Michael Prestwich | |
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| Born | (1943-01-30)30 January 1943 (age 83) |
| Academic background | |
| Education | |
| Academic work | |
| Era | Middle Ages |
| Discipline | History |
| Sub-discipline | Medieval History |
| Institutions | |
| Main interests |
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| Notable works | Plantagenet England, 1225-1360 (2005) |
| Website | www |
Michael Charles PrestwichOBE (born 30 January 1943) is an Englishhistorian and academic, specialising on the history ofmedieval England, in particular the reign ofEdward I. He is ProfessorEmeritus of Medieval History atDurham University and head of the Department of History until 2007.
Prestwich is the son of twoOxford historians,John Prestwich and his wife Menna Roberts.[1][2][3] His father, "the redoubtable mediaevalist ... who knew so much and published so little", had worked atBletchley Park during the war, among other things on the breaking ofU-boat codes.[4]
Prestwich was educated at theDragon School inOxford, and then atCharterhouse School. He studied history atMagdalen College, Oxford, graduating with afirst class honoursBachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1964;[1] as per tradition, his BA was promoted to aMaster of Arts (MA Oxon) degree. He was awarded a senior scholarship byChrist Church, Oxford,[2] and remained at Oxford to undertake aDoctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree under thesupervision ofGeorge Holmes.[1] He completed this in 1968 with a thesis entitledEdward I's wars and their financing 1294-1307.[5]
After completing his doctorate, Michael remained atChrist Church, Oxford as aresearch lecturer to fill in for someone on a sabbatical.[1][2] The following year, in 1969, he moved to theUniversity of St Andrews where he had been appointed a lecturer in medieval history.[1] He stayed for ten years before moving toDurham University as areader in its Department of History.[1] In 1986, he was appointed Professor of Medieval History.[1] He also served as head of the department for two spells. For seven years in the 1990s he waspro vice-chancellor, with a wide brief which even extended to health and safety. He was chairman of the trustees of theDurham Union Society until 2013. He twice chaired the History panel for theResearch Assessment Exercise, in 1996 and 2001.[6]
Prestwich has provided support and encouragement to other historians, in particularAnn Hyland, who recognised his assistance in her work onmedieval warhorses.[7] Prestwich wrote the foreword for both of her books on the subject. On his retirement, he was presented with a festschrift,War, Government and Aristocracy in the British Isles c.1150-1500, edited byChris Given-Wilson, Ann Kettle and Len Scales.
Prestwich was appointedOBE in the 2010 New Year Honours.[8]
Prestwich's 1988 biography of Edward I received much praise for being a thorough and professional work, the first biography of Edward for twenty years. According to historian JH Denton, its scope could leave the reader "breathless" while the analysis was often "brilliantly incisive".[9] Fred Cazel's view of Edward was close to that of Prestwich, agreeing with his approach of judging Edward according to contemporaneous standards.[10] Several reviewers noted that the book's strengths included administrative and financial aspects of Edward's rule,[11][12] its command of the sources,[12] and Prestwich's attempt at balance including presenting different sides of controversial topics discussed. Several reviewers felt that there was not enough discussion of the social condition of England.[11] Another area of criticism was that Edward I was sometimes let off the hook for his bad decisions.[11] Denton highlighted his invasion of Scotland as a poor decision, and felt that the book gave too even an impression of the quality of his reign.[13]GWS Barrow felt that some important topics, including Edward'sDe donis andQuia emptores laws, along with Anglo-Welsh and Welsh law, were dealt with too quickly. While Scottish aspects were generally covered well, Prestwich was in his view too lenient, not fully recognising Edward's opportunism and ability to ignore previously stated promises. The determination of Scottish resistance was also in his view underestimated.[14] It was also criticised for devoting little space to the approach of Edward to Jewish issues, devoting less than three out of 567 pages to the topic, despite what reviewerColin Richmond describes as Edward's "pioneering antisemitism".[15][16]
He is married to fellow Oxford-educated historian Maggie Prestwich, who recently retired as Senior Tutor atTrevelyan College,Durham. He lives in Western Hill inDurham, and has a dog and three grown-up children. He retired in 2008.[citation needed]
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