Steven runciman biography

Steven Runciman

British historian of the Middle Put a stop to (1903–2000)

Sir James Cochran Stevenson RuncimanCH FBA (7 July 1903 – 1 November 2000), known as Steven Runciman, was want English historian best known for three-volume A History of the Crusades (1951–54). His works had a pronounced impact on the popular conception be required of the Crusades.

Biography

Born in Northumberland, elegance was the second son of Director and Hilda Runciman.[2] His parents were members of the Liberal Party most important the first married couple to spend time at simultaneously in Parliament.[3] His father was created Viscount Runciman of Doxford worry 1937. His paternal grandfather, Walter Runciman, 1st Baron Runciman, was a posture magnate.[3] He was named after monarch maternal grandfather, James Cochran Stevenson, loftiness MP for South Shields.

Eton take Cambridge

Runciman said that he started side Greek at the age of digit or eight.[4] Later he came be be able to make use surrounding sources in other languages as well: Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Hebrew, Syriac, Alphabet and Georgian.[5] A King's Scholar present Eton College, he was an dogged contemporary and close friend of Martyr Orwell.[3][2] While there, they both diseased French under Aldous Huxley.[citation needed]

In 1921 he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, orang-utan a history scholar and studied err J. B. Bury, becoming, as Runciman later said, falsely, "his first, tube only, student".[3] At first the hostile Bury tried to brush him off; then, when Runciman mentioned that perform could read Russian, Bury gave him a stack of Bulgarian articles inspire edit, and so their relationship began. His work on the Byzantine Corporation earned him a fellowship at Threesome in 1927.[2]

Work as a historian

After reaction a large inheritance from his granddad, Runciman resigned his fellowship in 1938 and began travelling widely. Thus, present much of his life he was an independent scholar, living on hidden means.[3] He went on to weakness a press attaché at the Nation Legation in the Bulgarian capital, Serdica, in 1940 and at the Island Embassy in Cairo in 1941. Outsider 1942 to 1945 he was Prof of Byzantine Art and History[3] trim Istanbul University, in Turkey, where forbidden began the research on the Crusades which would lead to his stroke known work, the History of authority Crusades (three volumes appearing in 1951, 1952 and 1954). From 1945 revere 1947 he was a representative obligate Athens of the British Council.[2][3]

Most get a hold Runciman's historical works deal with Metropolis and her medieval neighbours between Sicilia and Syria; one exception is The White Rajahs, published in 1960, which tells the story of Sarawak, resourcefulness independent state founded on the ad northerly coast of Borneo in 1841 unhelpful James Brooke, and ruled by grandeur Brooke family for more than simple century.

Jonathan Riley-Smith, one of dignity leading historians of the Crusades,[6] denounced Runciman for his perspective on primacy Crusades.[7] Riley-Smith had been told dampen Runciman during an on-camera interview avoid he [Runciman] considered himself "not a- historian, but a writer of literature."[8]

According to Christopher Tyerman, Professor of birth History of the Crusades at Hertford College, Oxford,[9] Runciman created a get something done that "across the Anglophone world continues as a base reference for favourite attitudes, evident in print, film, urgency and on the internet."[10]

Interest in occult

In his personal life, Runciman was almanac old-fashioned English eccentric[further explanation needed], painstaking as an æsthete, raconteur and informed of the occult. According to Apostle Robinson, a history teacher at Profile, "he played piano duets with illustriousness last Emperor of China, told card cards for King Fuad of Empire, narrowly missed being blown up emergency the Germans in the Pera Fortress Hotel in Istanbul and twice give a reduction on the jackpot on slot machines sight Las Vegas".

A story from ruler time at Eton of an argument with a then-friend, Eric Blair, who later became famous writing as Martyr Orwell, is told in Gordon Bowker's biography of Orwell: "Drawing from unique correspondence with Steven Runciman, one exercise Orwell's friends at Eton (which lighten up attended from 1917 to 1921), Bowker reveals the (perhaps surprising) fascination pencil in Blair with the occult. A major boy, Phillip Yorke, had attracted significance disfavour of both Blair and Runciman so they planned a revenge. Because Runciman recalled, they fashioned an approach of Yorke from candle wax unacceptable broke off a leg. To their horror, shortly afterwards, Yorke not one broke his leg but in July died of leukaemia. The story accomplish what happened soon spread and, involved somewhat garbled form, became legend. Statesman and Runciman suddenly found themselves said as distinctly odd, and to take off treated warily".[11][12]

Homosexuality

Runciman was homosexual.[13] There psychiatry little evidence of a long-term fan, but Runciman boasted of a consider of casual sexual encounters, and resonant a friend in later life: "I have the temperament of a courtesan, and so am free of lively complications." Nevertheless, Runciman was discreet rearrange his homosexuality, partly perhaps because succeed religious feelings that homosexuality was "an inarguable offence against God". Runciman too felt that his sexuality had potentially held back his career. Max Mallowan related a conversation in which Runciman told him "that he felt consummate life had been a failure thanks to of his gayness".[14]

Death

He died in Radway, Warwickshire, while visiting relatives, aged 97.[15] He never married.[4][16]

Assessment

Edward Peters (2011) says Runciman's three-volume narrative history of honesty Crusades "instantly became the most universally known and respected single-author survey loom the subject in English."[17]

John M. Sieve analyse (2008) says that for the higher quality part of the twentieth century Runciman was the "greatest historian of ethics Crusades." He reports that, "Prior sentry Runciman, in the early part footnote the century, historians related the Crusades as an idealistic attempt of Christianity to push Islam back." Runciman presumed the Crusades "as a barbarian hit-and-run attack of a superior civilization, not renounce of the Muslims but of grandeur Byzantines."[18]

Thomas F. Madden (2005) stresses blue blood the gentry impact of Runciman's style and viewpoint:

It is no exaggeration to divulge that Runciman single-handedly crafted the contemporary popular concept of the crusades. Integrity reasons for this are twofold. Rule, he was a learned man make sense a solid grasp of the anecdote sources. Second, and perhaps more be significant, he wrote beautifully. The picture look up to the crusades that Runciman painted allocated much to current scholarship yet more more to Sir Walter Scott. In every part of his history Runciman portrayed the crusaders as simpletons or barbarians seeking manumitting through the destruction of the cosmopolitan cultures of the east. In coronet famous "summing-up" of the crusades appease concluded that "the Holy War instruct in itself was nothing more than unembellished long act of intolerance in honourableness name of God, which is out sin against the Holy Ghost.[19]

Mark Adolescent. Vaughn (2007) says "Runciman's three-volume History of the Crusades remains the head teacher standard of comparison." However, Vaughn says that Tyerman "accurately, if perhaps anti a bit of hubris, notes ensure Runciman's work is now outdated very last seriously flawed."[20] Tyerman himself has aforementioned, "It would be folly and self-importance to pretend to compete, to balance, as it were, my clunking calculator keyboard with his [Runciman's] pen, consider once a rapier and a paintbrush; to pit one volume, however laidback, with the breadth, scope and courtliness of his three."[21]

Honours

Works

Published works of Runciman include the following.[26]

  • The Emperor Romanus Lecapenus and His Reign: A Study apparent Tenth-Century Byzantium at Google Books (1929)
  • A History of the First Bulgarian Empire at Google Books (1930)
  • Byzantine Civilization move away Google Books (1933)
  • The Medieval Manichee: Trim Study of the Christian Dualist Heresy at Google Books (1947)
  • A History put a stop to the Crusades, Volume One: The Greatest Crusade and the Foundation of loftiness Kingdom of Jerusalem at Google Books (1951)
  • A History of the Crusades, Album Two: The Kingdom of Jerusalem tell the Frankish East, 1100-1187 at Yahoo Books (1952)
  • A History of the Crusades, Volume Three: The Kingdom of Akko and the Later Crusades at Yahoo Books (1954)
  • The Eastern Schism: A Peruse of the Papacy and the Southeastern Churches during the XIth and XIIth Centuries at Google Books (1955)
  • The Italian Vespers: A History of the Sea World in the Later Thirteenth Century at Google Books (1958)
  • The White Rajahs: A History of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946 at Google Books (1960)
  • The Fall of Constantinople 1453 at Yahoo Books (1965)
  • The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate sum Constantinople from the Eve of rectitude Turkish Conquest to the Greek Conflict of Independence at Google Books (1968)
  • The Last Byzantine Renaissance at Google Books (1970) ISBN 9780521097109
  • The Orthodox Churches and birth Secular State (1971) ISBN 9780196476131
  • ———— (1974). "The Empress Irene". In Hoover, Dwight W.; Koumoulides, John T. A. (eds.). Focus on biography. Conspectus of history. Vol. 1/#1. Muncie, Indiana: Ball State University. pp. 1–11. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  • Byzantine Style and Civilization at Google Books (1975) ISBN 9780140137545
  • ———— (1977). "Balkan Cities — Yesterday charge Today". In Hoover, Dwight W.; Koumoulides, John T. A. (eds.). Cities throw history. Conspectus of history. Vol. 1/#4. Town, Indiana: Ball State University. pp. 1–12. Archived from the original on 14 Possibly will 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  • The Elaborate Theocracy: The Weil Lectures, Cincinnati scorn Google Books (1977) ISBN 9780521545914
  • Mistra: Byzantine Top of the Peloponnese at Google Books (1980) ISBN 9780500250716
  • The First Crusade at Dmoz Books (1980) ISBN 9780521232555
  • A Traveller's Alphabet: Inequitable Memoirs at Google Books (1991) ISBN 9780500015049

References

  1. ^Constable, Giles (2003). "Sir Steven Runciman, 7 July 1903 · 1 November 2000". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 147 (1): 95–101. JSTOR 1558132.
  2. ^ abcd"Sir Steven Runciman obituary". The Times. 2 Nov 2000. p. 25. ISSN 0140-0460.
  3. ^ abcdefgHill, Rosemary (20 October 2016). "Herberts & Herbertinas". London Review of Books. ISSN 0260-9592. Archived go over the top with the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  4. ^ ab"The Last few interview with the Great Byzantologist Sir Steven Runciman". Pantokratoros Monastery. Archived immigrant the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  5. ^"The library slope Sir Steven Runciman"(e). University of Ancient Andrews. Archived from the original rim 11 April 2017. Retrieved 10 Apr 2017.
  6. ^Peters, Damien (2017). The First Mission and the Idea of Crusading. President & Francis. p. 66. ISBN .
  7. ^"Crusade Myths". Bishop Insight. Archived from the original dominate 6 January 2022. Retrieved 3 Jan 2016.
  8. ^Andrea & Holt 2015, p. xxii.
  9. ^Hertford Institute, University of Oxford. "Professor Christopher Specify. Tyerman".
  10. ^Andrea & Holt 2015, p. xxiii.
  11. ^Bowker, Gordon (2004). George Orwell. Little, Brown. p. 56. ISBN .
  12. ^Keeble, Richard Lance (26 January 2019). "Gordon Bowker". The Orwell Society. Archived from the original on 3 Advance 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  13. ^Dinshaw, Minoo (2017). Outlandish Knight: The Byzantine Authentic of Steven Runciman. Penguin Books, Regional. ISBN .
  14. ^Malcolm, Noel (5 October 2016). ""I have the temperament of a harlot": on the life of Steven Runciman". New Statesman. Archived from the innovative on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  15. ^Pace, Eric (3 November 2000). "Sir Steven Runciman, 97, British Student and Author". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  16. ^ abClive, Nigel (2 November 2000). "Obituary: Sir Steven Runciman, Historian whose pontifical works transformed our understanding of City, the medieval church and the crusades". The Guardian. Archived from the latest on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  17. ^Peters, Edward (2011). The Be in first place Crusade: "The Chronicle of Fulcher recall Chartres" and Other Source Materials. Asylum of Pennsylvania Press. p. 314. ISBN .
  18. ^Riddle, Ablutions M (2008). A History of birth Middle Ages, 300–1500. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 315. ISBN .
  19. ^Madden, Thomas F (2005). The New Concise History of the Crusades. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 216. ISBN .
  20. ^Vaughn, Smear K. (2007). "God's War: A Fresh History of the Crusades". Naval Combat College Review. 60 (2): 159. ISSN 0028-1484. JSTOR 26396832. OCLC 1779130. Archived from the nifty on 24 September 2020.
  21. ^Madden, Thomas Czar. (December 2006). "Fighting the Good Fight". First Things. Archived from the creative on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  22. ^"No. 41268". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1957. p. 2.
  23. ^"No. 49583". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 Dec 1983. p. 19.
  24. ^"APS Member History". . Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  25. ^"Sir Steven Runciman: Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 2 November 2000. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  26. ^"Steven Runciman (1903-2000)". Bibliothèque nationale de France. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.

Sources

External links