L. F. (Louis Francis) Salzman

Louis Francis Salzman was a British economic historian and antiquary who specialized in the medieval period. Born in Brighton on March 26, 1878, he was educated at Haileybury College and Pembroke College, Cambridge, and later became widely known for making the social and working life of medieval England understandable to non-specialists as well as scholars.

He wrote a number of lasting works, including English Industries of the Middle Ages, English Life in the Middle Ages, and Medieval Byways. He was also closely associated with major local-history scholarship in Sussex and with the Victoria County History, work that reflects his long interest in records, buildings, crafts, and everyday life.

Salzman died on April 4, 1971. Readers still turn to him for clear, engaging history grounded in original research but written with an easy, human touch.