577:. His works on early Germanic peoples, particularly those on the Visigoths, quickly became standard reference works on the subject, and were still considered unsurpassed at the time of his death. Thompson's studies on the Visigoths particularly examined the relations between various classes of Visigothic society with the Roman population among whom they lived. He maintained that while the Visigothic elite sought to adapt to and further develop Roman society, the Visigothic rank-and-file sought to overthrow it altogether. Thompson's reliance on literary evidence and aim to present a coherent account of history, distinguished him from many more recent historians, who are heavily influenced by
497:
693:. In later life he referred to himself as a Thompsonist rather than a Marxist. His academic work continued to demonstrate a Marxist-oriented outlook on history. The class structure of societies continued to play a central role in his studies. No longer playing an active part in politics, he maintained an enthusiastic interest. He was strongly opposed to the Soviet handling of the
47:
541:
By the early 1950s, Thompson's research was increasingly focused on the early
Germanic peoples. At this time, very little research had been carried out in this field in the English-speaking world. Thompson sought to approach the subject without ideological ballast. Nevertheless, his revulsion towards
516:
a major figure in reviving the study of late antiquity in the United
Kingdom. He was considered the leading scholar in the United Kingdom in the field, with the University of Nottinhgham emerging as one of its principal centers of study. At Nottingham, Thompson focused mainly on research and teaching
586:
Edward
Thompson ... was the leading scholar of his generation on the history of the Germanic migrations ... His academic achievement was to apply modern historical analysis to the study of the Germanic tribes, escaping the influence of 19th-century romantic myths ...
713:
While lecturing at King's
College Thompson met his first wife Thelma Marjorie Phelps, a physician, whom he married in 1945. They had a son and a daughter, but separated in 1958. In 1964 he married Hazel Joyce Casken, with whom he had a daughter and lived until his death.
542:
Nazism probably influenced his research of this field. His works were pioneering in the field of
Germanic studies, in which he was the leading scholar of his generation. He helped detach the field from the ideological bias which had characterized it in the past.
488:(1948), was inspired by his work on Ammianus Marcellinus. Both of these works were later reprinted and remained standard works on the subject for several decades. From the late 1940s, Thompson dedicated all his scholarly interest towards to late antiquity.
403:. He was the first of his family to enter university. His father had probably intended for him to become a Presbyterian minister, but Thompson would come to reject the religious puritanism of his family. Thompson graduated with
446:
Thompson was appointed a lecturer in classics at
Trinity College, Dublin, in 1939. Although initially appointed for one year, Thompson's contract was renewed, and he stayed on (though at a reduced salary) until 1941.
434:. He claimed to have witnessed the smashing of a jeweler's shop and the beating of its proprietor by a Nazi mob. He said that these experiences had a major influence on his future cautious approach to the study of
657:
was characterized by discontinuity and widespread upheaval. By the 1980s, this interpretation had fallen somewhat out of fashion, particularly among archaeologists. Thompson died in
Nottingham on 1 January 1994.
614:
in 1964 – the first
University of Nottingham academic to be so honoured. On the death of A. H. M. Jones in 1970, Thompson was made Chairman of the academy's committee supervising the
682:
by 1941. The influence of
Marxism is present in Thompson's works on a wide variety of subjects. This influence is particularly detectable in his studies on the rebellions of the
553:. He attributed increasing social stratification among the Germanic peoples of the early centuries AD to the influence of the Roman Empire. He was particularly interested in the
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1511:
411:
from
Trinity College in 1936, later attributing his selection of the classics as a discipline to the choice of his headmaster at The High School. His
1546:
375:. His mother, Margaret Murison, was of Scottish descent. Her parents had settled in Ireland when her father became the manager of the estate of the
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and consider primary sources unreliable. Thompson was not afraid of controversy, and his criticism of others' views could be hard-hitting.
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554:
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Thompson's revulsion towards Nazism, and his rejection of the strict Presbyterianism of his family, made him receptive towards
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in 1957. Under Thompson's leadership, it rapidly emerged a major journal in its field. Thompson was elected a Fellow of the
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Until his retirement in 1979, Thompson served as the first Chairman of the Editorial Board of the scholarly journal
470:, teaching as a classics lecturer from 1945 to 1948. At Swansea, Thompson became a close friend of fellow historian
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in 1965, which was largely concerned with the changing structure of Germanic society through its encounter with
371:
family. His father, Robert James Thompson, who was of Irish descent, was the son of a weaver and worked for the
629:
Thompson retired from the University of Nottingham in 1979. After his retirement Thompson spent a year at the
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ideology, which was popular among intellectuals in the 1930s. He was particularly impressed by the works of
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Thompson moved again in 1948 – this time to direct the classics department at the
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rather than administrative work. Distinguished members of his department at this time included
351:, and has been credited with revitalizing English-language scholarship on the history of early
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430:. While in Germany, being a communist himself, Thompson developed an intense dislike for
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633:, during which he produced four major papers which were later printed in the collection
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678:. Influenced by Benjamin Farrington and the poet Roger Roughton, Thompson joined the
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A Roman Reformer and Inventor: Being a New Text of the Treatise De Rebus Bellicis
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538:. Thompson's book helped build the foundations for modern studies on this work.
521:, W. Charlmers, G. R. Watson, Mollie Whittaker, A. H. Sommerstein and
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Thompson left the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1956, the year of the
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In 1951, perhaps inspired by Farrington, Thompson published the book
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504:(AD 700), which was the subject of numerous studies by Thompson
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355:. Thompson's works on these subjects have been highly influential.
316:
199:
496:
323:. He was professor and director of the classics department at the
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312:
204:
557:, and the differences between Germanic peoples who converted to
1376:(1988). "E. A. Thompson and the Study of Late Antiquity".
431:
427:
384:
637:(1982). Thompson subsequently shifted his focus to the end of
363:
Edward Arthur Thompson was born on 22 May 1914 in the town of
396:
344:
653:, Thompson argued that literary evidence implied that the
438:, which was to characterize his approach to this subject.
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311:(22 May 1914 – 1 January 1994) was an Irish-born British
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Romans and Barbarians: The Decline of the Western Empire
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Romans and Barbarians: The Decline of the Western Empire
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Saint Germanus of Auxerre and the End of Roman Britain
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Saint Germanus of Auxerre and the End of Roman Britain
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480:(1947), played a major role in reviving the study of
1198:. London. 31 January 1994. p. Personal 13 (32).
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532:, which examined the anonymous author of the
1592:Scholars and academics from County Waterford
1351:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
1408:(1988). "A Bibliography of E.A. Thompson".
1313:Thompson, Hazel (1988). "Edward Thompson".
726:The Historical Work of Ammianus Marcellinus
996:
45:
1512:Academics of the University of Nottingham
458:, Thompson secured an appointment at the
331:. Thompson was a pioneer in the study of
1547:Communist Party of Great Britain members
1312:
959:
555:Christianisation of the Germanic peoples
495:
466:. From Swansea, Thompson transferred to
16:Irish-born British historian (1914–1994)
1348:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
641:, on which he published the monographs
618:Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
462:in 1941 through the help of his friend
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691:Soviet Union's intervention in Hungary
492:Career at the University of Nottingham
484:in the United Kingdom. His next book,
1117:. London. 2 February 1994. p. 19
1023:"Obituary: Professor Edward Thompson"
419:was supervised by H. W. Parker.
1452:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U175848
1404:
1341:
1058:
1517:Academics of Trinity College Dublin
1345:(2004). "Thompson, Edward Arthur".
804:The Visigoths in the Time of Ulfila
697:, and criticised British policy in
567:The Visigoths in the Time of Ulfila
422:From 1937 to 1938, Thompson was an
13:
1502:Academics of King's College London
1365:
1300:. Oxford University Press: 679–693
1294:Proceedings of the British Academy
14:
1603:
655:Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain
1537:Irish people of Scottish descent
1522:Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
740:A History of Attila and the Huns
708:
680:Communist Party of Great Britain
486:A History of Attila and the Huns
129:
1507:Academics of Swansea University
1438:"Thompson, Prof. Edward Arthur"
1274:
441:
399:, a distinction he shared with
387:in 1922. Having graduated from
147:
125:
1552:Fellows of the British Academy
450:Already prepared to enter the
1:
1582:Writers from Waterford (city)
1497:20th-century Irish historians
938:
859:University of Wisconsin Press
624:
530:A Roman Reformer and Inventor
383:. Thompson's family moved to
358:
329:fellow of the British Academy
943:
545:Thompson published his work
7:
1410:Nottingham Medieval Studies
1378:Nottingham Medieval Studies
1315:Nottingham Medieval Studies
926:
661:
604:Nottingham Medieval Studies
10:
1608:
1527:British Marxist historians
731:Cambridge University Press
649:(1985). In his studies of
565:. His next major studies,
454:with an enlistment in the
18:
1557:Germanic studies scholars
373:National Health Insurance
367:, Ireland, to a strictly
327:from 1948 to 1979, and a
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1572:Irish Marxist historians
1287:"Edward Arthur Thompson"
717:
573:(1969), centered on the
514:A. H. M. Jones
510:University of Nottingham
325:University of Nottingham
241:University of Nottingham
19:Not to be confused with
1562:Historians of antiquity
631:University of Wisconsin
393:Trinity College, Dublin
389:The High School, Dublin
226:Trinity College, Dublin
174:Trinity College, Dublin
1357:10.1093/ref:odnb/74948
904:Who Was Saint Patrick?
647:Who Was Saint Patrick?
589:
505:
468:King's College, London
343:" peoples such as the
304:Edward Arthur Thompson
236:King's College, London
58:Edward Arthur Thompson
1111:"E. A. Thompson"
584:
499:
460:University of Swansea
231:University of Swansea
1532:British medievalists
909:Boydell & Brewer
477:Ammianus Marcellinus
128: 1945;
1567:Historians of Spain
1422:10.1484/J.NMS.3.153
1390:10.1484/J.NMS.3.152
1327:10.1484/J.NMS.3.151
1268:, pp. 689–691.
1176:, pp. 680–681.
464:Benjamin Farrington
405:first-class honours
391:, Thompson entered
165:Academic background
32:E. A. Thompson
1587:Irish medievalists
1542:Classics educators
1374:Markus, R. A.
1283:Markus, R. A.
1021:(6 January 1994).
1019:Markus, R. A.
828:The Goths in Spain
703:sectarian violence
651:post-Roman Britain
571:The Goths in Spain
506:
502:Visigothic Kingdom
474:. His first book,
1461:978-0-19-954089-1
1191:"Edward Thompson"
818:978-0-19-814254-6
780:The Early Germans
563:Roman Catholicism
547:The Early Germans
535:De rebus bellicis
301:
300:
183:H. W. Parker
180:Academic advisors
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1577:Irish communists
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1406:Rich, J. W.
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672:Friedrich Engels
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472:Norman H. Baynes
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424:exchange student
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85:(1994-01-01)
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1266:Markus 2001
1254:Markus 2001
1239:Markus 2001
1227:Markus 2001
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1174:Markus 2001
1162:Markus 2001
1145:Markus 2001
1091:Markus 2001
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645:(1984) and
569:(1965) and
99:Nationality
68:22 May 1914
1481:Categories
1467:22 January
1304:22 January
939:References
625:Later life
359:Early life
272:Influenced
193:Discipline
91:Nottingham
64:1914-05-22
1443:Who's Who
1430:2507-0444
1416:: 11–18.
1398:2507-0444
1335:2507-0444
1115:The Times
1059:Todd 2004
1029:. London.
944:Footnotes
621:project.
575:Visigoths
397:sizarship
395:, with a
365:Waterford
349:Visigoths
341:barbarian
170:Education
93:, England
74:, Ireland
72:Waterford
1384:: 6–10.
1285:(2001).
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911:. 1985.
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835:. 1969.
811:. 1966.
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747:. 1948.
684:Bagaudae
662:Politics
559:Arianism
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200:Classics
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733:. 1947.
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1456:ISBN
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