Jonathan Simon Christopher Riley-Smith (27 June 1938 – 13 September 2016) was a historian of the Crusades, and, between 1994 and 2005, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Cambridge. He was a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Early life

Riley-Smith was the eldest of four children born into a prosperous Yorkshire brewing family. His maternal grandfather (to whose memory he later dedicated his book What Were the Crusades?) was the British Conservative Party MP, John Craik-Henderson (1890-1971). He attended Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took his BA (1960), MA (1964), PhD (1964), and LittD (2001).

Academic career

Riley-Smith taught at the University of St Andrews (1964–1972), Queens' College, Cambridge (1972-1978), Royal Holloway College, London (1978–1994) as well as at Emmanuel (1994–2005). His many respected publications on the origins of the crusading movement and the motivations of the first crusaders have deeply influenced current historiography of the crusades: in an appreciative obituary, a senior colleague described Riley-Smith as "quite simply the leading historian of the crusades anywhere in the world". He was appointed a Knight of Grace and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and a Bailiff Grand Cross of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. Riley-Smith appeared in the documentary series Crusades (1995) as an historical authority. However, the series adopted the views of Steven Runciman, which were not held by Riley-Smith. The producers then edited the taped interviews so that the historians seemed to agree with Runciman. Riley-Smith said of the producers that "they made me appear to say things that I do not believe!" In 2006, he delivered the Gifford Lectures on The Crusades and Christianity at the University of Edinburgh.

Personal life

Riley-Smith was a convert to Catholicism. He married Louise Field, a portrait artist, in 1968. Their three children include the singer/songwriter Polly Paulusma. Jonathan Riley-Smith died on 13 September 2016.