Lindy Grant

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Lindy M. Grant FSA (born 1952) is professor emerita of medieval history at the University of Reading, [1] an honorary research fellow of the Courtauld Institute of Art, [2] and a former president of the British Archaeological Association. [3] Grant is a specialist in Capetian France and its neighbours in the 11th to 13th centuries. [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Grant grew up in the Thames Valley area although her background is mainly Scottish. She read for her undergraduate degree (BA) in Medieval History at the University of St Andrews and then went onto the Courtauld Institute of Art where she studied for an MA in Medieval Art History and a PhD on ‘Gothic Architecture in Normandy in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries’. [5]

Career

Following completion of her post graduate studies, Dr Grant remained at the Courtauld and worked for many years in the Conway Library as mediaeval curator. She recalls her time working with the collection:

"The collection included some wonderful early photographs, and I became very interested in the early history of photography, especially photography of monuments. The collection included photographs taken during Merimee’s famous ‘Missions Heliographique’ of 1851, to record the great buildings of medieval France, and photographs commissioned by Viollet-le-Duc to record his restorations of Notre Dame in Paris in the 1850s and 1860s." [5]

Grant curated two exhibitions in the Courtauld Gallery in 1992 and 2004; the first featured photographs from the collections of T.E. Lawrence and his brother, A.W. Lawrence, including those of the photographer and travel writer Robert Byron. The second, early photographs of monuments in the Middle East, included works by James Robertson, Francis Frith, Wilhelm Hammerschmidt and Francis Bedford. [5]

While at the Courtauld, Grant contributed many of her own photographs to the Conway Library whose archive, primarily of architectural images, is in the process of being digitised as part of the wider Courtauld Connects project. [6]

In 2006 Grant was appointed professor of medieval history at the University of Reading, a post she held for 10 years before becoming professor emerita. [2]

Media work and scholarship

During her career, Grant has appeared in a number of televised documentaries including two episodes of A Time Team Special on ‘Dover Castle’ (2009) and ‘The Secrets of Westminster Abbey’ in 2010. [7] She was a guest of Melvyn Bragg in the In Our Time episode on BBC Radio 4 in 2016 when they discussed Eleanor of Aquitaine [8] and her article on the medieval queen later appeared in the BBC History Magazine . [9] She has published extensively and her work is often cited. [10] Her biography of Abbot Suger, Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis: Church and State in Early Medieval France, ‘challenges scholarly conventions about the famous abbot. Grant suggests that Suger was not an original thinker, but rather a successful administrator and consummate politician whose theological views expressed a keen desire for orthodoxy’. [11] A review of her most recent book Blanche of Castile, Queen of France heralded it as ‘an invaluable resource for studying Capetian France’. [12]

Public work and honours

Professor Grant has a long association with the British Archaeological Association, serving on its Council, as Honorary Secretary from 1990 to 1994 and was elected President in 2010. She is now Lifetime Vice-President. [3]

Grant was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London on 1 January 1989. [13] She is also a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. [14]

As well as acting as an advisor to English Heritage on their conservation work of Dover Castle, Grant was on the Comité Scientifique for the Centre de compréhension de l’Europe du Moyen Age (Tapisserie de Bayeux) from 2012-2018 which, inter alia, discussed the possible loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the United Kingdom. [15] .Grant is also involved with the Battle Conference for Anglo-Norman studies [16] and is a Trustee of the British Academy Angevin Acta project. [2] [17]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor of Aquitaine</span> Queen of France (1137–52) and England (1154–89)

Eleanor of Aquitaine was Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As the heiress of the House of Poitiers, which controlled much of southwestern France, she was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. Militarily, she was a leading figure in the Second Crusade, and in a revolt in favour of her son. Culturally, she was a patron of poets such as Wace, Benoît de Sainte-Maure, and Bernart de Ventadorn, and of the arts of the High Middle Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis VII of France</span> King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180

Louis VII, called the Younger, or the Young, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI and married Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe. The marriage temporarily extended the Capetian lands to the Pyrenees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayeux Tapestry</span> Embroidery depicting the 1066 Norman invasion of England

The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres long and 50 centimetres tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William, Duke of Normandy challenging Harold II, King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings. It is thought to date to the 11th century, within a few years of the battle. Now widely accepted to have been made in England perhaps as a gift for William, it tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans and for centuries has been preserved in Normandy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John of Gaunt</span> English prince (1340–1399)

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Because of Gaunt's royal origin, advantageous marriages, and some generous land grants, he was one of the richest men of his era, and was an influential figure during the reigns of both his father and his nephew, Richard II. As Duke of Lancaster, he is the founder of the royal House of Lancaster, whose members would ascend the throne after his death. His birthplace, Ghent in Flanders, then known in English as Gaunt, was the origin of his name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica of Saint-Denis</span> Basilica in Saint-Denis, France

The Basilica of Saint-Denis is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and architecturally as its choir, completed in 1144, is widely considered the first structure to employ all of the elements of Gothic architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matilda of Flanders</span> Queen of England from 1066 to 1083

Matilda of Flanders was Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy by marriage to William the Conqueror, and regent of Normandy during his absences from the duchy. She was the mother of nine children who survived to adulthood, including two kings, William II and Henry I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanche of Castile</span> Mother of Louis IX, Queen and regent of France

Blanche of Castile was Queen of France by marriage to Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX: during his minority from 1226 until 1234, and during his absence from 1248 until 1252.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suger</span> 12th-century French abbot, statesman and historian

Suger was a French abbot and statesman. He was a key advisor to king Louis VI and his son Louis VII, acting as his regent during the Second Crusade, with his writings remaining seminal texts for early twelfth-century Capetian history. His supervision of the rebuilding of the Basilica of Saint-Denis where he was abbot, was instrumental in the creation of Gothic architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile</span> 12th-century English princess and queen consort of Castile and Toledo

Eleanor of England, was Queen of Castile and Toledo as wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile. She was the sixth child and second daughter of Henry II, King of England, and Eleanor of Aquitaine. She served as Regent of Castile during the minority of her son Henry I for 26 days between the death of her spouse and her own death in 1214.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">France in the Middle Ages</span> France from the 10th to 15th centuries

The Kingdom of France in the Middle Ages was marked by the fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and West Francia (843–987); the expansion of royal control by the House of Capet (987–1328), including their struggles with the virtually independent principalities, and the creation and extension of administrative/state control in the 13th century; and the rise of the House of Valois (1328–1589), including the protracted dynastic crisis against the House of Plantagenet and their Angevin Empire, culminating in the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), which laid the seeds for a more centralized and expanded state in the early modern period and the creation of a sense of French identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan of Évreux</span> Queen consort of France and Navarre

Joan of Évreux was Queen of France and Navarre as the third wife of King Charles IV of France.

David Bates is a historian of Britain and France during the period from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries. He has written many books and articles during his career, including Normandy before 1066 (1982), Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum: The Acta of William I, 1066–1087 (1998), The Normans and Empire (2013), William the Conqueror (2016) in the Yale English Monarchs series and La Tapisserie de Bayeux (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanche of Navarre, Queen of France</span> Queen consort of France

Blanche of Navarre, was a French princess and Infanta of Navarre as a member of the House of Évreux and by marriage Queen of France from 29 January until 22 August 1350.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sancho III of Castile</span> King of Castile and Toledo from 1157 to 1158

Sancho III, called the Desired, was King of Castile and Toledo for one year, from 1157 to 1158. He was the son of Alfonso VII of León and Castile and his wife Berengaria of Barcelona, and was succeeded by his son Alfonso VIII. His nickname was due to his position as the first child of his parents, born after eight years of childless marriage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Normandy</span> European royal dynasty of French origin

The House of Normandy designates the noble family which originates from the Duchy of Normandy and whose members were dukes of Normandy, counts of Rouen, as well as kings of England following the Norman conquest of England. It lasted until Stephen of the French House of Blois seized the English throne and the Duchy of Normandy in 1135. The house emerged from the union between the Viking Rollo and Poppa of Bayeux, a West Frankish noblewoman. William the Conqueror and his heirs down through 1135 were members of this dynasty while nearly every English monarch since William have been his descendant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisieux Cathedral</span>

Lisieux Cathedral is a Catholic church located in Lisieux, France. The cathedral was the seat of the Bishop of Lisieux until the diocese of Lisieux was abolished under the Concordat of 1801 and merged into the Diocese of Bayeux.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violant of Aragon</span> Queen consort of Castile and León from 1252 to 1284

Violant or Violante of Aragon, also known as Yolanda of Aragon, was Queen consort of Castile and León from 1252 to 1284 as the wife of King Alfonso X of Castile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan, Countess of Ponthieu</span> Queen consort of Castile and León

Joan of Dammartin was Queen of Castile and León by marriage to Ferdinand III of Castile. She also ruled as Countess of Ponthieu (1251–1279) and Aumale (1237–1279). Her daughter, the English queen Eleanor of Castile, was her successor in Ponthieu. Ferdinand II, Count of Aumale, her son and co-ruler in Aumale, predeceased her, thus she was succeeded by her grandson John I, Count of Aumale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William W. Clark</span> American art historian

William W. Clark is an emeritus professor of art history in the medieval studies program at the Graduate Center at Queens College, City University of New York. He is a widely published expert on early medieval, Romanesque, and Gothic art and architecture.

Stephen D. Murray, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University, is an architectural historian, specialising in Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Before his retirement, Murray held the Lisa and Bernard Selz chair in Medieval Art History at Columbia University. He has written several important monographs on French Gothic cathedrals, including Troyes, Beauvais, and Amiens. His work combines analysis of architectural details with discussion of medieval writing about cathedrals. He is considered a pioneer in the development of digital media and visual arts resources for educational use.

References

  1. ↑ "University of Reading". University of Reading. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Professor Lindy Grant". The Courtauld Institute of Art. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Lindy Grant | British Archaeological Association". thebaa.org. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  4. ↑ Staff Profile:Professor Lindy Grant. University of Reading. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 readinghistory (16 October 2013). "Spotlight on: Professor Lindy Grant". READING HISTORY. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "Who made the Conway Library?". Digital Media. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  7. ↑ "Lindy Grant". IMDb. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "Eleanor of Aquitaine". In Our Time. 28 January 2016. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  9. ↑ "Eleanor of Aquitaine: the medieval queen who took on Europe's most powerful men". HistoryExtra. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  10. ↑ "Lindy Grant". scholar.google.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  11. ↑ "Grant, Lindy - Mapping Gothic France". mappinggothic.org. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  12. ↑ "Blanche of Castile, Queen of France | Reviews in History". reviews.history.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  13. ↑ "Prof Linda Grant". Society of Antiquaries of London. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  14. ↑ Franklin, Jill; Heslop, T. A.; Stevenson, Christine (2012). Architecture and Interpretation: Essays for Eric Fernie. Boydell Press. ISBN   978-1-84383-781-7.
  15. ↑ "Prêt de la Tapisserie de Bayeux au Royaume-Uni". France in the United Kingdom - La France au Royaume-Uni (in French). Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  16. ↑ "Anglo-Norman Studies". Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  17. ↑ "Acta of the Plantagenets". The British Academy. Retrieved 4 January 2021.


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