Uta-Renate Blumenthal is a German-born American

medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

and expert on

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

history, and professor emerita at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

. She is known for her work on the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...

and on

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

Early life and career

Blumenthal studied at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

where she received her BA (1969), MA (1970) and Ph.D. (1973). From 1973 to 1979, she was assistant professor at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, then at the Catholic University of America, before becoming a full professor there in 1988. She was a Radcliffe Institute Fellow from 1976 to 1977, a visiting fellow at

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 ...

at Oxford in 1987, and also a visiting professor at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

in 1988. Since 1996, she has been part of the board of directors of the Stephan Kuttner Institute of Medieval Canon Law. In 1997, she was elected president of the

American Catholic Historical Association The American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA) was founded by Peter Guilday in Cleveland, Ohio, in December 1919 as a national society to bring together scholars interested in the history of the Roman Catholic Church or in Catholic aspects ...

Selected publications

* * (Collected essays.) * *

Honors and awards

Blumenthal was elected fellow of the Medieval Academy in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blumenthal, Uta-Renate Living people American medievalists Columbia University alumni Catholic University of America faculty Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Women medievalists Historians of Christianity Year of birth missing (living people)