Norman Cantor facts for kids

Norman Frank Cantor (born November 19, 1929 – died September 18, 2004) was a famous historian from Canada and the United States. He studied the Middle Ages, a time period between ancient and modern history. Norman Cantor was known for writing books about medieval history that were easy to understand and fun to read.

His most famous textbook, The Civilization of the Middle Ages, was first published in 1963. He believed that about a million copies of this book were in circulation. This shows how popular his writing was with many people.

Norman Cantor's Life Story

Norman Cantor was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He grew up in a Jewish family. He earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Arts, from the University of Manitoba in 1951.

After that, he moved to the United States. He continued his studies at Princeton University, getting his Master's degree in 1953. He also spent a year studying at Oriel College, Oxford in England as a Rhodes Scholar. This is a special scholarship for talented students.

He returned to Princeton and earned his Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) in 1957. His main teacher was a well-known medieval historian named Joseph Strayer. Norman Cantor also started his teaching career at Princeton.

Teaching Career

Norman Cantor taught at several universities during his career. After Princeton, he became a professor at Columbia University from 1960 to 1966. He also taught at Brandeis University, Binghamton University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Later, he joined New York University (NYU). There, he was the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. He also taught history, sociology, and comparative literature. He even spent a year teaching in Israel at Tel Aviv University. He retired from NYU in 1999. After retiring, he focused on writing full-time.

Norman Cantor's Books and Ideas

Norman Cantor's early work focused on the history of religion and ideas in England. But later, he became interested in many different topics. He was very good at writing for a general audience, not just for other historians. This made his books very popular.

One of his first important books was Church, kingship, and lay investiture in England, 1089-1135. It was based on his graduate studies and published in 1958. This book is still important for understanding the relationship between the church and kings in medieval England.

Writing for Everyone

Throughout his career, Norman Cantor liked to write about big ideas in Western history. He also wrote about how medieval studies developed in Europe and North America. He often wrote about the lives of famous medieval historians.

His books sometimes received mixed reviews from other academics. However, they were often bestsellers. People loved his easy-to-read and often casual writing style. He also liked to share his strong opinions about people and ideas from the past and present.

Norman Cantor had traditional views about history. He was careful about new ways of studying history, like Marxism or postmodernism. But he also believed that history should include more stories about women and minority groups.

In his books Inventing the Middle Ages (1991) and Inventing Norman Cantor (2002), he wrote about his relationships with other historians. He also shared his thoughts about working in universities.

Later Years and Legacy

After retiring in 1999, Norman Cantor moved to Miami, Florida. He continued to write many books there until he passed away. One of his books, In the Wake of the Plague (2001), became a New York Times bestseller.

He also worked as the editor for the Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages (1999). This was a big project that helped many people learn about this historical period.

Norman Cantor died in Miami from heart failure when he was 74 years old. He left behind a legacy of making medieval history exciting and understandable for a wide audience.