Robert Louis Benson papers, ca. 1955-1996
Finding aid prepared by Julianna Jenkins, April 2013; machine readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1575
(310) 825-4988
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
©2013 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Title: Robert Louis Benson papers
Collection number: 496
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
18.5 linear ft.
(19 boxes)
Date: c. 1955-1996
Abstract: Robert Louis Benson (b.1925 - d.1996) was a professor in the department of history at the University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA). The collection consists of research notes, the manuscript of
The Bishop Elect,a study in medieval ecclesiastical office (1968), manuscript transcriptions, articles for journals, galley and proof sheets, correspondence, microfilms, UCLA and Wesleyan
University course lecture notes, and UCLA departmental materials. Also included are manuscripts, notes, and correspondence
of Ernst Hartwig Kantorowicz, and materials relating to Kantorowicz that were in Benson's possession at the time of his death.
Language of Materials: English, Latin, German, French and Italian.
Creator:
Robert Louis Benson
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
COLLECTION CONTAINS DIGITAL MATERIALS: Special equipment or further processing may be required for viewing. To access digital
materials you must notify the reference desk in advance of your visit.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Robert Louis Benson Papers (Collection 496). Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, UCLA.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Papers were acquired from the estate of Robert Louis Benson in July 1997.
Processing Information
The collection was not organized when acquired. As a result, the organization was determined by the processor. The processor
also assigned the folder titles listed in Series 1, 2, and 4.
Biography
Robert Louis Benson was born on August 21, 1925 in Portland, Oregon. After military service in the US Army Air Corps (1943-1945),
he attended the University of California, Berkeley, BA (1950), the University of Munich, (1953-1955), and Princeton University,
where he received his MA (1953) and Ph.D. (1958).
Benson worked as an instructor at Barnard College and Columbia University from 1956 to 1959. He then taught as an assistant
professor (1959-1963), associate professor (1963-1968) and professor (1968-1975) at Wesleyan University (Middletown, Connecticut).
Other positions included: visiting associate professor (1961-1962) at Cornell University; visiting professor at the Free University
of Berlin (1973-1974); and lecturer (summer 1975) at the University of Poitiers. His last position was as a professor (1974-1994)
at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
While at Wesleyan University, Benson served as chair of the Department of History (1970-1972). After his arrival at UCLA,
Benson served on the Publications Committee of the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (1976-1985) and as editor
of
Viator. Benson was a member of the Institute of Medieval Canon Law, serving on the Advisory Board, the Board of Directors, and as
Secretary Treasurer. He was also Vice-President of the International Society of Medieval Canon Law.
Benson was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Munich (1953-1955), a Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies
(1964-1965), a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton during Fall 1977, and a Fellow of the Medieval Academy
of America. He was also a Senior Fellow at the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library from 1982-1983. He served as a Corresponding
Member, Zentraldirektion, Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Benson was invited to present the Carlyle Lectures at Oxford University
during the 1989-1990 academic year.
Benson published
The Bishop-elect: A Study in Mediaeval Ecclesiastical Office in 1968. With Giles Constable, Benson co-edited
Renaissance and Renewal in the Twelfth Century (1982) and co-wrote the introduction. Benson also contributed the article, "Political Renovation: Two Models from Roman Antiquity"
to that volume.
Benson died on February 18, 1996 in Los Angeles, California.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of: notes, manuscripts, galley and proof sheets, correspondence, microfilm, UCLA and Wesleyan University
course lecture notes, and UCLA departmental materials of history professor Robert Benson. The manuscripts of
The Bishop Elect, a study in medieval ecclesiastical office and articles for journals are included. Also included in the collection are certain manuscripts, notes, and correspondence
created by Ernst Hartwig Kantorowicz and materials relating to Kantorowicz that were in Benson's possession at the time of
Benson's death in 1996.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Benson, Robert Louis, 1925- --Archives.
Kantorowicz, Ernst Hartwig, 1895-1963 --Archives.
University of California, Los Angeles. Department of History --Faculty --Archival resources.
Genres and Forms of Material
manuscripts for publication.
Series 1. Correspondence.
c.1955 - 1996.
Physical Description:
2.0 boxes
Scope and Content
Series 1 contains Benson's professional correspondence dating from the mid-1950s until he died in 1996. The correspondence
is filed in alphabetical order by last name of correspondent and includes correspondence from John Benton, Peter Classen,
Giles Constable, Hurst Fuhrman, Robert Figueira, Ralph Giesey, John H. Mundy, Robert Somerville, Brian Tierney, and John Van
Engen.
Box 1
A-F.
c.1958-1996.
Physical Description:
1.0 box
Box 2
G-Z.
c.1958-1996.
Physical Description:
0.5 box
Series 2. Subject files.
c. 1955 - 1996.
Physical Description:
15 boxes (14.5 linear ft.)
Scope and Content
Series 2 contains Benson's miscellaneous research notes collected into folders and arranged alphabetically by the folder heading
(title). Series 2 includes: Benson's major research topics and all notes, drafts and finished versions of Benson's papers
and lectures and presentations resulting from his research; and materials relating to Benson's book,
The Bishop Elect a study in medieval ecclesiastical office (1968). Major topics of interest to Benson found in Series 2 include Boncompagno da Signa; Frederick Barbarossa; Election;
Gratian and the canonists; and the people and events germane to the development of papal/imperial relations of the High Middle
Ages.
Series 2 also includes a collection of research note cards created by Benson; a miscellaneous assortment of offprints presented
to Benson by other scholars; manuscript transcriptions, microfiches, microfilms and photographic prints used in Benson's research:
and manuscript inventories created by Benson.
Series 2 contains materials relating to the joint Harvard/UCLA conference held in 1977 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of
the publication of Charles Homer Haskin's
Renaissance of the Twelfth Century. Finally, Series 2 includes materials relating to Ernst Kantorowicz that were in Benson's possession.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
SERIES CONTAINS DIGITAL MATERIALS: Special equipment or further processing may be required for viewing. To access digital
materials you must notify the reference desk in advance of your visit.
Box 2
"A" research notes -- Bishop, Metropolitan and Primate.
Physical Description:
0.5 box
Box 3
Boncompagno and Libertas in Italy -- Election.
Physical Description:
1.0 box
Box 4
Election, continued -- "H" Research notes.
Physical Description:
1.0 boxes
Box 5
Haskins Conference -- "I" research notes.
Physical Description:
1.0 box
Box 6
Iconeme, Narrative and Order -- Manuscripts.
Physical Description:
1.0 box
Scope and Content
Box 6 contains Benson's research microfiche, prints and transcriptions and materials that relate to the life and work of Ernst
Kantorowicz but which were not generated by Kantorowicz. Box 6 also contains a file relating to Kantorowicz's connection to
the Stefan George Kreis and correspondence between Benson and Marion Doenhoff regarding Kantorowicz and the George Kreis.
Box 7
Melnikas corpus appendix -- Provincia Regnum.
Physical Description:
1.0 box
Box 8
Poetry and prose composed by Benson -- Wesleyan [University, Middletown, Connecticut].
Physical Description:
1.0 box
Box 9
Inventories of manuscripts by various canonists, including Gratian and Gelasius, arranged by Benson according to manuscript
location and type.
n.d.
Physical Description:
1.0 box
Box 10
Inventories of canonist manuscripts listed on note cards.
n.d.
Box 12
Manuscript microfilms, 3.5 inch floppy disks, and research slides.
n.d.
Boxes 14-16
Miscellaneous offprints presented to Benson by various colleagues. Unorganized.
Series 3. Ernst Hartwig Kantorowicz files.
c. 1931 - 1961.
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
3.0 boxes
Scope and Content
Series 3 contains drafts, research notes,and source materials generated or possessed by Ernst Hartwig Kantorowicz (b.1895
- d.1963). The materials are organized alphabetically by topical folder heading using Kantorowicz's folder headings when possible.
Many of the folder headings are in German.
Box 17
Actus primus incipit feliciter.
n.d.
Box 17
Alt Testament - Heilige.
n.d.
Box 17
Ars Distandi/Bildungsethik.
n.d.
Box 17
Bilderweibe Marienbilder.
n.d.
Box 17
Byzantinische Kroenung.
n.d.
Box 17
Carneval and Fasten.
n.d.
Box 17
Centesimum miliarium.
n.d.
Box 17
Coronation - The Sacring of the East Frankish Carolingians.
n.d.
Box 17
Correspondence.
c.1941 - 1962.
Box 17
Correspondence between Kantorowicz and Benson.
c.1951 - 1961.
Box 17
Geheime Deutschland.
n.d.
Box 17
Guido Farba/Ars Dictandi.
n.d.
Box 17
Herrscherbild - Heiligenbild.
n.d.
Box 17
Heutigen Deutschen Historikertages.
n.d.
Box 17
Jerusalem - Romidee.
n.d.
Box 17
Juden in d. Liturgie.
n.d.
Box 17
The King's Deportment.
n.d.
Box 18
Litany of the Saints.
n.d.
Box 18
Liturgical Kingship and Divine Right.
n.d.
Box 18
Manuscripts: Stefan George; Deutsches Papsttum; and two unidentified papers.
c.1931-1939.
Box 18
Militans (ecclesia).
n.d.
Box 18
Monarchie-Monotheism.
n.d.
Box 18
Mystologie, Theologie.
n.d.
Box 18
Normannen (S. Italy).
n.d.
Box 18
Ohlig's Image of the Emperor in the Song of Roland.
n.d.
Box 18
Palmzweige (Palm Sunday).
n.d.
Box 18
Papst-Portraits-Iconographia.
n.d.
Box 18
Paris B.N. Lat. 8567 Notes.
n.d.
Box 18
Pater et Filius, Rex et Sacerdos.
n.d.
Box 18
Prince and Scientiae.
n.d.
Box 18
Renaissance-Liturgie.
n.d.
Box 18
Sacramentalism saec. X/XI.
n.d.
Box 18
Saenger scholae (als Engel).
n.d.
Box 18
Seneca and Glossators.
n,d..
Box 18
Sinne (Hierarchy of the Five Senses).
n.d.
Box 18
Spanien [Liturgica].
n.d.
Box 18
Toga Picta of Justinian.
n.d.
Box 18
Tractatus Eboracenses Notes.
n.d.
Box 18
Unclassified Research Notes.
n.d.
Physical Description:
2.0 folders
Box 18
XP [Christ] Interrex.
n.d.
Box 18
XP [Christ] imperator.
n.d.
Box 18
XPC [Christ]: Achilles.
n.d.
Box 18
XPC [Christ]: Gott-Vater.
n.d.
Box 18
XPC [Christ] nomina devina.
n.d.
Box 18
XPC [Christ] - Pontifex.
n.d.
Box 18
Karolingiana-Aachen: Rom.
n.d.
Box 18
Karolingiana-Arianisme Staaten und Imp. Rom.[Imperial Rome].
n.d.
Box 18
Karolingiana-Antisemitismus, Karol.
n.d.
Box 18
Karolingiana-Europa - Begriff (Karol.).
n.d.
Box 18
Karolingiana-Renovatio Regni Francorum.
n.d.
Box 18
Karolingiana-St. Denis.
n.d.
Box 18
Ottonen: Salier-Heinrich III.
n.d.
Box 18
Ottonen: Salier-Himmelfahrt Mariae: Otto III - Poem.
n.d.
Box 18
Ottonen: Salier-Otto III.
n.d.
Box 19
Offprints of articles written by Kantorowicz presented to Benson.
n.d.
Physical Description:
1.0 document box (0.5 linear ft.)
Series 4. UCLA.
c.1974-1996.
Physical Description:
4 folders (0.5 linear ft.)
Scope and Content
Series 4 contains UCLA University records generated by the UCLA Department of History and the UCLA Center for Medieval and
Renaissance Studies.
Box 2
UCLA materials.
Physical Description:
4.0 folders
