Henry Mayr-Harting facts for kids

Henry Maria Robert Egmont Mayr-Harting, born on April 6, 1936, is a British historian. He specializes in the Middle Ages and church history. From 1997 to 2003, he held an important position at the University of Oxford. This role was called Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History. He was also a lay canon at Christ Church, Oxford. This means he was a non-clergyman member of the cathedral's governing body.

Early Life and Education

Henry Mayr-Harting was born in Prague on April 6, 1936. His father, Herbert Mayr-Harting, was a lawyer. He represented Czechoslovak at the United Nations War Crimes Commission. His mother, Anna Mayr-Harting, was a skilled bacteriologist in Bristol, England. Henry's brother, Thomas Mayr-Harting, is a diplomat from Austria and the EU.

Henry Mayr-Harting attended Douai School. He then studied at Merton College, Oxford. He earned several degrees there, including a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1957. He also received a Master of Arts (MA) in 1961 and a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in 1961. Later, in 2004, he earned a Doctor of Divinity (DD).

Career as a Historian

Mayr-Harting started his career as a lecturer. He taught medieval history at the University of Liverpool from 1960 to 1968. After that, he returned to Oxford. He became a Fellow and Tutor in Medieval History. This was at St Peter's College from 1968 until 1997. When he left this role, he became a Fellow Emeritus.

From 1976 to 1997, he also taught medieval history at Merton College. In the 1970s, Mayr-Harting helped with student admissions for St Peter's College. In the early 1980s, he led the board for the Faculty of History.

Important Roles and Recognition

Mayr-Harting was the Slade Professor of Fine Art for the 1987–88 academic year. In 1993, he was named a university reader in medieval history. In 1997, he made history. He became the first Roman Catholic and the first non-clergyman to be appointed Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford. Because of this, he also became the first lay canon of Christ Church Cathedral. He retired from these positions in 2003.

He was chosen as a Visiting Fellow at Peterhouse, Cambridge, in 1983. In 1992, he became a Brown Foundation Fellow at Sewanee: The University of the South. In the same year, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy. He is also a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He served as the president of the Ecclesiastical History Society from 2001 to 2002. In 2003, he gave a lecture series called Barbarian Europe: The Creation of a Civilization. This was at the Institute for Medieval Studies, University of New Mexico. He received an honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) from the University of East Anglia in 2009.

Personal Life

In 1968, Henry Mayr-Harting married Caroline Mary Humphries. They have two children. Their son, Felix, was born in 1969. Their daughter, Ursula, was born in 1972. Ursula, now known as Ursula Weekes, is an art historian. She has written several books on art.

Selected Books and Writings

Henry Mayr-Harting has written many books and articles. Here are some of his notable works:

• Henry Mayr-Harting, The Bishops of Chichester and the Administration of Their Diocese, 1075–1207: with a Collection of Acta (University of Oxford DPhil thesis, 1961)
• Henry Mayr-Harting, The Bishops of Chichester, 1075–1207: Biographical Notes and Problems (Chichester: Chichester City Council, 1963)
• Henry Mayr-Harting, ed. and introduction, Diocesis Cicestrensis: The Acta of the Bishops of Chichester, 1075–1207 (Canterbury and York Society, vol. 56, Torquay: Devonshire Press, 1964)
• Henry Mayr-Harting, The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England (London: B. T. Batsford, 1972; 3rd edn, London: Batsford; University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1991) ISBN: 978-0-271-00769-4
• Henry Mayr-Harting, The Venerable Bede, the Rule of St Benedict, and Social Class (Jarrow Lecture 1976, Jarrow: Rector of Jarrow, 1976) ISBN: 0-903495-03-1
• Henry Mayr-Harting and R. I. Moore, eds, Studies in Medieval History Presented to R. H. C. Davis (London: Hambledon Press, 1985)
• Henry Mayr-Harting, Saint Wilfrid (London: Catholic Truth Society, 1986)
• Henry Mayr-Harting, ed., St Hugh of Lincoln: Lectures Delivered at Oxford and Lincoln to Celebrate the Eighth Centenary of St Hugh's Consecration as Bishop of Lincoln (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987)
• Henry Mayr-Harting, Ottonian Book Illumination: an Historical Study (2 vols, London: Harvey Miller, 1991; 2nd edn, London: Harvey Miller, 1999) ISBN: 978-1-872501-79-6
• Henry Mayr-Harting, Two conversions to Christianity: the Bulgarians and the Anglo-Saxons (Stenton Lecture 1993, Reading: University of Reading, 1994)
• Henry Mayr-Harting, Perceptions of Angels in History: an Inaugural Lecture Delivered in the University of Oxford on 14 November 1997 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998)
• Richard Harries and Henry Mayr-Harting, eds, Christianity: Two Thousand Years (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001)
• Henry Mayr-Harting, Melbourne Church in its Earliest Historical Surroundings: the Friends First Public Lecture (Melbourne: Friends of Melbourne Parish Church, 2004)
• Henry Mayr-Harting, Church and Cosmos in Early Ottonian Germany: The View from Cologne (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007) ISBN: 978-0-19-921071-8
• Henry Mayr-Harting, Religion, Politics and Society in Britain 1066–1272 (London: Longman, 2011)