Professor Gordon Campbell

I am a Renaissance and seventeenth-century specialist with particular interests in John Milton and in the history of the Bible. Broader interests in cultural history on which I publish include art, architecture, classical antiquity, ecclesiastical history, garden history, legal history, historical theology, and the Nordic world.

I have written or edited 29 books (in 34 volumes), edited several journals (including 10 volumes of Renaissance Studies and 13 volumes of Review of English Studies, both for OUP), served as general editor of several series (including the 13-volume Oxford Complete Works of John Milton, with Thomas Corns), written 100+ articles and chapters, and contributed c. 2000 entries to reference books; I also wrote c. 4000 entries for my Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance.

Monographs since 2000

• Norse America: the story of a founding myth (OUP, 2021) [‘has the potential to shift the debate on the Vinland journeys and the Norse discovery of North America in new and welcome directions’ (Sverrir Jakobsson); ‘provides an impressively complex overview of the pre-modern movements of northern Europeans’ (Verene Höfig, Speculum; ‘breezy, well-researched, and frequently hilarious’ (Daily Kos)]
• A Short History of Gardens (OUP, 2016); translated into Chinese and Farsi Republished in a shorter version as Garden History: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2019) [‘teeming with facts and chronologies, yet written with clarity, a veritable perfection of précis…a brilliantly condensed cultural history – literary, philosophical, religious, horticultural, artistic – of gardens that have inspired mankind throughout the ages’ (Timothy Mowl)]
• The Hermit in the Garden: from Imperial Rome to Ornamental Gnome (OUP, 2014) [‘a rollicking new history… a book for the enrichment of all our lives’ (Tim Richardson); ‘triumphant’ (Adam Nicholson) ‘wonderfully written …with an astonishing conclusion’ (The Tablet)]
• Bible: the Story of the King James Version 1611-2011 (OUP, 2010) [‘gives the full sweep of the KJV's truly majestic life, and for that we must be grateful’ (Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post); ‘beautifully crafted’ New Statesman]
• John Milton: Life, Work and Thought (OUP, 2008), with Thomas Corns; translated into Chinese [‘the definitive biography’ (Nicholas Lezard); ‘a magnificent achievement’ (Alastair Fowler); ‘the scholarship is breathtaking’ (Joseph Wittreich) ‘exceptionally readable’ (Philip Pullman); winner, James Holly Hanford Award for most distinguished book on John Milton]
• Milton and the manuscript of ‘De Doctrina Christiana’ (OUP, 2007); co-author [‘the detailed and convincing story [by GC] of the manuscript's travels from Milton's desk to the State Paper office inspires awe’ (Ernest Sullivan); winner, James Holly Hanford Award for most distinguished book on John Milton]
• John Milton (OUP, 2007)
• Renaissance Art and Architecture (OUP, 2004) ) [‘what distinguishes this dictionary from others like it is the extent to which it brings into play the material culture of the Renaissance’ (Paul Borolsky, TLS)]
• The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance (OUP, 2003) [‘The book is a tour de force...the contents reflect an astonishing breadth of interests and competencies...again and again, topics that are either unexpected or far from the beaten track come to life in cogent, crystalline and instructive summaries’ (Theodore Rabb, TLS)

Edited Books since 2000

• The Oxford Illustrated History of the Renaissance (OUP, 2019); translated into Chinese Republished with fewer illustrations as The Oxford History of the Renaissance (OUP, 2023) [‘This volume, edited by the great Renaissance scholar Gordon Campbell, certainly maintains the Oxford University Press reputation for excellence’ (Ed Voves)]
• The Holy Bible: Quatercentenary Edition (OUP, 2010); slightly revised in 2023 as the Coronation Bible, printed in 12 copies, on the first of which King Charles III swore his coronation oath. To be republished with annotated preliminaries as The 1611 King James Bible: Original Spelling Edition (Oxford, 2026)
• The Grove Encyclopedia of Northern Renaissance Art (3 vols, OUP, 2010) [H.J. Zakin, ‘a milestone’ (Choice); ‘intellectually impressive and authoritative’ (Library Journal)
• Ben Jonson, The Alchemist and other Plays (OUP, 2008)
• The Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture (2 vols, OUP, 2007) [Booklist Editor's Choice 2007; Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2007; Library Journal Best Reference 2007]
• The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts (OUP, 2 vols, 2006) [Library Journal Best Reference 2006; Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2007]

Contributions to reference material since 2000

• 1227 signed entries, Grove Art Online (OUP)
• 387 signed entries, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (4th edition)
• 10 signed entries in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• 11 signed entries in the Oxford Companion to the Garden
• 452 new or expanded entries in The Oxford English Dictionary

Essays since 2000

• 35 chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals

General Editorships since 2000

• Complete Works of John Milton (OUP, 13 vols, in progress), with Thomas Corns
• Essays and Studies (Boydell and Brewer, 6 vols)
• Review of English Studies (OUP, 13 vols)

I have broadcast several hundred interviews, mostly on radio, but also on television and social media outlets. The most common topics have been the Middle East, the Bible and ornamental hermits. My personal best occurred on 9 January 2011, when I did 23 interviews at 10-minute intervals, broadcast on BBC local radio stations, talking about translators of the King James Bible associated with each region.

Radio work includes Last Word (BBC), Gardeners’ Question Time (BBC), Sunday Feature (BBC), The World This Weekend (BBC), Today (BBC), Late Night Currie (BBC), Sunday (BBC), Radio Five Live (BBC), Newstalk (Dublin) and a three-part series with James Naughtie (BBC). I have also given interviews on ARD (Germany), CBC (Canada), Times Radio, Heritage Radio Network and several  programmes on PBS (USA).

Television work includes a three-part series with Adam Nicolson (BBC), a documentary for the  French-German channel ARTE, and interviews on ABC (Australia), Channel 4, Fox News and  Al Jazeera.

Print interviews include Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Atlantic, Boston Globe, British Academy Review, Daily Express, European Legacy, The Federalist, Le Point, Maclean’s Magazine, Modern Farmer, New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, Times Educational Supplement, Times Higher and several for the Washington Post.

Podcasts include BBC History Extra and History Hit (with Dan Snow)

Current activities

• Chair, Fabric Advisory Committee, Leicester Cathedral
• Vice-chair, Scientific Council, Le Studium (Loire Valley Institute of Advanced Studies)
• Member, Academic Board and Advisory Council, Markfield Institute of Higher Education (Islamic Foundation)
• Member, 10 editorial boards

Past activities

• Public Orator, University of Leicester. Honorands included church leaders (Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Dean David Monteith), writers (Bill Bryson, Vikram Seth), musicians (Vladimir Ashkenazy, Nicola Benedetti), composers (Sir Karl Jenkins), athletes (Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson), politicians (Lord Bach, Lady Byford, Lord Willetts), entertainers (Engelbert Humperdinck, Sir Terry Wogan) and a head of state (Atifete Jahjaga). I also delivered the eulogy at the reinterment of King Richard III.
• Lead Historian, Museum of the Bible, Washington DC
• Founding Chair, British Universities Iraq Consortium
• Founding Chair, UK4 Saudi (now the UK Saudi Interest Group)
• Leader, Education Delegation (parliamentarians and sector representatives), Round Two of Two Kingdoms' Dialogue [negotiation between governments of UK and Saudi Arabia]
• Chair, Executive Committee, Council for the Defence of British Universities
• Chair, President, Trustee and Treasurer, English Association
• Chair, Society for Renaissance Studies
• Member, Advisory Council, The Warburg Institute
• Member, Advisory Council for Arts Faculty, University of Warwick
• Member, Liturgical Planning Group for the reburial of Richard III
• Member and sometime chair, DelPHE Iraq Steering Committee (a DfID project)

Pro bono work for HMG has mostly been for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Council, but has also included the Department for International Development, the Department for Education and the (former) Department of Trade and Industry.  Examples of such work include a lecture tour of Libya sponsored by the British Council, and a visit to Baghdad during the Second Gulf War as part of assistance to the reconstruction and development of Iraq’s universities, sponsored by the Foreign Office.

Negotiations

• split-degree programmes in Hong Kong and Malaysia
• a post-graduate Law programme in Cyprus
• a teacher-training programme in Brunei
• a staff development programme for universities in eastern Turkey
• a Foreign Office shared scholarship scheme in India
• a Soros shared scholarship scheme in Hungary
• a women's PhD programme in Saudi Arabia

Public Service

• in South Africa, seminars on the redressing of historic imbalances through selective funding.
• in the West Bank, during the first intifada, assistance to Palestinians in need of higher education.
• in Eastern and Central Europe, a book scheme in which I sent 6000 new books to 15 libraries in six countries, mediation between universities and organisations such as the Soros Foundation, Tempus and the World Bank, and assistance with recognition of professional qualifications (especially Engineering) by EU organisations.
• in Lebanon, where near the end of the civil war I was the first British academic visitor in fifteen years, I contributed my mite to the process of reconstruction.
• in Iran, I worked with the Ministry of Science (which ran the universities) to improve relations, and was invited to attend two of their annual conferences. I also gave what was apparently the first public lecture by a Westerner in the 25 years since the Revolution.
• in India, I have long been a supporter of Aligarh Muslim University, for which I have examined 83 PhD theses. I also swerve as a consulting editor on AMU's Al-Barkatt Journal of Finance and Management.

• Dr hc (Doctor honoris causa), University of Bucharest
• Honorary DLitt (Doctor of Letters), University of Leicester
• Longman--History Today Trustees Award (for lifetime contribution to History)
• Honored Scholar of the Milton Society of America (for lifetime contribution)
• Arts in Academics Award, University of Waterloo
• Woodrow Wilson Fellow, Queen’s University (Canada)
• Canada Council Fellow (University of York)
• Festschrift: A Concise Companion to the Study of Manuscripts, Printed Books, and the Production of Early Modern Texts: A Festschrift for Gordon Campbell, edited Edward Jones (Wiley Blackwell, 2015)

Academic Travel

I have made academic or professional visits to more than 70 countries, and private visits that have provided material for subsequent research to more than 30 additional countries and territories, on all seven continents. I have also travelled for the British government (the Foreign Office and the British Council).

Invited lectures and keynote lectures outside Britain have included

• Ahvaz University (Libya)
• Aligarh Muslim University (India) [Sir Syed Memorial Lecture and lectures in the Department of Persian Studies, the Academic Staff College, the Al-Barkaat School of Management and the Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences]
• American University of Beirut
• Association Française des Amis de Newman (Paris)
• Aoyama Gakuin University (Japan)
• Baylor University (Waco, TX)
• El Beida University (Libya)
• Benghazi University (Libya)
• Bible Lands Museum (Jerusalem)
• Bilgi University (Istanbul)
• Binghamton University (New York State)
• Bucharest University (Romania)
• Calvin University (Grand Rapids, MI)
• Centre d'Etudes Supérieures de la Renaissance (Tours)
• Cluj University (Romania)
• Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest)
• Florida State University (Tallahassee) [the Distinguished Lecture on the History of Text Technologies]
• Fort Myer (Arlington, VA)
• Fondazione Carical (Matera)
• Gharyan University (Libya)
• Harvard Club (New York City)
• Hebrew University, Israel Institute of Advanced Studies (Jerusalem)
• Iaşi University (Romania)
• Isfahan Central Library (Iran)
• Istanbul University
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium)
• King Abdulaziz University (Saudi Arabia)
• King Faisal University (Saudi Arabia)
• King Khalid University (Saudi Arabia)
• King Saud University (Saudi Arabia)
• Lebanese American University (Beirut)
• Le Moyne College (Syracuse, NY)
• Misratah University (Libya)
• The Mount (Edith Wharton’s house, Lenox, MA)
• Oklahoma City Museum of Art
• Oklahoma State University
• Philadelphia Free Library
• Pierpont Morgan Library (New York City)
• Plovdiv University (Bulgaria)
• Pontifical Biblical Institute (Vatican)
• Princeton Theological Seminary
• Princeton University
• Pretoria University (South Africa)
• Purdue University
• St Louis University
• Sebha University (Libya)
• Sofia University (Bulgaria)
• Le Studium (Orléans)
• Timişoara University (Romania)
• Tower Hill Botanic Garden (Boylston MA)
• Tripoli University (Libya)
• Tromsø University (Arctic University of Norway)
• Universidad de Alcalá (Spain)
• Universidad de Las Palmas (Spain)
• Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain)
• Universitat de Lleida (Spain)
• Université de Fribourg (Switzerland)
• Université de Lausanne (Switzerland)
• Université de Strasbourg (France)
• Université Grenoble Alpes (France)
• University of British Columbia [summer school]
• University of Calgary [Bentall Lectures in Christian Theology]
• University of Cape Town
• University of Cologne
• University of Colombo (Sri Lanka)
• University of Colorado [Leo Miller Memorial Lecture]
• University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA) [James Spalding Memorial Lecture]
• University of Oslo [Maren-Sofie Røstvig Lectures]
• University of Port Elizabeth (South Africa)
• University of the Bosphorus (Istanbul)
• University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC)
• University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg, MS) [Charles Moorman Distinguished Professorship Lecture]
• University of Veliko Turnovo (Bulgaria)
• University of the Western Cape (Cape Town)
• University of Waterloo
• Witwatersrand University (Johannesburg)
• William Carey University (Hattiesburg, MS)
• Zawia University (Libya)

Additional academic and professional visits to universities outside Britain have included

• Bahrain (University of Bahrain and Arabian Gulf University)
• Bangladesh (University of Dhaka)
• Barbados (University of the West Indies, Cave Hill)
• Belgium (Lessius University College, Antwerp)
• Brunei (University of Brunei Darussalam)
• Bulgaria (universities in Blagoevgrad, Plovdiv, Shoumen, Sofia, Svishtov and Veliko Turnovo)
• China (12 universities in Beijing, Chongqing and Guangzhou)
• Czech Republic (Charles University, Prague)
• Denmark (universities in Aalborg, Copenhagen, Odense and Roskilde)
• Finland (University of Helsinki and University of Tampere)
• France (universities in Bordeaux, Grenoble, Paris and Strasbourg)
• Ghana (University of Ghana, Legon; KNUST, Kumasi; University of Cape Coast)
• Guyana (University of Guyana)
• Hong Kong (Hong Kong University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Science and Technology, Baptist University, City University and Lingnan University)
• Hungary (University of Debrecen)
• India (50+ universities and colleges
• Iran (in Tehran, University of Tehran, Sharif University of Technology, Amirkabir University of Technology, Art University of Tehran and Shahid Beheshti University; in Isfahan, University of Isfahan and Isfahan University of Technology; in Amol, Shomal University; in Ahvaz, Shahid Chamran University; in Kish, Kish University; visits to c. 20 campuses of Islamic Azad University)
• Italy (Florence. Università degli Studi di Firenze; Rome, the Venerable English College)
• Jamaica (University of the West Indies, Mona; University College of the Caribbean, Kingston; University of Technology, Kingston)
• Jordan (15 universities)
• Kuwait (Kuwait University)
• Luxembourg (University of Luxembourg)
• Macao (University of Macao)
• Malaysia (University of Malaya, University of Technology, University of Science, University of Malaysia Sabah Campus, University of Malaysia Sarawak Campus, National University, International Islamic University, MARA University of Technology)
• Malta (University of Malta)
• Mauritius (University of Mauritius and University of Technology)
• Nigeria (University of Abuja and University of Lagos)
• Oman (Sultan Qaboos University)
• Pakistan (12 universities in Sindh, Punjab, NWFP)
• Palestinian territories (Al-Najah National University, Bethlehem University and Birzeit University)
• Poland (Warsaw University)
• Qatar (Qatar University)
• Romania (universities in Bucharest, Cluj, Iaşi and Timişoara)
• Saudi Arabia (12 universities in Abha, Jeddah, Riyadh and Eastern Province)
• Serbia (University of Belgrade)
• Singapore (National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University)
• Spain (Universitat de Barcelona)
• Sri Lanka (University of Colombo)
• Sudan (University of Khartoum)
• Syria (University of Damascus)
• Tanzania (University of Dar es Salaam)
• Thailand (Chulalongkorn University and Thammasat University)
• Trinidad and Tobago (University of the West Indies, St Augustine)
• Turkey (c. 30 universities)
• Uganda (Makerere University)
• United Arab Emirates (12 universities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ajman and Sharjah)

I have also made educational visits (often to British Council Offices) to Antigua, Australia, Cyprus, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Kenya, Morocco, Nepal, St Lucia and St Vincent. Private visits that have subsequently provided material for publications include Argentina, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, British Antarctic Territory, Croatia, Falkland Islands, Faroes, Greece, Greenland, Iceland, India (for archives), Italy (for archives), Monaco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Peru, Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores), Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Georgia, Svalbard, Sweden, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay and the Vatican (for archives).

The King James Bible

2011 was the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Version of the Bible. Since then I have given more than 100 talks on the KJV in Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, France, India, Ireland, Israel, Romania, Switzerland, the United States and the Vatican. Venues have included cathedrals (Bristol, Ely, Exeter, Leicester, Lichfield, Norwich, Sheffield and Winchester), churches (Anglican/ Episcopal, Catholic, Methodist, United Reform), clubs (including the Athenaeum in London and the Harvard Club in New York), exhibitions (including Atlanta, Charlotte NC, Colorado Springs, Edinburgh, Jerusalem, Oklahoma City, Santa Clarita CA, and Springfield MO), libraries (including the Philadelphia Free Library), the Inns of Court (Gray's Inn), learned societies (including the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow), literary festivals (Althorp, Belfast, Bloxham, Oxford) and universities. I have also contributed to BBC radio and television programmes on the KJV. I published a monograph on the history of the King James Bible and an old-spelling edition of the 1611 text. The British government bought 21,144 copies of my edition of the Bible, and presented a copy to every primary and secondary school in England; a copy was presented to the then Duke of Edinburgh at a ceremony in the Banqueting House in Whitehall. In 2023 this edition was reworked as the Coronation Bible, which was printed in 12 specially bound copies, on the first of which King Charles III took his coronation oath. A new edition, with annotations on the 74 pages of preliminaries, will be published in 2026.

Degrees

• BA (University of Waterloo, Canada)
• MA (Queen’s University, Canada)
• DPhil (University of York)
• DLitt (University of York)
• Doctor honoris causa (University of Bucharest)
• Honorary DLitt (University of Leicester)

Elected Fellowships

• Fellow of the British Academy
• Member, Academia Europaea
• Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
• Fellow of the Linnean Society
• Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society
• Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
• Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
• Fellow of the Huguenot Society
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
• Fellow of the Zoological Society of London
• Honorary Fellow of the English Association
• Corresponding Fellow of the Southern African Society for Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Memberships

• Milton Society of America
• Renaissance Society of America
• Royal African Society
• Royal Horticultural Society
• Royal Society of Literature
• Selden Society (English legal history)
• Society for Renaissance Studies