G. G. Coulton
Encyclopedia
George Gordon Coulton FBA (15 October 1858 – 4 March 1947) was a British historian
, known for numerous works on medieval history. He was known also as a keen controversialist.
He was born in King's Lynn
. He was educated at Lynn Grammar School, and Felsted School
, and St Catharine's College, Cambridge
.
He taught for a short period, and was ordained in 1883. He did not however pursue that course in the Church of England
, in the absence of a vocation. He took further teaching jobs, and began as an independent scholar to study the history of the Middle Ages
. A fierce anti-Catholic, he was often, especially during the 1930s, embroiled in embittered journalistic controversy with Hilaire Belloc
, who detested him.
In 1911 Coulton found a lecturing position at the University of Cambridge
. He became a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge
in 1919, a Fellow of the British Academy in 1929.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, known for numerous works on medieval history. He was known also as a keen controversialist.
He was born in King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
. He was educated at Lynn Grammar School, and Felsted School
Felsted School
Felsted School, an English co-educational day and boarding independent school, situated in Felsted, Essex. It is in the British Public School tradition, and was founded in 1564 by Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich who, as Lord Chancellor and Chancellor of the Court of Augmentations, acquired...
, and St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St. Catharine’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473, the college is often referred to informally by the nickname "Catz".-History:...
.
He taught for a short period, and was ordained in 1883. He did not however pursue that course in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, in the absence of a vocation. He took further teaching jobs, and began as an independent scholar to study the history of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. A fierce anti-Catholic, he was often, especially during the 1930s, embroiled in embittered journalistic controversy with Hilaire Belloc
Hilaire Belloc
Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc was an Anglo-French writer and historian who became a naturalised British subject in 1902. He was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. He was known as a writer, orator, poet, satirist, man of letters and political activist...
, who detested him.
In 1911 Coulton found a lecturing position at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. He became a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
in 1919, a Fellow of the British Academy in 1929.
Works
- Father Rhine (1898) travel writing
- Friar's Lantern (1906)
- Pearl. A Fourteenth-Century Poem (1906) translator
- From Saint Francis to Dante. Translations from the Chronicle of the Franciscan Salimbene (1221 - 1288) (1907)
- Chaucer and his England (1908)
- A Medieval Garner (1910)
- French Monasticism in 1503 (1915)
- The Main Illusions of Pacificism: a Criticism of Mr. Norman AngellNorman AngellSir Ralph Norman Angell was an English lecturer, journalist, author, and Member of Parliament for the Labour Party.Angell was one of the principal founders of the Union of Democratic Control...
and of the Union of Democratic ControlUnion of Democratic ControlThe Union of Democratic Control was a British pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifist organization, it was opposed to military influence in government.-World War I:...
(1916) - The Plain man's religion in the Middle Ages (1916) pamphlet
- The Case for Compulsory Military Service (1917)
- Social Life in Britain from the Conquest to the Reformation (1918)
- Christ, St Francis and To-Day (1919)
- The Roman Catholic Church and the Bible. Some Historical Notes (1921) booklet
- Monasticism: Its Cause and Effects. Sketch of the Social and Intellectual Part Played By World History By the Monastic Institution
- Infant Perdition in the Middle Ages (1922)
- Papal Infallibility (1922)
- A Victorian Schoolmaster: Henry Hart of Sedbergh (1923)
- The Death Penalty for Heresy from 1164 to 1921 AD (1924)
- Roman Catholic Truth: An Open Discussion between G. G. Coulton and L. J. Walker (1924)
- The Medieval Village (1925) Medieval Village, Manor & Monastery
- Art and the Reformation (1928) also as Medieval Faith And Symbolism and Fate of Medieval Art in the Renaissance & Reformation
- Life in the Middle Ages (1928, four volumes)
- Miracle of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1928) editor
- The Inquisition (1929)
- Modern Faith (1929)
- The Black Death (1929)
- Crusades, Commerce and Adventure (1930)
- The Works of Liudprand of Cremona (1930) edited with Eileen PowerEileen PowerEileen Edna LePoer Power was an important British economic historian and medievalist. Eileen Power was the eldest daughter of a stockbroker and was born at Altrincham in 1889. She was a sister of Rhoda Power, the children's writer and broadcaster...
- Malta - And Beyond (1930) pamphlet
- Froissart and His Chronicles: The Chronicler of European Chivalry (1930)
- The Medieval Scene (1930)
- Romanism And Truth (1930, two volumes)
- In Defence Of The Reformation (1931)
- Some Problems in Medieval Historiography (1932) Raleigh Lecture
- Two saints: St. Bernard & St. Francis (1932)
- Scottish Abbeys and Social Life
- The Meaning of Medieval Moneys (1934)
- Commentary on the Rule Of St Augustine By Robertus Richardinus (1935) editor
- H. W. Fowler (1935)
- The Faith of St. Thomas More (1935)
- Sectarian History: A Fresh Development (1937) pamphlet
- The Scandal of Cardinal Gasquet (1937) pamphlet
- Inquisition and Liberty (1938)
- Medieval Panorama (1938, 2 volumes)
- Studies in Medieval Thought (1940)
- Europe's Apprenticeship - a Survey of Medieval Latin with Examples (1940)
- Fourscore Years (1943) autobiography, James Tait Black Memorial PrizeJames Tait Black Memorial PrizeFounded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
- Is The Catholic Church Anti-Social? (1946) with Arnold LunnArnold LunnSir Arnold Henry Moore Lunn was a famous skier, mountaineer and writer. He was knighted for "services to British Skiing and Anglo-Swiss relations" in 1952.He was born in Madras, India and died in London.-Early life:...
- Stained Glass of the 12th and 13th Centuries from French Cathedrals (1951) with Marcel AubertMarcel Aubert-Life:Marcel Aubert was the son of an architect who died when he was only seven years old. Following his studies at the Lycée Condorcet, he entered the École Nationale des Chartes where he wrote a thesis on the Cathedral of Senlis in 1907 and won the goodwill of his professor Robert de Lasteyrie.He...
- Five Centuries of Religion (1927-1950) in four volumes: I St. Bernard, his predecessors and successors, 1000-1200 AD, II The friars and the dead weight of tradition, 1200-1400 AD, III Getting & spending, IV The last days of medieval monachism
- Medieval Studies, Eleven Medieval Studies