巴特費爾德是一位具多樣性與爭議性的史家，這不僅因其兼具歷史家與宗教思想家的雙重身份，在探究真相與實踐信仰間的兩難；也不僅因其與納米爾學派長期的史學論爭；也因其在歷史研究上，尤其是對英國歷史的解釋上，呈現出似乎是前後矛盾的看法，故有評論者將其歸為托利派、也有將其歸為威格派、自由黨人或新威格，也有稱其為保守主義者。因此，在對巴特費爾德的研究上，不僅是難以將他歸類，對他的評價也有天壤之別。本文著重在討論巴特費爾德對英國歷史的認知與運用，尤其是其《威格的歷史解釋》與《英國人與其歷史》兩書所顯示的，他對威格史學的批判與運用。透過各種不同的批評者的評論，以及其與評論者問的論爭，來顯示巴特費爾德獨特的個性、複雜多樣的想法、其所受的時代的影響，以及其與時代互動的現象，以說明巴特費爾德由專門史家到威格史家的轉變。而此轉變所顯示的個人與時代的互動，乃是歷史家與時代互動的最佳範例。

Herbert Butterfield is one of the controversial English historians of the twentieth century. It is partly due to his dual roles of a historian and a religious thinker, to his controversy with the Namier school, and to the contradiction between his former and latter interpretations of English history. Therefore, it is not surprised that he could be categorized as a Tory, a Whig, a Liberal, a New Whig, or a Conservative. As a matter of fact, he could hardly be said to have fit any one expected category. The purpose of this essay is to discuss Butterfield's study and use of English history, especially his criticism and use of the Whig history in his two famous books, The Whig Interpretation of History and The Englishman and His History. By revealing the change of criticisms, and the controversies between Butterfield and his critics, we can know Butterfield's special personality, his various ideas, the influence of his time, his reaction to his time, and, most of all, the change of his role from a technical historian to a Whig historian.