When I got to university, I discovered that early medieval history was even more obscure. Slowly medieval history became more interesting, partly because it was obscure. So then I decided that I would be a historian instead. But where are the dinosaurs?’ He said, ‘No, you never get any dinosaurs. You could see evolution happening as the ammonites changed. We went to the quarry, he showed me all the different layers of Jurassic rocks, and he explained to me how you could date all the layers by different kinds of ammonite.

So they got the son of a friend of theirs, who was doing geology at University College London, to take me to a quarry and show me Jurassic rocks. My parents thought it would be a good idea to show me what palaeontology was really like. What was the initial spark that first made you want to work in and study medieval history?Īt the age of nine, I wanted to be a palaeontologist.

At the Annual General Meeting on 17 July 2014, it was announced that he had been awarded the 2014 Serena Medal, ‘for eminent services towards the furtherance of the study of Italian history’. The print version of this article can be downloaded as a PDF file.Ĭhris Wickham is Chichele Professor of Medieval History at the University of Oxford. Published in British Academy Review, Issue 24 (Summer 2014). Sprite-icon-accessible-parking sprite-icon-analysis sprite-icon-apple-podcasts sprite-icon-arrow-up sprite-icon-audio-description sprite-icon-baby-changing-facilities sprite-icon-british-sign-language sprite-icon-caret sprite-icon-chevron-in-circle sprite-icon-chevron sprite-icon-comment sprite-icon-cross sprite-icon-deezer sprite-icon-disabled-parking sprite-icon-down-block-arrow sprite-icon-download sprite-icon-external Facebook sprite-icon-google-podcasts sprite-icon-hearing-loop sprite-icon-instagram LinkedIn sprite-icon-live-subtitling sprite-icon-medium sprite-icon-menu sprite-icon-minus-in-circle sprite-icon-news sprite-icon-online-and-in-person sprite-icon-online-event sprite-icon-open-quote sprite-icon-padlock sprite-icon-pause sprite-icon-play sprite-icon-plus-in-circle sprite-icon-podcast-addict sprite-icon-press-release sprite-icon-quote sprite-icon-right-arrow sprite-icon-search sprite-icon-soundcloud-blank sprite-icon-soundcloud sprite-icon-spotify sprite-icon-stitcher sprite-icon-subtitles Twitter sprite-icon-up-block-arrow Vimeo sprite-icon-warning sprite-icon-wheelchair-accessible-venue sprite-icon-youtube

Medieval Europe by Chris Wickham