Peter Sawyer (historian)

Peter Sawyer teaching a seminar at the University of Leeds, c. 1983.

Peter Hayes Sawyer (25 June 1928 – 7 July 2018[1][2]) was a British historian. His work on the Vikings was highly influential, as was his scholarship on Medieval England.[3][4] Sawyer's early work The Age of the Vikings argued that the Vikings were "traders not raiders", overturning the previously held view that the Vikings' voyages were only focused on destruction and pillaging.[3]

Sawyer is particularly known for his annotated catalogue of Anglo-Saxon charters. Anglo-Saxon charters are referenced by "Sawyer" numbers (abbreviated 'S' as for example in charter "S 407") according to his catalogue.[5]

  1. ^ "Emeritus Professor dies at the age of 90". University of Leeds. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Emeritus Professor Peter Sawyer". University of Leeds. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b Wood, Ian (26 July 2018). "Peter Sawyer obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  4. ^ Lund, Niels (3 July 2018). "Peter Sawyer (1928–2018)". Northern History. 55 (2): 135–138. doi:10.1080/0078172X.2019.1585167. ISSN 0078-172X. S2CID 191721278.
  5. ^ "Electronic Sawyer: The Electronic Sawyer". ESawyer.