Jonathan Riley-Smith

Jonathan Riley-Smith
Name	Jonathan Riley-Smith
Birth date	1938-06-27
Death date	2016-09-13
Nationality	British
Occupation	Historian, academic
Known for	Scholarship on the Crusades
Alma mater	King's College, Cambridge, St John's College, Cambridge
Workplaces	University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Wolfson College, Cambridge

Jonathan Riley-Smith was a British historian and academic known for pioneering research on the Crusades and medieval Latin Christendom. His work reshaped understandings of medieval pilgrimage, knighthood, feudalism, and the social history of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. He held chairs at King's College London and the University of Cambridge and engaged publicly with debates involving figures such as Steven Runciman, Caroline Walker Bynum, Norman F. Cantor, Bernard Hamilton, and Christopher Tyerman.

Early life and education

Born in Birmingham in 1938, he was educated at Repton School and read history at St John's College, Cambridge, where he studied under scholars associated with Medieval studies such as M. M. Postan, Edward Peters, and J. M. Wallace-Hadrill. He completed doctoral work at King's College, Cambridge and was influenced by research traditions connected to British Academy fellows and the medievalist networks tied to All Souls College, Oxford and Balliol College, Oxford. His early interests intersected with studies of Byzantium, Islamic history, and the historiography of figures like William of Tyre and Fulcher of Chartres.

Academic career

He began his academic career with posts at King's College, Cambridge and later at King's College London, moving to a chair at the University of Cambridge where he was affiliated with Wolfson College, Cambridge. He supervised graduate students who later joined faculties at institutions such as University of Oxford, University of St Andrews, University of York, University of Edinburgh, and Princeton University. He participated in scholarly collaborations with researchers from École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Universidad de Barcelona, Université Paris-Sorbonne, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He served on editorial boards alongside editors from journals like Speculum, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, English Historical Review, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, and Mediaeval Studies.

Research and publications

His publications combined archival work in repositories such as the Vatican Archives, Bibliothèque nationale de France, The National Archives (UK), and the Archivio di Stato di Venezia with comparative analyses of chronicles including William of Tyre, Fulcher of Chartres, Anna Komnene, Matthew Paris, and Orderic Vitalis. Major monographs include studies comparable in influence to works by Steven Runciman, R. C. Smail, Jean Richard, Hans E. Mayer, and Christopher Tyerman. He contributed chapters to volumes alongside scholars like Jonathan Phillips, Thomas Asbridge, Helen Nicholson, Caroline Holmes, and Peter Jackson. His bibliographic output engaged topics ranging from the First Crusade and Second Crusade to the Knights Hospitaller, Knights Templar, County of Edessa, Principality of Antioch, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He edited collections that included essays by Bernard Hamilton, Alan Forey, John France, Nicola Clarke, and Susan Reynolds.

Views and interpretations on the Crusades

He argued against reductionist readings advanced by popularizers and some revisionist scholars, contrasting his positions with those of Steven Runciman, Hans Mayer, R. I. Moore, Norman Housley, and Marcus Bull by emphasizing the role of religious devotion, papal rhetoric from Pope Urban II and Pope Innocent III, and the lived experience of crusaders recorded by Peter Tudebode and Fulcher of Chartres. He debated interpretations offered by Edward Said's critics and interlocutors, engaging with scholarship from Bernard Lewis, Paul Cobb, and Averil Cameron. He placed importance on pilgrimage patterns linked to Santiago de Compostela, Canterbury, Rome, and Jerusalem and considered the influence of orders like the Teutonic Knights and hospitaller institutions such as St John of Jerusalem. His work intersected with discussions by Norman F. Cantor, Christopher Kleinhenz, Robert Bartlett, and David Abulafia concerning medieval mentalities, sanctity, and violence.

Honours and awards

He was elected a fellow of the British Academy and received honors from institutions including Wolfson College, Cambridge, King's College London, and learned societies such as the Royal Historical Society and the Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies. He delivered named lectures at venues like Oxford University, Cambridge University, Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Princeton University, and was awarded honorary degrees by universities such as University of St Andrews and University of Leeds. He was involved with trusts and foundations including the Leverhulme Trust, the London Mathematical Society (in interdisciplinary programs), and participated in panels of the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Personal life

He was married and had family connections to communities in Cambridge, London, and Birmingham. Outside academia he engaged with institutions such as the Anglican Communion, Church of England, and cultural organizations including the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum. He lectured to audiences at venues like the Royal Festival Hall, the Hay Festival, and the Cheltenham Literature Festival, and contributed to radio and television broadcasts on BBC Radio 4, BBC Two, and Channel 4.

Legacy and influence

His scholarship influenced a generation of historians working at University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, University of Toronto, University of Chicago, and University of California, Berkeley. His framing of crusading as motivated by piety, family, and social networks shaped debates that involved scholars such as Christopher Tyerman, Jonathan Phillips, Thomas Asbridge, Bernard Hamilton, and Caroline Walker Bynum. Research projects at centers like the Institute of Historical Research, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and the Warburg Institute continue to cite his work. His students and collaborators occupy chairs and fellowships at All Souls College, Oxford, Corpus Christi College, Oxford, Magdalen College, Oxford, Trinity College, Cambridge, and international institutions including Leiden University, KU Leuven, and Université de Genève.

Category:Historians of the Crusades Category:British historians Category:Fellows of the British Academy