgow Scottish women academics Scottish Roman Catholics 21st-century Scottish historians Scottish expatriates in England Historians of the University of Oxford British women medievalists