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Burns (Robert I.) papers
LSC.1094
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Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Robert I. Burns papers
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.1094
Physical Description:
47.6 Linear Feet
(99 boxes, 15 flat boxes, and 2 oversize boxes)
Date (inclusive): circa 1561-2010
Language of Material: Materials are primarily in English. Some materials in Spanish, Catalan, French, German, Latin, Italian, Arabic, and Romanian.
Abstract: Robert Ignatius Burns was born in 1921 in San Francisco, CA, and attended the University of San Francisco (USF) before entering
the Society of Jesus in 1940. Burns was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1952, followed by a year of ascetical study
in Florence, Italy in 1954. He did doctoral work in medieval history at John Hopkins University and University of Fribourg.
While he primarily wrote on Islamic Spain and the medieval Mediterranean region, he was also a historian of Jesuit history
in the Pacific Northwest, both of which exemplified his interest in frontier areas, colonial conquest, acculturation, cultural
antagonism, exploitation, and inter-group relations. The collection consists of manuscripts, typescripts, galley sheets, and
miscellaneous materials related to Burns's writings on Medieval Spanish history, the Crusades, and Muslim minorities in the
Iberian Peninsula, as well as personal and academic correspondence, documents, and other materials.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance
using the request button located on this page.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Copyright to portions of this collection has been assigned to the UCLA Library Special Collections. The library can grant
permission to publish for materials to which it holds the copyright. All requests for permission to publish must be submitted
in writing to Library Special Collections. Credit shall be given as follows: The Regents of the University of California on
behalf of the UCLA Library Special Collections.
[Identification of item], Robert Ignatius Burns papers (Collection 1094). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Robert Ignatius Burns; gift; 1971-77. Addition; 2005.
Initial acquisition processed by Saundra Taylor; additions processed by Anne Ager and Manuscripts Division staff, 2004. File-level
description was supplied by Larry Simon in 2012. Collection-level and series notes enhanced and further intellectual and physical
arrangement completed by Krystell Jimenez in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT) in 2018, under the supervision
of Angel Diaz.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
709529
Robert Ignatius Burns was born in 1921 in San Francisco, CA, and attended the University of San Francisco (USF) before entering
the Society of Jesus in 1940. He also received a BA in Classical Studies in 1945 and a MA and licentiate in philosophy in
1947 from Gonzaga University, and a MA in medieval history from Fordham University in 1950. Burns was ordained as a Roman
Catholic priest in 1952, followed by a year of ascetical study in Florence, Italy in 1954. He did doctoral work in medieval
history at John Hopkins University and University of Fribourg. He primarily wrote on Islamic Spain and the medieval Mediterranean
region, but was also interested in frontier areas, colonial conquest, acculturation, cultural antagonism, exploitation, and
inter-group relations. In addition to his doctoral work, Burns was he was also a historian of Jesuits in the Pacific Northwest.
His teaching career began in 1947 as a history instructor at USF, where he taught for 20 years before moving to UCLA in 1976.
At UCLA he established the Institute of Medieval Mediterranean Spain in Playa del Rey, California, which houses a library
of over 7,500 books and scholarly materials dealing with eastern Spain and the Mediterranean world of the Middle Ages, and
Catalonian history and culture. After retiring from UCLA in 1991, he continued to teach seminars, direct reading courses,
and advise graduate students. Burns was also member of the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and the UCLA Center
for Near Eastern Studies, a corresponding member of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans, and a member of the Patronato Nacional
del Misterio de Elche. He was a co-editor of the CMRS journal
Viator for a decade, and sat on a number of editorial boards. Burns died at the age of 87 on November 22, 2008 in Regis Infirmary,
Sacred Heart Jesuit Center, Los Gatos, CA.
His work includes some 30 books, more than 200 articles and chapters in books, 200 historical abstracts, and numerous reviews.
His published books include, among others,
Islam under the Crusaders: Colonial Survival in the Thirteenth-Century Kingdom of Valencia (1974),
The Jesuits and the Indian Wars of the Northwest (1966),
Medieval Colonialism: Postcrusade Exploitation of Islamic Valencia (1976), and
Diplomatarium of the Crusader Kingdom of Valencia: The Registered Charters of its Conqueror, Jaume I, 1257–76, (1985–2007), 4 volumes. The fifth volume of
Diplomatarium was completed at the time of his death and he was preparing to oversee its publication.
This collection consists of materials related to the writings, teaching career, research, and personal life of UCLA History
Professor Robert I. Burns. The papers include drafts, correspondence, and notes regarding Burns's various works as a published
author; maps, prints, and rare books from his personal collection; correspondence with publishers, colleagues, students, and
friends; lecture and seminar notes; and research materials. Subject files related to Burns's personal life and education include
his terms papers, dissertations, datebook, curriculum vitae and biographical materials.
The acronyms used include:
The Crusader Kingdom of Valencia: Reconstruction on a Thirteenth-Century Frontier (CKV);
Christian-Islamic Confrontation in the West: The Thirteenth-Century Dream of Conversion (CICW);
Diplomatarium of the Crusader Kingdom of Valencia (DCKV);
Emperor of Culture: Alfonso X the Learned of Castile and His Thirteenth-Century Renaissance (EC);
Islam Under the Crusaders: Colonial Survival in the Thirteenth-Century Kingdom of Valencia (IUC);
Jaume I i els Valencians del Segle XIII (JVS);
The Jesuits and the Indian Wars of the Northwest (JIWN);
Jews in the Notarial Culture: Latinate Wills in Mediterranean Spain, 1250–1350 (JNC);
Medieval Colonialism: Postcrusade Exploitation of Islamic Valenci (MC);
Muslims Christians; and Jews in the Crusader Kingdom of Valencia: Societies in Symbiosis (MCJCKV);
Negotiating Cultures: Bilingual Surrender Treaties in Muslim-Crusader Spain under James the Conqueror (NC);
Las Siete Partidas (LSP);
Spanish Islam in Transition: Acculturative Survival and its Price in the Christian kingdom of Valencia, 1240-1280 (SIT); and
The Worlds of Alfonso the Learned and James the Conqueror: Intellect and Force in the Middle Ages (WALJC).
This collection has been arranged in the following series:
- Series 1: Publications, 1958-2003
- Series 2: Journal articles and other publications, 1946-2010
- Series 3: Maps, prints, and books, circa 1561-1984
- Series 4: Correspondence, 1945-2010
- Series 5: UCLA activities and administrative materials, 1947-2006
- Series 6: Subject files, 1941-2006
Janelle Viglini papers (1349). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Manuscripts for publication.
Islamic Empire -- History, 750-1258 -- Research.
Spain -- History, 711-1516 -- Research.
Historians -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archives.
University of California, Los Angeles--Faculty -- Archives
Burns, Robert I., 1921-2008--Archives. -- Archives