Patrick Wormald facts for kids

Charles Patrick Wormald (born July 9, 1947 – died September 29, 2004) was a British historian. He was born in Neston, a town in Cheshire, England. His father, Brian Wormald, was also a historian. A historian is someone who studies and writes about the past.

Biography

Early Life and Education

Patrick Wormald went to Eton College, a famous school in England. He was a special student there called a King's Scholar. From 1966 to 1969, he studied modern history at Balliol College, which is part of Oxford University. He learned from important teachers like Maurice Keen, Michael Wallace-Hadrill, and Peter Brown. These teachers helped him become a great historian.

His talent was clear to everyone. Two colleges at Oxford, Merton and All Souls, gave him special awards. These awards, called scholarships and fellowships, helped him continue his studies and research.

Teaching and Research

From 1974 to 1988, Wormald taught early medieval history at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Medieval history is the study of the Middle Ages, a time period from about 500 AD to 1500 AD. His students really enjoyed his classes.

While at Glasgow, he met another historian, Jenny Brown. They got married in 1980 and had two sons. They later divorced in 2001. During this time, he also joined a group of historians who studied the early Middle Ages. This group often met in a village called Bucknell, Shropshire. In 1984, he gave a special talk called the Jarrow Lecture.

Return to Oxford

After some time doing research for the British Academy, Wormald returned to Oxford in 1989. He became a teacher and then a fellow at Christ Church, Oxford, another college at Oxford University. He taught students about medieval history. He gave several important talks, including the Deerhurst Lecture in 1991 and the British Academy's Raleigh Lecture in History in 1995.

In 1996, he gave a lecture at a big meeting about medieval studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His most important work was a book called The Making of English Law. This book took many years to write. The first part was published in 1999. He was still working on the second part when he passed away. His notes for the book are now available online for others to read.

Wormald retired from Christ Church in 2001. However, he continued to teach history at Oxford and joined Wolfson College, Oxford. In 2003, he became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, a group that studies old things and history. He also gave the Brixworth Lecture that year.

Legacy

In 2009, a collection of essays was published to honor Patrick Wormald. The book was called Early Medieval Studies in Memory of Patrick Wormald. It included writings from many leading scholars who admired his work. The book also had articles about Wormald himself and his important contributions to history.