Jeffrey Burton Russell | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1934-08-01)August 1, 1934 Fresno, California |
| Died | 12 April 2023(2023-04-12) (aged 88) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of California, Berkeley (BA) Emory University (PhD) |
| Years active | 1965–2023 |
| Employer | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Known for | Professor of Medieval History |
| Notable work | Dissent and Reform in the Early Middle Ages,History of Medieval Christianity,Witchcraft in the Middle Ages,Prince of Darkness: Radical Evil and the Power of Good in History,A History of Heaven |
| Spouse(s) | Pamela Russell, Diana Mansfield Russell (deceased) |
| Children | Jennifer Ellen Russell, Mark Lewis Russell, William Henry Russell, Penelope Russell |
| Parent(s) | Lewis Russell, Aida Raffetto |
| Awards | Fulbright Fellow, Harvard Junior Fellow, Guggenheim Fellow |
Jeffrey Burton Russell (1 August 1934 – 12 April 2023) was an American historian of medieval Europe andreligious studies scholar.[1][2]
Russell received his undergraduate degree from theUniversity of California, Berkeley in 1955 and his PhD in History fromEmory University in 1960.
Russell held a number of academic posts, moving to the History Department at theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara until his retirement. He taught History and Religious Studies at Berkeley,Riverside,California State University, Sacramento,Harvard,New Mexico, andNotre Dame.[3]
Russell published widely, largely onmedieval European history and the history of Christiantheology. His first book wasDissent and Reform in the Early Middle Ages (1965). He is most noted for his five-volume history of the concept ofthe Devil:The Devil (1977),Satan (1981),Lucifer (1984),Mephistopheles (1986) andThe Prince of Darkness (1988), all published byCornell University Press.
InInventing the Flat Earth (1991) he argues that 19th century anti-Christians invented and spread the falsehood that educated people in the Middle Ages believed that the earth wasflat. As one writer summarizes, "Russell also examined a large selection of textbooks and found those written before 1870 usually included the correct account, but most textbooks written after 1880 uncritically repeated the erroneous claims inWashington Irving,John William Draper andAndrew Dickson White. Russell concludes that Irving, Draper and White were the main writers responsible for introducing the erroneousflat-earth myth that is still with us today."
Russell wrote two books on the history of the notion ofHeaven:A History of Heaven: The Singing Silence (1997), which deals with the period from around 200 B.C. up toDante, andParadise Mislaid (2006), which takes the story up to the early 21st century.
The Library of Congress lists 18 books written by Russell:
Articles by Russell include:
Book reviews by Russell include:
