MARCIA COLISH

COLISH--Marcia. Marcia Colish, who received the Medieval Academy of America's Haskins Medal in 1998 for Peter Lombard, her two-volume study of the pivotal twelfth-century theologian, and was celebrated for her legendary teaching and classroom presence at Oberlin College, died on April 9 in New Haven, CT. She was 86. Professor Colish's books, invited lectures, and more than 90 articles and chapters in books, plus her articulate presence at international conferences, secured her recognition as one of the most outstanding scholars of the intellectual history of the Medieval period, which in her work she extended into the Classical world as well as Late Antiquity and the Renaissance and Reformation. Her classroom presence at Oberlin, which was marked by a distinctive Long Island accent, was caught in a 1998 Readings column in the Washington Post by Michael Dirda, looking back to his time at Oberlin: "Prof. Colish taught the richest, most mind-expanding course of my entire academic career: The Intellectual History of the Middle Ages. I realize now that she could scarcely have been more than 30, but there was no doubting her vast learning even then. She spoke machine-gun fast in a brassy voice, and you had to focus to keep up with her plum-packed lectures." She was born in Brooklyn, NY, the daughter of Dr. Samuel and Daisy K. Colish, who later moved to Rockville Centre, NY. She attended Smith College where she received the B.A. degree in 1958 magna cum laude along with the Hazel Edgerly Prize and Phi Beta Kappa. She received her M.A. (l959) and PhD. (1965) degrees from Yale University, where she studied with two distinguished historians of Christianity, Roland Bainton and Jaroslav Pelikan. After teaching briefly at Skidmore, Professor Colish joined the faculty of Oberlin College where she taught until retiring in 2001 as the Frederick B. Artz Professor of History. Upon retiring from Oberlin, she moved to Guilford, CT so that she could be nearer to Long Island Sound and Yale University. From 2001 until her death, she pursued research at Yale as a Fellow and was on occasions Visiting Professor of Religious Studies and History and a Lecturer in the Medieval Studies Program. In 1999 Grinnell College honored her with a D.H.L. (hon.) and in 2014 she received a D.S.L. (hon.) from the University of St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto. Professor Colish knew few equals in the realm of medieval intellectual history. In addition to her frequent participation at international conferences in North America and Europe, she was invited to give the Etienne Gilson lecture at the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies in 2000 and the Marianist Award Lecture at the University of Dayton. Her penetrating analysis, clear thought and expression, vast knowledge, and sharp wit enlivened many lectures as well as conversations with colleagues and friends. She was a gourmet cook who could combine in an email, both a recipe for Spezzatino di vitello con piselli (Veal stew with peas) and a "recipe" for curricular change to promote a broader study of the classical tradition in a major university. In addition to food, she was devoted to opera, often traveling great distances for performances, and to mystery novels, acrostics, and crossword puzzles. She was a warm and thoughtful friend, a wise mentor to many students and younger historians, and a much- sought-after advisor by universities, professional societies, history departments, and publishers. As one of her students who followed her path to academia put it, Marcia Colish was an example of how a woman can lead the Life of the Mind. A Guggenheim Fellowship in 1989-90 made it possible for her to complete her Haskins award book, Peter Lombard. Early in her career she won the Rome Prize, with residence for a year at the American Academy in Rome. Other fellowships and awards took her to major universities and research centers to pursue her research and writing. She also held a Writing Residency at Villa Serbelloni (Bellagio, Italy) and an appointment as a Member of the School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University (1986-87). Elected a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America in 1988, she served as President of the Academy in 1991-92. Her publications in addition to Peter Lombard show the breadth of her interests and scholarship. The Mirror of Language: A Study in the Medieval Theory of Knowledge (1968; rev. ed. 1983), ranged from Augustine to Dante. Her second book was a massive two-volume study of the Stoic philosophical tradition in the classical world and then in the Christian tradition in the first six centuries C.E. (1985). Next came her magisterial volume in the Yale Intellectual History of the West series: Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition, 400-1400 (1997; Italian tr. 2001; Chinese tr. 2009). This covered Christian, Jewish, and Islamic foundations as well as topics like courtly love literature, women writers, mysticism, and political theory as only someone who had thought deeply and taught brilliantly about this for decades could. Her Gilson lecture was published as Remapping Scholasticism (2000). Her two final books also returned to the Christian tradition: Ambrose's Patriarchs: Ethics for the Common Man (2005) and Faith, Fiction and Force in Medieval Baptismal Debates (2014). Her papers were collected in two volumes: Studies in Scholasticism (2006) and The Fathers and Beyond: Church Fathers between Ancient and Medieval Thought (2008). In 2002 colleagues, friends, and former students gathered with Professor Colish at the Claremont Graduate School to celebrate her career with a symposium that resulted in the festschrift, Mind Matters: Studies of Medieval and Early Modern Intellectual History in Honour of Marcia Colish (2009). Marcia Colish is survived by her sister, Faith Colish, and many loving cousins. Memorial Service will be announced later. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to a charity of your choice.