I deeply saddened to learn today that renowned early modern historian Natalie Zemon Davis has died.

Natalie Zemon Davis was a brilliant historian of early modern French, European, Mediterranean, and global history. Natalie’s essays on unruly women, women’s honor, gender distinctions, religious riots, and print culture were transformative when they were published and they are still taught in graduate programs. The article on “rites of violence” is one of the most important works on the French Wars of Religion and in the broader interdisciplinary field of violence studies.

The Return of Martin Guerre is simply one of the most influential microhistories ever written and an amazing book to teach with undergraduate and graduate students.

Natalie did innovative research in women’s history, gender history, microhistory, cultural history, history of the book, Renaissance studies, Reformation studies, and film history. Few scholars do such groundbreaking research across so many distinct fields using interdisciplinary methodologies so effectively.

Natalie was also a generous scholar and a real mentor. She always sat at the front of the room during conference sessions and when discussion opened, she would immediately raised her hand to offer an enthusiastic, but probing question. I am sure that her loss will be a real shock to many who have worked closely with her. 

I had emailed with Natalie recently, but had not seen her in person in several years.

I am glad that I had a chance to take a graduate seminar with Natalie when she served as a visiting professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and later got other opportunities to collaborate with her at workshops and conferences over the years.

I will always remember Natalie’s warmth and joy, especially from her fabulous 90^th birthday celebration in Toronto during the Renaissance Society of America conference.