Barrie Dobson

Richard Barrie Dobson (3 November 1931 – 29 March 2013) was an English historian who was a leading authority on the legend of Robin Hood as well as a scholar of ecclesiastical and Jewish history. He served as Professor of Medieval History at the University of Cambridge from 1988 to 1999.

Early life Dobson was born on 3 November 1931 in Stockton-on-Tees. As his father worked for the Great Western Railway of Brazil, he spent his early years in South America. He graduated with a first-class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. His thesis was titled The Priory of Durham Priory in the Time of John Wessington, Prior 1416–1446 and was completed in 1962.

Academic career Dobson lectured in medieval history at the University of St Andrews from 1958 to 1964. His funeral service was held at the York Unitarian Chapel on 16 April.

Personal life Dobson married Narda Leon in 1959. They had two children.

Works Durham Priory, 1400-1450 (1973) The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 (1970) The Jews of Medieval York and the Massacre of March 1190 (1974) Rymes of Robyn Hood: An Introduction to the English Outlaw (with John Taylor) (1976) The Church, Politics and Patronage in the Fifteenth Century (1984) Preserving the perishable (1991) Clifford's Tower and the Jews of Medieval York (1995) Church and Society in the Medieval North of England (1996) "The Northern Provinces in the Later Middle Ages", Northern History, xlii, 51. (2005) The Jewish Communities of Medieval England (2010)