Romilly James Heald Jenkins (1907 – 30 September 1969) was a British scholar in

Byzantine 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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

and Modern Greek studies. He occupied the prestigious seat of Koraes Professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, in 1946–1960.

Life

Jenkins was born in

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, the son of James Heald Jenkins and Theodora née Ingram. He studied Classics at school, and then went to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

as a student in the

British School at Athens The British School at Athens (BSA; ) is an institute for advanced research, one of the eight British International Research Institutes supported by the British Academy, that promotes the study of Greece in all its aspects. Under UK law it is a reg ...

, from 1930 to 1934. There he served as assistant director, and since 1936 as a member of the Board of the Managing Committee; 1948 he was named a trustee, and from 1951 to 1958 he served as Chairman of the Managing Committee. From 1936 to 1946 he was ''Lewis Gibson Lecturer in Modern Greek'' at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served with the

British Foreign Service His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Civil Service, which deals ...

. In 1946 he was appointed ''Koraes Professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature'' at King’s College London, as well as ''Honorary Lecturer in Classical Archaeology''. Since 1960 until his death he was ''Professor of Byzantine History and Literature'' at the

Dumbarton Oaks 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 gardens of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife ...

institute.

Writings

* ''Dedalica. A study of Dorian plastic art in the seventh century B.C.'' Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1936. * ''Dionysius Solomos, the First Major Modern Greek Poet.'' Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1940. Reprint: Denise Harvey & Company, Athens, 1981. * ''The Byzantine Empire on the Eve of the Crusades''. Published for the Historical Association by Philip, ondon 1953. * ''

Richard MacGillivray Dawkins Richard MacGillivray Dawkins FBA (24 October 1871 – 4 May 1955) was a British archaeologist. He was associated with the British School at Athens (BSA), of which he was Director between 1906 and 1913. Early life Richard MacGillivray Dawkins w ...

, 1871–1955'', in: Proceedings of the British Academy 41 (1955) pp. 373–88. * ''The Dilessi Murders: Greek Brigands and English Hostages''. Longmans, London, 1961. Reprint: Prion, London, 1998, . * ''The Hellenistic origins of Byzantine literature''. Washington DC, 1963. *
Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries AD 610–1071
'. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1966. Reprint: Medieval Academy of America 1987, * Constantine Porphyrogenitus: ''De Administrando Imperio''. Ed. Gyula Moravcsik, transl. Romilly James Heald Jenkins. Budapest 1949; 2nd Ed., Washington, DC, 1968, reprinted 2008, . Croatian edition: Konstantin Porfirogenet, ''O upravljanju carstvom'', prijevod i komentari Nikola pl. Tomašić (hrvatski), R. omillyJ. amesH. ealdJenkins (engleski), priređivač grčkog izvornika Gyula Moravcsik, Zagreb: Dom i svijet (Biblioteka Povjesnica), 2003. . * ''Studies on Byzantine history of the 9th and 10th centuries''. Variorum Reprints, London, 1970, .

References

External links

Jenkins as Assistant Director of the BSA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Romilly James Heald 1907 births 1969 deaths British Byzantinists People from Hitchin Academics of King's College London Academics of the University of Cambridge Scholars of Medieval Greek Scholars of Byzantine history Scholars of Byzantine literature British literary scholars