author
Charles Homer Haskins
1870–1937
A pioneering American medieval historian, he helped make the Middle Ages a serious field of study in the United States. His writing is known for bringing scholarship and storytelling together, especially in his influential work on the twelfth century.
3 Audiobooks
The Rise of Universities
by Charles Homer Haskins
The Normans in European history
by Charles Homer Haskins
Some Problems of the Peace Conference
by Charles Homer Haskins, Robert Howard Lord
About the author
Born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, in 1870, Charles Homer Haskins was a remarkably early academic talent. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University at just seventeen, earned his PhD there in 1890, and went on to teach at the University of Wisconsin before joining Harvard, where he became one of the leading medieval historians of his generation.
Haskins is often remembered as a founder of medieval studies in America. His research focused on Norman institutions, government, and learning, and his best-known book, The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century, argued that medieval Europe was far more intellectually alive and innovative than many readers assumed. That fresh way of seeing the period helped shape how later historians understood the Middle Ages.
Beyond the classroom, he also played a public role. He advised President Woodrow Wilson and took part in work connected to the Paris Peace Conference after World War I. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1937, leaving behind a legacy strong enough that the Medieval Academy of America later named its distinguished book award the Haskins Medal in his honor.