Hector Munro Chadwick
Encyclopedia
Hector Munro Chadwick was an English philologist and historian, professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Cambridge
(1912–41). He helped develop an integral approach to Old English studies. With his wife, Nora Kershaw Chadwick
, he compiled a multi-volume survey of oral tradition
s and oral poetry
, published 1932-1940. In this he further developed the theory of a Heroic Age
which he had previously stated in a publication of 1912.
He was born in Thornhill, West Yorkshire
, and was educated at Wakefield Grammar School and Clare College, Cambridge
. He was Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon
at the University of Cambridge
from 1912 to 1941.
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
(1912–41). He helped develop an integral approach to Old English studies. With his wife, Nora Kershaw Chadwick
Nora Kershaw Chadwick
Nora Kershaw Chadwick , CBE, was a noted medievalist.-Background:Chadwick was born in Lancashire in 1891. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge and lectured at St Andrews during World War I. She returned to Cambridge in 1919 to study Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse under...
, he compiled a multi-volume survey of oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
s and oral poetry
Oral poetry
Oral poetry can be defined in various ways. A strict definition would include only poetry that is composed and transmitted without any aid of writing. However, the complex relationships between written and spoken literature in some societies can make this definition hard to maintain, and oral...
, published 1932-1940. In this he further developed the theory of a Heroic Age
Heroic Age (literary theory)
In 20th century studies of oral poetry and traditional literature, the Heroic Age was postulated as a stage in the development of human societies likely to give rise to legends about heroic deeds. According to some theorists, oral epic poetry would be created at the same period, and would be...
which he had previously stated in a publication of 1912.
He was born in Thornhill, West Yorkshire
Thornhill, West Yorkshire
Thornhill, is a village in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Thornhill was absorbed into Dewsbury County Borough in 1910. It is located on a hill on the south side of the River Calder, and has extensive views of Dewsbury, Ossett and Wakefield...
, and was educated at Wakefield Grammar School and Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...
. He was Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon
Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon
The Elrington and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon is the senior professorship in Anglo-Saxon at the University of Cambridge.The chair was founded in 1878 when an earlier gift from Joseph Bosworth, Rawlinsonian Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, had increased in value sufficiently to support...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
from 1912 to 1941.
Works
- Studies in Anglo-SaxonAnglo-SaxonsAnglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
Institutions (1905) - The Origin of the English Nation (1907)
- The Heroic AgeHeroic Age (literary theory)In 20th century studies of oral poetry and traditional literature, the Heroic Age was postulated as a stage in the development of human societies likely to give rise to legends about heroic deeds. According to some theorists, oral epic poetry would be created at the same period, and would be...
(1912) - The Growth of Literature, with N. Kershaw ChadwickNora Kershaw ChadwickNora Kershaw Chadwick , CBE, was a noted medievalist.-Background:Chadwick was born in Lancashire in 1891. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge and lectured at St Andrews during World War I. She returned to Cambridge in 1919 to study Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse under...
:
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- I: The Ancient Literatures of Europe (1932)
- II: Russian Oral LiteratureOral literatureOral literature corresponds in the sphere of the spoken word to literature as literature operates in the domain of the written word. It thus forms a generally more fundamental component of culture, but operates in many ways as one might expect literature to do...
, YugoslavYugoslavsYugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...
Oral PoetryOral poetryOral poetry can be defined in various ways. A strict definition would include only poetry that is composed and transmitted without any aid of writing. However, the complex relationships between written and spoken literature in some societies can make this definition hard to maintain, and oral...
, Early Indian Literature, Early Hebrew Literature (1936) - III: The Oral Literature of the TatarsTatarsTatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
and PolynesiaPolynesiaPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
, etc. (1940)- The Study of Anglo-Saxon
- The Nationalities of Europe and the Growth of National Ideologies (1945)
- Early Scotland. The PictsPictsThe Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
the ScotsGaelsThe Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
& the WelshBrythonThe Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
of Southern Scotland (1949)