Geoffrey Elton

Geoffrey Rudolph Elton (17 August 1921 - 3 December 1994) was a Tudor historian and later became one of the most eloquent defenders of British Empiricism against the modern proponents of Post-Modernism. He was born Gottfried Rudolf Ehrenberg but later anglicised his name to Geoffrey Rudoplh Elton.

Life and Career

Elton was born in Germany, son of the eminent ancient historian Victor Ehrenberg. In 1929 the Ehrenbergs moved to Prague in the then Czechoslovakia. In 1939 the family fled to Britain. Elton studied at the University of Prague before coming to England. He changed his name during the Second World War, where he had served in the intelligence corps. It was at this time that he anglicised his name. Elton studied Early Modern History in the University of London, graduating with a PHD in 1949. From this time onwards he taught at Cambridge after a brief spell in the University of Glasgow. He became a fellow of Clare College in 1954 and regius professor of history in 1983. He was knighted in 1986.

Elton's first published article dealt with Julius Caesar, but he made his reputation in 1953 with the publication of his doctoral thesis, the 'Tudor Revolution in Government', which he associated with the 1530s and in particular with Thomas Cromwell. He specialised on administrative and constitutional history, specifically the decade of the 1530s. The 1530s were the subject of two major books: Policy and Police - a study of the enforcement of the reformation, and Reform and Renewal. He has also produced the best selling textbook, England Under the Tudors. He has edited several series and supervised numerous research students.

Elton was an extremely erudite man with strong opinions. His battles with John Cooper (Over the policies of Henry VII) and with Lawrence Stone (Over the policies of Henry VIII) revealed a strong willed defence of the English monarchs. In the Practise of History and other writings (Such as Return to Essentials), Elton has shown himself to be both a vigorous defender of the study of political history (English political history in particular) and from time to time an aggressive critic of his colleagues, especially those historians who use elements of the social sciences in their works.