Eleanor Marie Knott (born Philippa Marie Eleanor Knott; 18 November 1886 – 4 January 1975), was an Irish scholar, academic and lexicographer, as well as one of the first women elected to the Royal Irish Academy.
Early life and education
Knott was born to John Freeman Knott, a physician, and Philippa Annie (née Balcombe) in Sallymount Terrace,
Ranelagh
Ranelagh ( , ; ) is an affluent residential area and urban village on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district of D06.
History
The district was originally a village known as Cullenswood just outside Dublin, surrounded by lande ...
, Dublin. Knott had one sibling. Her father was from Kingsland, County Roscommon. Her mother was born in
Hull, England, but was
Cornish and lived in Ireland. She encouraged her daughter to study modern Irish. Knott got her basic education in Abercorn College, Harcourt Street.
After that she went on to study older Irish at the
School of Irish Learning
School of Irish Learning in 1913
The School of Irish Learning was a centre for Irish studies in Dublin founded in 1903 by Kuno Meyer, who talked of "the necessity of bringing the rish revivalistmovement into direct and intimate relations with s ...
in Dublin where she studied under
Richard Irvine Best
Richard Irvine Best (17 January 1872 – 25 September 1959), often known as R. I. Best, was an Irish scholar who specialised in Celtic Studies.
Best was born into a Protestant family in Derry and educated at Foyle College before working for a ...
. Knott worked for the school in the administration section until she won a scholarship in 1907 which allowed her to continue studying.
In 1911, she joined the
Dictionary of the Irish Language
''Dictionary of the Irish Language: Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials'' (also called "the DIL"), published by the Royal Irish Academy, is the definitive dictionary of the origins of the Irish language, specifically the Old Irish, M ...
for the
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh RÃoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...
working with
Carl Marstrander
Carl Johan Sverdrup Marstrander (26 November 1883 – 23 December 1965) was a Norwegian linguist, known for his work on the Irish language. His works, largely written in Norwegian, on the Celtic and Norse components in Norwegian culture, are consi ...
and remained involved in that for most of the rest of her working life. She was also involved with the Society for the Simplification of the Spelling of Irish.
However she also managed to achieve an academic career in
Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
when she was appointed lecturer in
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages ( usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...
in 1928. Her master's was completed in 1932; her doctorate in 1938 and a special chair created when she became the Professor of early Irish there in 1939. As an academic Knott contributed to journals and was joint editor of
Ériu
In Irish mythology, Ériu (; modern ga, Éire ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland.
The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic languages, Germani ...
but also using the names ''EK'', ''PMEK'' and ''Finnéigeas'', she wrote articles for
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
and ''The Irish Peasant'' as a nationalist. She also produced translations of old Irish poetry.
Following the removal of the ban on women being members of the
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh RÃoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...
, Knott was elected in 1949 and was a member until 1955. She was a major correspondent and kept her letters so that now there is a sizable collection of information through them kept in the Eleanor Knott Collection at the RIA.
In her last years, she went blind and moved to the
Molyneux Home for the Blind where she died in 1975. She was buried in
Mount Jerome cemetery
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
.
Bibliography
* Editor, The bardic poems of Tadhg Dall Ó Huiginn (1550-1591), Part 1 (London, 1922).
* Editor, The bardic poems of Tadhg Dall Ó Huiginn (1550-1591), Part 2 (London, 1926).
* An introduction to Irish syllabic poetry of the period 1200-1600 with selections, notes and glossary (Cork, 1928).
* Editor, Togail Bruidne da Derga (Dublin, 1936).
* Irish classical poetry commonly called bardic poetry (Dublin, 1957).
* ‘Address to David O'Keeffe’ in Ériu 4 (1910), 209-232.
* ‘The Deaths of Aodh MacGaraidh and Flann MacDuibh Dithraibh’ in Galway Archaeological Journal 7 (1911), 54-63.
* ‘Filidh Éireann go haointeach’ in Ériu 5 (1911), 50-69.
* ‘The Deaths of Aodhh Mac Garaidh and Flann Mac Duibh Dithraibh’ in Journal of the Galway Archaeological & Archaeological Society 7 (1911), 54-63
* ‘A Poem by Giolla Brighde Ó Heóghusa’ in Miscellany Kuno Meyer (1912), 241-245.
* ‘Bó thúir’ in Ériu 7 (1914), 1-26.
* ‘On a line in St Patrick's Hymn’ in Ériu 7 (1914), 239
* ‘The flight of the Earls, 1607’ in Ériu 8 (1916), 191-194.
* ‘Why Mongán was deprived of noble issue’ in Ériu 8 (1916), 155-160.
* ‘Ernst Windisch 1844-1918’ in Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review (1919), 264-267.
* ‘Irish notes’ in Hermathena 22 (1932), 272-274.
* ‘Maud Joynt (24th. July 1940)’ in Éigse 2 (1940), 226-229.
* ‘Varia II: 1. Colomain na Temra, 2. in duus’ in Ériu 14 (1943), 144-146.
* ‘O'Clery's Glossary and its forerunners: a note on glossary-making in Medieval language’ in Measgra Mhichil Ui Chleirigh (1944), 65-69.
* Editor, ‘An Irish seventeenth-century translation of the Rule of St Clare’ in Ériu 15 (1948), 1-187.
* ‘An Irish seventeenth-century translation of the Rule of St Clare’ in Ériu 15 (1948), 187.
* ‘An index to the proper names in Saltair na Rann’ in Ériu 16 (1952), 99-122.
* ‘Osborn Bergin, 1873-1950’ in Ériu 16 (1952), 1-3.
* ‘Thomas Francis O’Rahilly’ in Ériu 17 (1955)
* ‘Obituary Eamonn Ó Tuathail’ in Éigse 8 (1956), 263-267.
* ‘A Poem of prophecies
rom the Book of Hy Many
Rom, or ROM may refer to:
Biomechanics and medicine
* Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient
* Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac
* ...
€™ in Ériu 18 (1958), 55-84.
* ‘Mac An Bhaird's elegy on the Ulster lords’ in Celtica 5 (1960), 161-171.
* ‘Richard Irvine Best’ in Ériu 19 (1962), 123-125.
* ‘Foclóir’ in Ériu 19 (1962), 1-122.
* Marstrander, Carl and Quin, E. G., editors, Dictionary of the Irish language, based mainly on old and middle Irish materials (Dublin, 1913-1976). Major contributor to this publication.
* Editor, Ó Laoghaire, Peadar, Táin Bó Cuailnge 'na dhráma (Dublin, 1915).
* Editor, Ó Laoghaire, Peadar, Lughaidh Mac Con (Dublin, 1914).
References and sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knott, Eleanor
1886 births
1975 deaths
Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium
Members of the Royal Irish Academy
People from Ranelagh