Gilbert Norwood (born 23 November 1880 in
Ecclesall Bierlow,
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
; died 18 October 1954 in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
) was a British
classical philologist and essayist.
Life
Gilbert Norwood studied at
St John's College of
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
with
John Edwin Sandys and
Richard Claverhouse Jebb
Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb (27 August 1841 – 9 December 1905) was a British classical scholar.
Life
Jebb was born in Dundee, Scotland. His father Robert was a well-known Irish barrister; his mother was Emily Harriet Horsley, daughter of t ...
. After completing his
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
(1903), he was employed as an ''Assistant Lecturer'' in Classics at the
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
. He also completed his
master's
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. at Cambridge (1906) and was 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 ...
at St. John's College from 1906 to 1909.
In 1908, Norwood was awarded a Professorship 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 ...
in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
(''Professor of Greek''). He stayed there for almost twenty years until 1926 when he was offered a professorship 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 ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
(Canada).
Norwood worked in Toronto until the end of his life. In 1928 he was appointed Professor of Classics and Director of Classical Studies. In the following years he received various international awards: in 1933 he received his doctorate from the
University of Wales (Cardiff), in 1943 he was elected a member of the
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
, and in 1943/1944 he was invited to the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
as
Sather Professor
Sather is an object-oriented programming language. It originated circa 1990 at the International Computer Science Institute (ICSI) at the University of California, Berkeley, developed by an international team led by Steve Omohundro. It supports g ...
, in 1944/1945 he was visiting professor at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. Norwood retired in 1951.
Norwood's research focus was the ancient stage poetry, especially the Greek tragedy (
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
) and comedy (
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
) as well as the Roman comedy (
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the gen ...
and
Terence
Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...
). He published English translations of several pieces, monographic overviews of the genres and numerous essays on individual problems.
Works
* ''The Riddle of the Bacchae''. Manchester/London 1908.
* ''Greek Tragedy''. London/Boston 1920. 4th, revised ed. London/Boston 1948.
* ''Euripides and Shaw, with other essays''. London/Boston 1921.
* ''The Art of Terence''. Oxford 1923.
* ''The Writers of Greece''. London 1925.
* ''The Wooden Man and other stories and essays''. New York 1926.
* ''Greek Comedy''. London 1931. Reprinted Boston 1932, 1950.
* ''Spoken in Jest''. London 1938.
* ''The Syntax of the Latin Gerund and Gerundive''. Toronto 1932.
* ''Plautus and Terence''. New York/London 1932.
* ''Pindar''. Berkeley 1945 (''Sather Lectures'' 19).
* ''Essays on Euripidean Drama''. Berkeley/Los Angeles 1954.
Further reading
* Alexander G. McKay: ''Norwood, Gilbert''. In:
Ward W. Briggs
Ward W. Briggs Jr. (born November 26, 1945, in Riverside, California) is an American classicist and historian of classical studies. He taught until 2011 as ''Carolina Distinguished Professor of Classics'' and ''Louise Fry Scudder Professor of Huma ...
(Ed.): ''Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists.'' Greenwood Press, Westport CT u. a. 1994, , pp. 449f.
References
External links
* Alexander G. McKay
Gilbert Norwood ''Database of Classical Scholars''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norwood, Gilbert
1880 births
1954 deaths
Classical philologists
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Academics of the University of Manchester
Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge
Academics of Cardiff University
Academic staff of the University of Toronto
University of California, Berkeley faculty
University of Chicago faculty