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Introduction

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Herbert Butterfield and the Interpretation of History

Part of the book series: Studies in Modern History ((SMH))

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Abstract

Herbert Butterfield was born at Oxenhope, Yorkshire, on 7 October 1900. He went up to Peterhouse, Cambridge, from the Keighley Trade Grammar School, in 1919. There he read for the Cambridge Historical Tripos under the tutorship of Paul Vellacott, a meticulous writer who published little.1 The young Butterfield was drawn to romantic historical fiction and first approached history from a literary standpoint. Eventually, his essay ‘Art is History Made Organic’ attracted attention in Peterhouse. He was elected a Fellow in 1923 and won the ‘La Bas’ Prize for The Historical Novel (1924) in the same year. At least from 1923 onwards he was strongly influenced by Harold Temperley, the highly regarded Peterhouse diplomatic historian. A strong individualist, Butterfield could be sparing in acknowledging the influence of others. He was trained as a diplomatic historian and in this field greatly admired Temperley and G. P. Gooch.2 Butterfield owed much to his father, Albert Butterfield, who encouraged his son to enter the Methodist ministry. In 1917 Herbert began lay preaching to Methodist congregations in Yorkshire and continued the practice in Cambridgeshire until 1936. On occasions he also taught at Wesley House in Cambridge.3 Always opposed to fundamentalism, he was sympathetic to the positive features of English evangelicalism.4

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Notes

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of History, Dordt College, Iowa, USA

    Keith C. Sewell

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© 2005 Keith C. Sewell

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Sewell, K.C. (2005). Introduction. In: Herbert Butterfield and the Interpretation of History. Studies in Modern History. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230000933_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230000933_1

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-51978-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-230-00093-3

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