User talk:Charles Freeman

Managing a conflict of interest
Hello, Charles Freeman. We welcome your contributions, but if you have an external relationship with the people, places or things you have written about in the article Charles Freeman (historian), you may have a conflict of interest (COI). Editors with a COI may be unduly influenced by their connection to the topic. Editing for the purpose of advertising or promotion is not permitted. See the conflict of interest guideline and FAQ for organizations for more information. We ask that you:


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In addition, you must disclose your employer, client, and affiliation with respect to any contribution for which you receive, or expect to receive, compensation (see WP:PAID).

Also please note that editing for the purpose of advertising, publicising, or promoting anyone or anything is not permitted. Thank you. ! dave 09:25, 9 December 2017 (UTC)

Thanks, Dave. I have sent some points to the info-en-q website and I hope that they at least make the booklist accurate as they can be checked independently. Although I know some people who are worked up about the inaccuracies in the article (no reader would have any idea what en historiker is talking about in the Academic Criticism section and I doubt many readers will know about the turf wars between the Christianity brought science or suppressed it which is discussed in one of my books Closing of the Western Mind which has brought out the Numbers,Lindberg, Bentley Hart, en historiker clique against me), life is too short to change it when I have enough positive material about me and my books easily accessible on the internet. Still it would be nice one day if someone brought in my Egypt, Greece and Rome(Oxford University Press) which has been a standard university textbook for twenty years and on which my academic reputation has rested. Goodness I would not want to be a Wiki editor- few would know the turf wars that go on behind the scenes in the academic world as with my Closing of the Western Mind and which spill over here through en historiker ( actually someone called ) who has irritated anyone who writes positively about Closing for years. As he has had no discernible impact on my reputation let him rave on if he wants to! Regards, Charles Freeman.
 * I have, however, removed much about your personal life and early life; our biographies of living persons policy gives us a free hand to immediately remove unsourced content, or content where there is not an inline citation (I note two refs at the bottom of the page but they haven't been used as inline refs in the article). If you want any more assistance with this article I would suggest speaking to our Volunteer Response Team at info-en-q 'at' wikimedia.org (replace the 'at' with @, just want to prevent spam), and not attempt to fix anything yourself. If you could provide us with any reliable secondary sources to support the content removed, or any other info remaining, you still can do so here, and I will be happy to make the revisions to the article. Thanks, ! dave  09:30, 9 December 2017 (UTC)

Request edit. Please consider adding this to the Academic Criticism section of Charles Freeman (historian).

Charles Freeman has a global reputation as a classical and medieval historian. Although freelance, he is widely reviewed and supported at university level. Among his many internationally reviewed books are:

1) Egypt, Greece and Rome, Oxford University Press, first edition, 1996, second edition, 2004, third edition, 2014. "Charles Freeman is my favourite universal historian of the ancient world, which he interprets in the broadest geographical and temporal senses ... This new edition of Egypt, Greece, and Rome cannot be recommended too highly as the one-stop shop for all historically curious travellers in these eternally and endlessly fascinating lands." -Professor Paul Cartledge, formerly A.G. Levantis Professor of Greek Culture, Cambridge University "Freeman's survey of the ancient world is a remarkable achievement ... The book is written in a clear and approachable style ideally suited to the target audience, which is defined as the general reader and students in need of a foundation text to guide them into the study of the great and important cultures of antiquity. This new edition will certainly ensure that Freeman's study will continue to hold its place as a classic introduction to the ancient world in all its aspects." - Professor Alan B. Lloyd, President of the Egypt Exploration Society "This admirably ambitious work provides a very useful introduction to three of the great civilizations of the Ancient World: Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Charles Freeman should be applauded for having taken on this gargantuan task." - Professor Richard Miles, University of Sydney "Freeman is to be commended for the scope and detail of the work ... [it] is beautifully illustrated and written in clear and clever prose. Freeman writes with the authority not only of a historian, but also an archaeologist ... and a traveler who has trod the well-worn paths of our ancient forebears. His rigorous approach ensures that the book will continue to be an authoritative survey of the history and culture of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions." - Carrie L. Sulosky Weaver, The Classical Journal Online

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/egypt-greece-and-rome.

2) A New History of Early Christianity, Yale University Press, 2009.

A New History of Early Christianity" is a masterful book, and a pleasure to read. Freeman narrates the development, diversity, and spread of Christianity with originality and verve. It is a story that brims over with fascinating accounts, intriguing quotations from figures in the ancient Mediterranean, and illuminating historical analysis. It is also a crucial resource for our understanding of ongoing cultural negotiations of religious and political spheres, all those theologico-political paradoxes that face us now more than ever. I do not think there exists a more engaging and illuminating history of early Christianity than this one.' - Ward Blanton, University of Glasgow, now Reader in Biblical Cultures and European Thought at the University of Kent in Canterbury,  author of Displacing Christian Origins: Philosophy, Secularity, and the New Testament

'Even those who are adherents to Christianity may be puzzled by the tensions which exist in its primary sources, and this meticulous attempt to probe its origins and development is to be welcomed. Charles Freeman embraces the different kinds of approaches and positions which are found in the ancient texts, Christian and otherwise, painting a vivid picture of the nature of Christianity in all its diversity in the earliest centuries of its existence.' - Christopher Rowland, Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford, author of Christian Origins.

'This is a bold and imaginative historical synthesis which fills an important need. For the first time, Freeman makes the complex story of Christianity's birth and early development available in concise, lively, eminently readable form. A tragic story in many ways, but a great pleasure to read.' - Richard Rubenstein, author of When Jesus Became God.

Access book title

3) Holy Bones, Holy Dust, How Relics Shaped the History of Medieval Europe, Yale University Press, 2011

'In Holy Bones, Holy Dust, Charles Freeman presents the massive history of relic veneration in a way that is at the same time comprehensive, compulsive and accessible. This is no mean achievement.'—Paul Fouracre, Professor of Medieval History, University of Manchester, Author: Frankland: The Franks and the World of Medieval Europe

'Charles Freeman's new book is absorbing, wide-ranging and rigorous, while remaining constantly accessible. There is much original material here and many fresh insights; Freeman's eye for intriguing stories never wavers.'—John Cornwell, Director of the Science and Human Dimension Project at Jesus College, Cambridge, author of Newman's Unquiet Grave: the Reluctant Saint

“Charles Freeman’s Holy Bones, Holy Dust is a shrewd and readable account of one of the more significant aspects of the spiritual life of the Middle Ages.”—Jonathan Sumption, Justice of the Supreme Court, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, author of The Hundred Years War. Literary Review

"This is a history not just of relics and holy objects but of the place they had, not just in the religious but in the whole life of medieval Europe; in war, in peace, in trade, in politics and in the small details of daily living. Fascinating in itself, this book offers a perspective not only on questions about the past but also on questions about the sacred and the profane, both explicit and the implicit." —Christine E. King, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, formerly Vice-Chancellor of Staffordshire University. Implicit Religion

Freeman's Holy Bones, Holy Dust is a thoughtful, engaging introduction into the uses and abuses of medieval relics. As a book intended to introduce modern audiences to the varieties and oddities of relic devotion, it does its job very well. The short chapters with their often-fascinating stories of miracles and political intrigue make the book a quick and absorbing read. That Freeman's work will introduce recent academic work on relics to a non-specialist audience is surely to be commended. Holy Bones, Holy Dust deserves to attract a large readership. Combing its fascinating topic with its sure prose, it is certain to do so. — Donna Trembinski, Professor of History, St. Francis Xavier University

“The strength of this book is its compelling sense of storytelling. . . . In chapters where the scholarship is particularly rich and focused,. . . Freeman's ability to write exciting narrative sweeps one along. Generally there are big themes—politics, religion, conflict, and resolution—but there also are many telling anecdotes and a sense of the personal and the touchingly human.”—Cynthia Hahn, Professor of Art History, Hunter College, New York. Author, The Reliquary Effect: Enshrining the Sacred Object. Catholic Historical Review

Charles Freeman (talk) 11:07, 15 December 2017 (UTC)
 * I will not accept this edit request because the only thing which appears to not be a quote is too full of WP:PEACOCK terms, thus violating WP:NPOV. The rest is not encyclopedic, it appears to be mainly be WP:LONGQUOTEs which should be discouraged. Also, please do not out other user's real life names or any other personal information if they have not published such information on Wikipedia. I have contacted oversight to scrub out En historiker's name from the public records. Thanks, ! dave  14:34, 15 December 2017 (UTC)

Hi Dave, I am sorry that you have not accepted this edit but it is not important as all the information is readily available online. At least you can see that en historiker (who repeats exactly the same sources under various pseudonyms whenever there is a positive review of Closing and so is easily identifiable under his real name) does not accurately reflect the reception of my work. If Wikipedia cannot put his entries alongside what I have just provided here and see that there is a smelly rat, there is little more that I can do! Please reflect on this. Regards, Charles Freeman. Charles Freeman (talk) 16:14, 15 December 2017 (UTC)

P.S."All encyclopedic content on Wikipedia must be written from a neutral point of view (NPOV), which means representing fairly, proportionately, and, as far as possible, without editorial bias, all of the significant views that have been published by reliable sources on a topic." Well, I would have thought that my entry was just that! Obviously after forty years as a professional historian I can't provide 'all' the significant views about my work but I have deliberately used reliable sources and shown why they are reliable a) by coming from a university press website b) by coming from academics of high standing. Still,let's leave it at that. I would not have bothered to get involved if there had not been some concern expressed by a third party over the intrusion of en historiker. As comparison with my edit will show he offends WP.NOV outrageously! (Just look at the reviews of Closing of the Western Mind on amazon.com to see how hopelessly unrepresentative he is of 'all the significant views'.) I appreciate the difficulties you have in deciding what to put in and keep out but an individual must have some means of defending himself! Charles Freeman (talk) 16:30, 15 December 2017 (UTC)