Walter Llewellyn Bullock
Encyclopedia
Professor Walter Llewellyn Bullock (7 March 1890 – 19 February 1944) was an English
scholar, critic, teacher, lecturer and promoter of Italian Studies at the Universities of Chicago and Manchester where he was Serena Professor of Italian
. He was founder, in 1937, and general editor of Italian Studies as the annual journal of the Society for Italian Studies. He left his exceptional collection of over 5,000 books and several hundred pamphlets including over 2,600 volumes printed between 1500 and c. 1625 and important critical editions of Dante
, Petrarch
, Boccaccio
, Ariosto
, and Torquato Tasso
, as well as many works on the Questione della Lingua to the John Rylands University Library
at the University of Manchester
.
and Lady Maria Spearman, and brother of Sir Christopher Bullock
.
from 14 to 19 years old, leaving in 1909.
Bullock travelled to the United States
where he became a metallurgical chemist in a large malleable-iron metal factory for five years. He spent his spare time taking a drama course and writing and performing plays.
He was a gifted actor and, when he entered Harvard University
in 1913, he augmented his income – he paid all his university expenses from his earnings as a tutor and out of scholarships won - by playing the leading man to Gertrude Kingston
who had brought her repertory company to America in 1915 in a production of Shaw’s
plays. In 1917 he took both his B.A. and M.A. at Harvard.
Due to rheumatic fever as a child, he had a weak heart and was refused admission by the British, Canadian and American armies. Wanting to make some contribution to the War
, he travelled with a mission subsidised by Harvard to Russia
and Rumania. He was in Petrograd
at the time of the Russian Revolution
; present at the storming of the Winter Palace
; saw the fall of Kerensky
and was nearly burnt to death by Bolsheviks
who set fire to the car in which he was out on rescue work with others on his mission.
He was then sent to Rumania where he worked for two years in citizen relief running farms in the summer and soup kitchens in winter.
Returning to American in 1919, he married Hélène Louise Buhlert of Boston.
His health had suffered from the hardships in Rumania and after recuperating in Maine
, he was able to resume studies at Harvard taking his Ph.D.
in Romance Languages in 1922. Having initially specialized in Old French, he decided to devote himself to the Italian field especially the Cinquecento
.
He had started collecting sixteenth century Italian books whilst a student and described himself as a "bibliomaniac".
and after five years accepted, in 1927, an Associate Professorship in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures in the University of Chicago
. Professor William Nitze (father of Paul Nitze
) described Bullock as "an enthusiastic and very effective teacher….and excellent research scholar. His library which he had accumulated with scrupulous care and at considerable financial sacrifice was one of the best in existence".
He continued his interest in acting participating in the Quadrangle Players of Chicago and producing fortnightly plays.
For many years he was Chairman of the Romance Section of the Modern Languages Association and established a Sede of the Dante Alighieri Society of Chicago. He was heavily involved supplying rotographs
of rare European manuscripts to American scholars.
In 1933, he was award the Cavaliere della Corona d’Italia
by King Victor Emmanuel
in recognition of his services to Italian Studies in America.
His summers were often spent in Italy where he came to know the country and people well.
. Relations between England
and Italy
were strained which made promotion of such studies difficult but he was undaunted.
Shortly after his arrival, he was elected to the Italian Committee of the Modern Languages Association and was one of its most active members until the outbreak of War
.
In 1937, he realised, with the help of others scholars, his project of founding a quarterly review – Italian Studies – "planned as an English organ for the general furtherance, by publication or recording, of literary and scholarly work in the Italian field". The outbreak of War
in 1939, and the intervention of Italy in 1940, forced Bullock to relinquish all his most cherished plans: contact with Italy became impossible and many students and others, who were cooperating with his efforts to further the cause of Italian scholarship, were called away on war service. His own researches and the publication of Italian Studies had to be suspended.
He began to compile an Italian-English, English-Italian Dictionary. When Italy surrendered, he endeavoured to work for a truer understanding of the Italian position.
His arduous work of lecturing to the forces, entailing long and difficult journeys often in the black out
led to strains on his health and he died suddenly aged only 54.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
scholar, critic, teacher, lecturer and promoter of Italian Studies at the Universities of Chicago and Manchester where he was Serena Professor of Italian
Serena Professor of Italian
The Serena Professorship of Italian is the senior professorship in the study of the Italian language at the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and University of Manchester...
. He was founder, in 1937, and general editor of Italian Studies as the annual journal of the Society for Italian Studies. He left his exceptional collection of over 5,000 books and several hundred pamphlets including over 2,600 volumes printed between 1500 and c. 1625 and important critical editions of Dante
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
, Petrarch
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...
, Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
, Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions...
, and Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
, as well as many works on the Questione della Lingua to the John Rylands University Library
John Rylands University Library
The John Rylands University Library is the University of Manchester's library and information service. It was formed in July 1972 from the merger of the library of the Victoria University of Manchester with the John Rylands Library...
at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
.
Family
Bullock was born in London in 1890, the eldest son of Rev. Llewellyn Christopher Bullock and Cecil Spearman, daughter of Edmund Spearman C.M G.Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
and Lady Maria Spearman, and brother of Sir Christopher Bullock
Christopher Bullock
Sir Christopher Llewellyn Bullock K.C.B, C.B.E. was Permanent Under-Secretary at the British Air Ministry from 1931 to 1936...
.
Early Life
He was educated first at Liverpool College, where his father was a teacher, and then at Rugby SchoolRugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
from 14 to 19 years old, leaving in 1909.
Bullock travelled to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where he became a metallurgical chemist in a large malleable-iron metal factory for five years. He spent his spare time taking a drama course and writing and performing plays.
He was a gifted actor and, when he entered Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1913, he augmented his income – he paid all his university expenses from his earnings as a tutor and out of scholarships won - by playing the leading man to Gertrude Kingston
Gertrude Kingston
Gertrude Kingston was an actress, an actor-manager and an artist.-Early life:...
who had brought her repertory company to America in 1915 in a production of Shaw’s
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
plays. In 1917 he took both his B.A. and M.A. at Harvard.
Due to rheumatic fever as a child, he had a weak heart and was refused admission by the British, Canadian and American armies. Wanting to make some contribution to the War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he travelled with a mission subsidised by Harvard to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Rumania. He was in Petrograd
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
at the time of the Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution can refer to:* Russian Revolution , a series of strikes and uprisings against Nicholas II, resulting in the creation of State Duma.* Russian Revolution...
; present at the storming of the Winter Palace
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
; saw the fall of Kerensky
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
and was nearly burnt to death by Bolsheviks
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
who set fire to the car in which he was out on rescue work with others on his mission.
He was then sent to Rumania where he worked for two years in citizen relief running farms in the summer and soup kitchens in winter.
Returning to American in 1919, he married Hélène Louise Buhlert of Boston.
His health had suffered from the hardships in Rumania and after recuperating in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, he was able to resume studies at Harvard taking his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in Romance Languages in 1922. Having initially specialized in Old French, he decided to devote himself to the Italian field especially the Cinquecento
Cinquecento
Cinquecento is a term used to describe the Italian Renaissance of the 16th century, including the current styles of art, music, literature, and architecture.-Art:...
.
He had started collecting sixteenth century Italian books whilst a student and described himself as a "bibliomaniac".
University of Chicago
In 1922, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Italian at Bryn Mawr CollegeBryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
and after five years accepted, in 1927, an Associate Professorship in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures in the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. Professor William Nitze (father of Paul Nitze
Paul Nitze
Paul Henry Nitze was a high-ranking United States government official who helped shape Cold War defense policy over the course of numerous presidential administrations.-Early life, education, and family:...
) described Bullock as "an enthusiastic and very effective teacher….and excellent research scholar. His library which he had accumulated with scrupulous care and at considerable financial sacrifice was one of the best in existence".
He continued his interest in acting participating in the Quadrangle Players of Chicago and producing fortnightly plays.
For many years he was Chairman of the Romance Section of the Modern Languages Association and established a Sede of the Dante Alighieri Society of Chicago. He was heavily involved supplying rotographs
RotoGraphs
RotoGraphs is a website run by Fangraphs Inc., created and owned by David Appelman. RotoGraphs provides fantasy baseball advice and analysis in tandem with FanGraphs and originally featured David Golebiewski of ESPN Inside Edge, Marc Hulet, Brian Joura of newyorkmetsdaily.com, and Peter Bendix.As...
of rare European manuscripts to American scholars.
In 1933, he was award the Cavaliere della Corona d’Italia
Order of the Crown of Italy
The Order of the Crown of Italy was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861...
by King Victor Emmanuel
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
Victor Emmanuel III was a member of the House of Savoy and King of Italy . In addition, he claimed the crowns of Ethiopia and Albania and claimed the titles Emperor of Ethiopia and King of Albania , which were unrecognised by the Great Powers...
in recognition of his services to Italian Studies in America.
His summers were often spent in Italy where he came to know the country and people well.
University of Manchester
In 1935, he was offered the Chair of Italian Studies at the University of ManchesterUniversity of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
. Relations between England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
were strained which made promotion of such studies difficult but he was undaunted.
Shortly after his arrival, he was elected to the Italian Committee of the Modern Languages Association and was one of its most active members until the outbreak of War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In 1937, he realised, with the help of others scholars, his project of founding a quarterly review – Italian Studies – "planned as an English organ for the general furtherance, by publication or recording, of literary and scholarly work in the Italian field". The outbreak of War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1939, and the intervention of Italy in 1940, forced Bullock to relinquish all his most cherished plans: contact with Italy became impossible and many students and others, who were cooperating with his efforts to further the cause of Italian scholarship, were called away on war service. His own researches and the publication of Italian Studies had to be suspended.
War Service
During the War, he worked for Civil Defence and lectured to the armed forces. His close understanding of America and England led him to work for greater mutual understanding.He began to compile an Italian-English, English-Italian Dictionary. When Italy surrendered, he endeavoured to work for a truer understanding of the Italian position.
His arduous work of lecturing to the forces, entailing long and difficult journeys often in the black out
Blackout (wartime)
A blackout during war, or apprehended war, is the practice of collectively minimizing outdoor light, including upwardly directed light. This was done in the 20th century to prevent crews of enemy aircraft from being able to navigate to their targets simply by sight, for example during the London...
led to strains on his health and he died suddenly aged only 54.
Legacy
He left his library, of 5,000 books and several hundred pamphlets, for the use of scholars, which is now housed in the University of Manchester. It comprises:- over 2,600 volumes printed in the C16th;
- nearly 2,000 books and pamphlets consisting of later editions of C16th works;
- a large number of reference works;
- hundreds of volumes of modern Italian writers and works of criticism.
See also
- Sir Edward BullockSir Edward BullockSir Edward Bullock of Faulkbourne was an English landowner, knighted by King James I and a Cavalier during the English Civil War...
- Colonel John BullockColonel John BullockColonel John Bullock of Faulkbourne M.P. was an English landowner and Member of Parliament for 56 years becoming Father of the House. He was appointed High Sheriff of the County of Essex in 1802.-Early Years:...
- Sir Christopher BullockChristopher BullockSir Christopher Llewellyn Bullock K.C.B, C.B.E. was Permanent Under-Secretary at the British Air Ministry from 1931 to 1936...