Oxford History of England
Encyclopedia
The Oxford History of England is one of the most prominent and acclaimed modern history series, written by many of the then-leading historians of each period.
The series was commissioned by Oxford University Press
and edited by Sir George Clark
, with the first volume (his own The Later Stuarts, 1660–1714) appearing in 1934. The original aim was to produce 14 volumes, taking the story up to 11:00 a.m. on August 4, 1914, the moment when Britain declared war on Germany
. In 1965 a fifteenth volume, taking the story up to 1945 was added, and in the 1980s the first volume was superseded by two separate books. Several of the other volumes have been amended and released in new editions over the years.
Many of the volumes are now considered to be key classic works for their respective periods. In recent years some of the volumes have been released as stand-alone works.
A New Oxford History of England was commissioned in 1992 and has produced eleven volumes to date. At least six volumes are still forthcoming.
Several volumes were subsequently revised by the authors to take into account later research.
Forthcoming, volumes covering the periods:
Since then there has been a trend in history to restrict the use of the term "England" to the state that existed pre 1707 and to the geographic area it covered and people it contained in the period thereafter. The different authors interpreted "English History" differently, with Taylor opting to write the history of the English people, including the people of Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Empire and Commonwealth where they shared a history with England, but ignoring them where they did not. Other authors opted to treat non-English matters within their remit.
The series was commissioned by Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
and edited by Sir George Clark
George Clark (historian)
Sir George Norman Clark was a 20th century English historian. Educated at Manchester Grammar School and Balliol College, Oxford, he became the inaugural Chichele Professor of Economic History at the University of Oxford in 1931 , a post he held until 1943...
, with the first volume (his own The Later Stuarts, 1660–1714) appearing in 1934. The original aim was to produce 14 volumes, taking the story up to 11:00 a.m. on August 4, 1914, the moment when Britain declared war on Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In 1965 a fifteenth volume, taking the story up to 1945 was added, and in the 1980s the first volume was superseded by two separate books. Several of the other volumes have been amended and released in new editions over the years.
Many of the volumes are now considered to be key classic works for their respective periods. In recent years some of the volumes have been released as stand-alone works.
A New Oxford History of England was commissioned in 1992 and has produced eleven volumes to date. At least six volumes are still forthcoming.
Oxford History of England
The volumes produced in the original series were as follows:- Volume I: Roman BritainRoman BritainRoman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
and the English Settlements – R. G. CollingwoodR. G. CollingwoodRobin George Collingwood was a British philosopher and historian. He was born at Cartmel, Grange-over-Sands in Lancashire, the son of the academic W. G. Collingwood, and was educated at Rugby School and at University College, Oxford, where he read Greats...
and J. N. L. MyresJ. N. L. MyresJohn Nowell Linton Myres CBE was a British archaeologist and Bodley's Librarian at the Bodleian Library in Oxford from 1948 until his resignation in 1965; and librarian of Christ Church before his Bodleian appointment....
(1936)- Later replaced by:
- Volume I A: Roman Britain — Peter SalwayPeter SalwayPeter Salway is a British historian, who specialises in Roman Britain. He was a tutor for the Open University and later a fellow of Sidney Sussex College Cambridge and later at All Souls College Oxford. He is the author of Roman Britain , a volume in the Oxford History of England series.-References:...
(1981) - Volume I B: The English Settlements — J. N. L. MyresJ. N. L. MyresJohn Nowell Linton Myres CBE was a British archaeologist and Bodley's Librarian at the Bodleian Library in Oxford from 1948 until his resignation in 1965; and librarian of Christ Church before his Bodleian appointment....
(1986)
- Volume I A: Roman Britain — Peter Salway
- Later replaced by:
- Volume II: Anglo-Saxon England, c550–1087 — Sir Frank StentonFrank StentonSir Frank Merry Stenton was a 20th century historian of Anglo-Saxon England, and president of the Royal Historical Society . He was the author of Anglo-Saxon England, a volume of the Oxford History of England, first published in 1943 and widely considered a classic history of the period...
(1943) - Volume III: From Domesday BookDomesday BookDomesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
to Magna CartaMagna CartaMagna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
, 1087–1216 — Austin L. Poole (1951) - Volume IV: The Thirteenth Century, 1216–1307 — Sir Maurice Powicke (1953)
- Volume V: The Fourteenth Century, 1307–1399 — May McKisackMay McKisackMay McKisack was a British medieval historian. She was professor of history at Westfield College in London and later professor of historiography at the University of Oxford and an honorary fellow of Somerville College Oxford. She is today chiefly remembered for writing The Fourteenth Century in...
(1959) - Volume VI: The Fifteenth Century, 1399–1485 — E. F. JacobE. F. JacobErnest Fraser Jacob was a British medievalist and scholar.-Education:He was educated at Twyford School, Winchester College, and then for a period at New College, Oxford - broken by service in World War I. He won a fellowship to All Souls College, Oxford, and taught there and at Christ Church where...
(1961) - Volume VII: The Earlier Tudors, 1485–1558 — J. D. MackieJ. D. MackieJohn Duncan Mackie CBE MC Hon. LLD was a distinguished Scottish historian who wrote a one-volume history of Scotland as well as several works on early modern Scotland....
(1952) - Volume VIII: The Reign of Elizabeth I, 1558–1603 — J. B. BlackJ. B. BlackJohn Bennett Black was a Scottish historian whose primary topic of study was of Elizabethan England. He was Professor of History at the University of Aberdeen where a prize is awarded each year in his name. He wrote The Reign of Elizabeth the second volume of the Oxford History of England series...
(1936) - Volume IX: The Early Stuarts, 1603–1660 — Godfrey DaviesGodfrey DaviesGodfrey Davies was a respected English historian of the seventeenth century. The son of Sir Thomas Davies, he was born in Cirencester and was educated at Chipping Camden Grammar School and was elected to a Townsend Scholarship at Pembroke College, Oxford in 1910...
(1937) - Volume X: The Later Stuarts, 1660–1714 — Sir George ClarkGeorge Clark (historian)Sir George Norman Clark was a 20th century English historian. Educated at Manchester Grammar School and Balliol College, Oxford, he became the inaugural Chichele Professor of Economic History at the University of Oxford in 1931 , a post he held until 1943...
(1934) - Volume XI: The Whig Supremacy — Basil WilliamsBasil WilliamsBasil Williams OBE , was an English historian.Williams was born in London, the son of a barrister. He was educated at Marlborough College and then read Classics at New College, Oxford. He was a clerk in the House of Commons...
(1939)- 2nd revised edition — C. H. Stuart (1962)
- Volume XII: The Reign of George III, 1760–1815 — J. Steven WatsonJ. Steven WatsonJohn Steven Watson FRSE was an English historian who served as Principal of the University of St Andrews from 1966-86....
(1960) - Volume XIII: The Age of Reform, 1815–1870 — Sir Llewellyn WoodwardLlewellyn WoodwardSir Llewellyn Woodward was a British historian. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and Corpus Christi College, Oxford and after the First World War became a Lecturer in Modern History and fellow of All Souls College from 1919-1944 and a Fellow at New College from 1922-1939...
(1938) - Volume XIV: England, 1870–1914 — Sir Robert EnsorRobert EnsorSir Robert Charles Kirkwood Ensor was a British writer, poet, journalist, liberal intellectual and historian. He is famous for his extremely popular volume of the Oxford History of England, covering the years 1870 to 1914. Originally the final volume, Ensor's book has sold more copies than any...
(1936) - Volume XV: English History, 1914–1945 — A.J.P. Taylor (1965)
Several volumes were subsequently revised by the authors to take into account later research.
New Oxford History of England
The volumes published or announced for the new series are (as of 2010) as follows:- England under the Norman and Angevin Kings, 1075–1225 — Robert BartlettRobert Bartlett (historian)Robert Bartlett FRHistS, FBA, FRSE, FSA is a historian and medievalist. Bartlett is English, though his academic interests cover the whole of Europe....
(2002) - Plantagenet England, 1225–1360 — Michael PrestwichMichael PrestwichMichael Charles Prestwich OBE is an English historian, specialising on the history of medieval England, in particular the reign of Edward I. He is retired, having been Professor of History at Durham University, and Head of the Department of History until 2007.-Early life:Prestwich is the son of...
(2005) - Shaping the Nation: England, 1360–1461 — G. L. HarrissG. L. HarrissGerald Leslie Harriss is an English historian of the Late Middle Ages. His work focused on the parliamentary and administrative history of the period...
(2005) - The Later Tudors: England, 1547–1603 — Penry Williams (1995)
- A Land of Liberty? England, 1689–1727 — Julian Hoppit (2002)
- A Polite and Commercial People: England, 1727–1783 — Paul LangfordPaul LangfordProfessor Paul Langford is a British historian, currently Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford.Educated at Monmouth School and Hertford College, Oxford, he was elected to a Junior Research Fellowship in modern history at Lincoln College in 1969, becoming a tutorial fellow in 1970...
(1989) - A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People? England, 1783–1846 — Boyd HiltonBoyd HiltonBoyd Hilton is a British historian and a professor and fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He specialises in modern British history, from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century.Hilton was elected a fellow of Trinity College in 1974...
(2006) - The Mid-Victorian Generation, 1846–1886 — K. Theodore Hoppen (1998)
- A New England? Peace and War, 1886–1918 — G. R. SearleG. R. SearleGeoffrey Russell Searle is a British historian, specialising in British nineteenth century history. He is Emeritus Professor at the University of East Anglia.-Works:...
(2005) - Seeking a Role: The United Kingdom, 1951–1970 — Brian HarrisonBrian Harrison (historian)Professor Sir Brian Howard Harrison was the editor of Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, published by Oxford University Press, from January 2000 to September 2004 and Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford...
(2009) - Finding a Role? The United Kingdom, 1970–1990 — Brian Harrison (2010)
Forthcoming, volumes covering the periods:
- 400–850 — Nicholas Brookes
- 850–1075 — Simon Keynes
- 1461–1547 — John Watts (currently scheduled to go to press in 2013)
- 1603–1642 — Thomas Cogswell & Peter Lake
- 1642–1689 — Adam Fox & Steven Pincus
- 1918–1951 — Philip Williamson
The use of the term 'England'
When the series was commissioned:- England' was still an all-embracing word. It meant indiscriminately England and Wales; Great Britain; the United Kingdom; and even the British Empire. (A.J.P. Taylor, Volume XV: English History, 1914–1945, page v)
Since then there has been a trend in history to restrict the use of the term "England" to the state that existed pre 1707 and to the geographic area it covered and people it contained in the period thereafter. The different authors interpreted "English History" differently, with Taylor opting to write the history of the English people, including the people of Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Empire and Commonwealth where they shared a history with England, but ignoring them where they did not. Other authors opted to treat non-English matters within their remit.