November 16, 1971
Augustin Thierry (10 May 1795 – 22 May 1856) was a pioneering French historian best known for transforming the study of medieval history through a narrative and social lens.
As a young man, Thierry worked as Saint-Simon’s secretary and collaborator around 1814–1817, and was deeply influenced by Saint-Simon’s insistence that history should focus on social structures, economic forces, and the progress of human society rather than merely political events or great individuals.
Thierry sought to move beyond chronicles of kings and battles to focus on the lived experiences of peoples and social groups. His most famous work, History of the Conquest of England by the Normans (1825), portrayed the Norman Conquest as a long struggle between conquering elites and subjugated populations, emphasizing ethnic, legal, and social conflict.
Thierry eventually distanced himself from the more speculative and utopian aspects of Saint-Simonian thought. While Saint-Simon moved toward broad social and industrial reform theories, Thierry chose a more empirical and scholarly path, and his methodological shift toward archival research and sources marked a lasting contribution to historical scholarship.