November 9, 2005
Director of Media Relations
413/542-8417
AMHERST, Mass.—The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded an emeritus fellowship to Fredric Cheyette, a professor emeritus of history at Amherst College. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Emeritus Fellowships provide research support for outstanding retired scholars in the humanities and social sciences who are continuing their scholarly pursuits. Cheyette will use his award to continue on his research into the changes in Europe's rural environment from antiquity through the 16th century. Cheyette also will travel in Europe, visiting archeological sites and archives.
Cheyette is the author of the award-winning Ermengard of Narbonne and the World of the Troubadours (2001), the story of a 12th-century warrior princess best known "among the poets and songsmiths." In earlier work Cheyette explored royal justice in France, the place of law in the origins of the state and the history of the European landscape from late Roman to medieval times.
Cheyette, who had taught at Amherst since 1963, retired in 2005. He received an A.B. from Princeton University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the country. It makes grants on a selective basis to institutions in higher education, museums and art conservation, performing arts, population, conservation and the environment, and public affairs. Cheyette is one of 17 fellows selected from among the nominations submitted by universities and colleges from across the country that were invited to participate.
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