John Michael Wallace-Hadrill (29 September 1916 – 3 November 1985) was a British academic and one of the foremost historians of the early Merovingian period. He held the Chichele Chair in Modern History at the

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 1974 and 1983.

Life and career

Wallace-Hadrill was born on 29 September 1916 in

Bromsgrove Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about north-east of Worcester and south-west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 34,755 in at the 2021 census. It gives its name to the wider Bromsgrove District, of which it is ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, where his father was a master at

Bromsgrove School Bromsgrove School is a co-educational boarding and day school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmasters' Confer ...

. He was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of Mediaeval History at 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 ...

between 1955 and 1961. He then became a Senior Research Fellow of

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...

in the

(where he held the office of Sub-Warden) from 1961 till 1974. He was Chichele Professor of Modern History at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

from 1974 to 1983 and, between 1974 and 1985, a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

. He was elected a Fellow of 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 ...

in 1969 and delivered the Ford Lectures in 1971. He was a Vice-President of 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 ...

between 1973 and 1976. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1982. He is the father of the Roman historian

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill Andrew Frederic Wallace-Hadrill, (born 29 July 1951) is a British Ancient history, ancient historian, classical archaeologist, and academic. He is Professor of Roman Studies and Director of Research in the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambr ...

and the brother of church historian, D.S. Wallace-Hadrill.Wallace-Hadrill, D.S. (1982). Christian Antioch:a Study of early Christian thought in the East. London: Cambridge University Press. "Forward" p. vii. .

Bibliography

* ''The Barbarian West, 400–1000'' (1952). * '' The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with Its Continuations'' (1960). * ''The Long-haired Kings'' (London, 1962). * ''Early Germanic Kingship in England and the Continent'' (Oxford, 1971). * ''Early Medieval history'' (1976). * ''The Frankish Church'' (1983). * ''Ideal and reality in Frankish and Anglo-Saxon society: studies presented to J.M. Wallace-Hadrill'' (1983). * ''Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People: A Historical Commentary'' (Oxford, 1988).

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace-Hadrill, John Michael 1916 births 1985 deaths Fellows of the British Academy Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British Anglicans Anglo-Saxon studies scholars Germanic studies scholars Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Chichele Professors of Modern History Fellows of Merton College, Oxford 20th-century English historians 20th-century English male writers Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Chetham Society Lancashire Parish Register Society Fellows of the Royal Historical Society People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II History journal editors