Susan Reynolds

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Susan Reynolds (27 January 1929 – 29 July 2021^[1]) was a British medieval historian whose book Fiefs and Vassals: the Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted (1994) was part of the attack on the concept of feudalism as classically portrayed by previous historians such as François-Louis Ganshof and Marc Bloch.

Life[]

She took a first degree at the University of Oxford and took her first job as an archivist at the Middlesex County Record Office. A year later she joined the Victoria County History as an editor, remaining there for seven years and taking a diploma in archival administration.^[2] In an interview for the Institute of Historical Research, Reynolds pointed out that the archival diploma was her only qualification; she never gained either an MA or a PhD in history.^[3]

Reynolds believed that the technical terms used in documents prior to around 1100 did not necessarily hold the meanings ascribed to them by historians who had preceded her; and that clerks of later periods tended to read into earlier documents meanings and relationships current in their own day. In her view, direct ownership of land was more prevalent in the early Middle Ages than had been thought, and the decline of central authority had been exaggerated.

She was an Emeritus Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford.

Books[]

• Introduction to the History of English Medieval Towns, 1977.
• Kingdoms and Communities in Western Europe 900-1300, Oxford, 1984.
• Fiefs and Vassals. The Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted, 1994.
• Ideas and Solidarities of the Medieval Laity : England and Western Europe, 1995.
• Before Eminent Domain: Toward a History of Expropriation of Land for the Common Good, 2014.

References[]

• Kroeschell, Karl (27 April 1998). "Lehnrecht und Verfassung im deutschen Hochmittelalter" (Journal). Erste europäische Internetzeitschrift für Rechtsgeschichte. Retrieved 7 September 2008.

Notes[]

External links[]

• University of London School of Advanced Studies Faculty page for Susan Reynolds