Alfred Trübner Nutt (22 November 1856 – 21 May 1910) was a British publisher who studied and wrote about folklore and Celtic studies.

Biography

Nutt was born in London, the eldest son of publisher David Nutt. His mother was the granddaughter of another well-known publisher, William Miller. He was educated at the University College London School,

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and at College de Vitry-le-François, in

Vitry-le-François Vitry-le-François () is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. It is located on the river Marne and is the western terminus of the Marne–Rhine Canal. Vitry-le-François station has rail connections to Paris, Reims, Strasbour ...

, northeast France. He spent three years serving a business apprenticeship in Leipzig, Berlin, and Paris, before taking over his late father's business in 1878. Nutt founded ''The Folk-Lore Journal'' (now ''Folklore''). He was elected president of the Folklore Society in 1897. Nutt was a friend and supporter of

Jessie Weston Jessie Weston may refer to: *Jessie Weston (scholar) (1850–1928), English independent scholar, medievalist and folklorist *Jessie Weston (writer) Jessie Edith Weston (also known as Jessie Weston-Campbell, 1865 – 21 May 1939) was a New Zeala ...

, sharing her interest in

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

ic origins of the

Grail legend The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...

, and publishing some of her books. He was also associated with Whitley Stokes,

Eleanor Hull Eleanor Henrietta Hull also known as Eibhlín Ní Choill (15 January 1860 – 13 January 1935) was a writer, journalist and scholar of Old Irish. Life and family Hull was born on 15 January 1860 in Manchester, England. Her father, Edward Hull, ...

and Kuno Meyer and his work had a substantial influence on the scholarship of

Roger Sherman Loomis Roger Sherman Loomis (1887–1966) was an American scholar and one of the foremost authorities on medieval and Arthurian literature. Loomis is perhaps best known for showing the roots of Arthurian legend, in particular the Holy Grail, in native Ce ...

. He was also instrumental to the establishment of the Irish Texts Society and his firm published the early volumes of Society from 1899 to 1914. Nutt produced numerous works of scholarship in his own right, including ''Studies on the legend of the

holy grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...

, with special reference to the hypothesis of its Celtic origin'' and his collaboration with Meyer on ''

The Voyage of Bran The Voyage of Bran ( sga, Immram Brain [], meaning "The Voyage of Bran [son of Febail]") is a medieval seventh- or eighth-century Irish language narrative. Source The date of composition has been assigned to the late 7th or early 8th century, ...

, Son of Febal, to the Land of the Living''.Dindsenchas., Scél Túan maic Cairill., Meyer, K. (189597)
The voyage of Bran, son of Febal, to the land of the living: an old Irish saga
London: D. Nutt. He wrote studies of the ''

Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...

'' and was working on an annotated edition of Matthew Arnold's ''Study of Celtic Literature'' at the time of his death. Nutt drowned in the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

on 21 May 1910 while attempting to rescue his invalid 17-year-old son who had been dragged into the river when his horse bolted. His wife M. L. Nutt succeeded him as head of the firm.

References

External links

* *
Alfred Nutt at Findarticles.com
* " In Memoriam: Alfred T. Nutt", obituary by

Edward Clodd Edward Clodd (1 July 1840 – 16 March 1930) was an English banker, writer and anthropologist. He had a great variety of literary and scientific friends, who periodically met at Whitsunday (a springtime holiday) gatherings at his home at Aldebur ...

, ''Folk-Lore'' Volume 21, 1910 * 1856 births 1910 deaths Publishers (people) from London English folklorists British male writers Arthurian scholars Presidents of the Folklore Society 19th-century English businesspeople Male non-fiction writers {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub

Biography

Further reading

References

External links