Alfred Ewert, FBA (14 July 1891 – 22 October 1969) was an American-born scholar of French language and literature who grew up in Canada and spent his career in England. He was

Professor of the Romance Languages The Professorship of the Romance Languages is a statutory chair at the University of Oxford. The first courses in Romance languages were offered by Max Müller in the 1850s and the Selbourne Commission proposed the establishment of a Professorship ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

from 1930 to 1958.

Early life, education and war service

Born in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

on 14 July 1891, Ewert was raised in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. He attended

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and then the

Collegiate Institute A collegiate institute is an institution that provides either secondary or post-secondary education, dependent on where the term is used. In Canada, the term is used to describe an institutions that provide secondary education, while the word is us ...

in Gretna, before becoming a

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer ( fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * Jame ...

. He studied

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

in his spare time. After two years of working, he began studying at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

, supported by a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

. There, he studied modern languages; he received a first-class degree in

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in 1914. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served in the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1915 until 1917, when he was commissioned into the Western Ontario Regiment.

Demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...

in 1919, he completed another degree, this time in French, at Oxford in 1920.

Academic career and honours

Ewert was an associate

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of French at the

University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD or UT Dallas) is a public research university in Richardson, Texas. It is one of the largest public universities in the Dallas area and the northernmost institution of the University of Texas system. It wa ...

from 1920 to 1921. In 1921, he became the Taylorian Lecturer in French at the University of Oxford, serving until 1926 when he was appointed a university lecturer in French (also being a lecturer at

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

from 1922). In 1930, he was appointed

at Oxford (in succession to E. G. R. Waters), and was elected a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. He remained in both offices until 1958."Ewert, Alfred"
''

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'' (online ed.,

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, 2007). Retrieved 19 March 2021. His most notable book was ''The French Language'' (1933), while he edited several versions of French texts: ''Gui de Warewic'' (2 vols., 1932–33),

Béroul Béroul was a Norman or Breton poet of the 12th century. He wrote ''Tristan'', a Norman language version of the legend of Tristan and Iseult of which a certain number of fragments (approximately 3000 verses) have been preserved; it is the earliest ...

's ''Tristan'' (vol. 1 in 1939, vol. 2 in 1970), (with R. C. Johnston)

Marie de France Marie de France ( fl. 1160 to 1215) was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court ...

's ''Fables'' (1942) and ''Lais'' (1944). As well as being

Senior Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

at Oxford in 1943–44, Ewert launched and was general editor of the journal ''

French Studies ''French Studies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for French Studies. It was established in 1947 and covers all periods of French and francophone literature and culture ...

'' from 1947 to 1965. He gave the Zaharoff Lecture (University of Oxford, 1958) and the Hurd Memorial Lecture (

Brandon University Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrollment of 3375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon Co ...

, 1967). His honours including a corresponding fellowship of the

Medieval Academy of America The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until c. 1980) is the largest organization in the United States promoting the field of medieval studies. It was founded in 1925 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The academy publishes ...

, an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

, the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

, election to the

fellowship of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

in 1957, and the dedication of a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

: ''Studies in Medieval French'' (1961).Ullmann (1971), p. 384–385, 388. Ewert died on 22 October 1969.

Early life, education and war service

Academic career and honours

References

Further reading