Steven Runciman

James Cochran Stevenson Runciman CH ( * July 7, 1903 in Northumberland, † November 1, 2000 in Radway, Warwickshire ) was a British historian, who is famous for his work on the Middle Ages.

His parents were both for the Liberal Party in Parliament, his paternal grandfather, Walter Runciman, 1st Baron Runciman, was a shipping magnate. He received his education at Eton, the same time as George Orwell, who was a close friend. In 1921 he began at Trinity College ( Cambridge ), his history studies.

His work on the Byzantine Empire in 1927 made ​​him a Fellow of Trinity College. He inherited from his grandfather considerable wealth, after which he resigned in 1938 as a Fellow. From 1942 to 1945 he was Professor of Byzantine Art and History at the University of Istanbul, where he began the Crusades with his research. The result, A History of the Crusades ( History of the Crusades ), is his most famous work. It appeared in three volumes in 1951, 1952 and 1954.

Runciman was a scholar under the old standard, which was not interested in the use of newer methodological approaches. In his private life he was known as an eccentric, as an esthete, anecdotes narrator, followers of the occult and friend of aristocrats and politicians in many countries.

Securities (in selection)

  • Byzantium. From its founding to the fall of Constantinople ( " Byzantine Civilization" ). Dtv, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-423-05941-9 ( Kindler cultural history of Europe; 8).
  • The Emperor Romanus Lecapenus and his reign. A study of 10th century Byzantium. CUP, Cambridge, 1990, ISBN 0-521-35722-5 ( Nachdr d ed Cambridge 1929).
  • The conquest of Constantinople Opel 1453 ( " The fall of Constantinople "). Beck, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-406-02528-5.
  • History of the Crusades ("A History of the Crusades "). Special edition. Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-406-39960-6 (probably his best known work )
  • Heresy and Christianity. The medieval Manichaeism ( " The Medieval Manichee "). Fink, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-7705-2498-5.
  • A history of the first Bulgarian Empire. Bell, London, 1930.
  • The Sicilian Vespers. The popular uprising of 1282 and European history in the 13th century ( " The Sicilian Vespers "). Beck, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-406-06458-2.
Liberal Party (UK) Walter Runciman, 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford Eton College Eccentricity (behavior) Byzantinische Zeitschrift Integrated Authority File
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