Hector Munro Chadwick (22 October 1870 – 2 January 1947) was an English philologist. Chadwick was the

Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon The Elrington and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon is the senior professorship in Anglo-Saxon at the University of Cambridge. The first chair was elected in 1878, when a gift endowed in 1867 by Joseph Bosworth, Rawlinsonian Professor of Angl ...

and the founder and head of the Department for Anglo-Saxon and Kindred Studies at the

University of Cambridge , 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 ...

. Chadwick was well known for his encouragement of interdisciplinary research on

Celts 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 ancien ...

and

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

, and for his theories on the Heroic Age in the history of human societies. Chadwick was a tutor of many notable students and the author of numerous influential works in his fields of study. Much of his research and teaching was conducted in cooperation with his wife, former student and fellow Cambridge scholar Nora Kershaw.

Family

On 22 October 1870, Hector Munro Chadwick was born in

Thornhill Lees Thornhill Lees is a district of Dewsbury, which is a town within the borough of Kirklees in the county of West Yorkshire, England. The district lies to the south of Dewsbury Town Centre, between Savile Town and Thornhill. Thornhill Lees is served ...

, Yorkshire, England, the third son of

Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

Edward Chadwick and Sarah Anne Bates. The Chadwick family traced its descent from John Chadwick of Chadwick Hall,

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, who flourished during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. Edward was the seventh of the eight sons of James Chadwick, who in turn was a son of yet another John Chadwick. John and his sons were all members of the firm of John Chadwick & Sons, who were flannel manufacturers in Rochdale. The firm had a branch in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, and it was there that James married Sarah Murray, daughter of George Murray and Margaret Munro, who was probably a sister of General Hector Munro. Sarah Murray was of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

descent. Edward Chadwick was educated at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, and met Sarah while he was

Curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at Church of St George, Chester Road, Hulme. Sarah was the only daughter and one of eight children of an

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

businessman of considerable prominence. Her grandfather was a member of the same business. Her cousin, Captain Chadwick, had served with distinction in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. Sarah's father retired early from business and became a farmer at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

. Sarah's mother died on the day Sarah was to marry Edward Chadwick, allegedly heartbroken over the prospect of losing contact with her daughter. The marriage was subsequently postponed for a while. After finally marrying, Edward and Sarah spent their early years at Blue Pits, where their eldest son Edward was born. Shortly afterwards, the family moved to Thornhill Lees, Yorkshire, where Edward Chadwick senior became a close friend to a member of the Bibby family, which owned the Bibby Line. The Bibbys built a church for Edward in the suburbs of Thornhill Lees, where he became

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

. It was during this time that the Chadwicks had their three remaining children, Dora, Murray, and then Hector. Edward ended his career as Rural Dean of

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

, and his two oldest sons also joined the priesthood of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Early life and education

Hector was by far the youngest child of the family, and had a very close relationship with his sister. Dora taught him both letters and

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 ...

, and he later said that she "brought me up". Chadwick's father strongly encouraged his children to study, and used to tell Hector that a bear would come and carry him off if he did not learn his Latin. As a result, one of Chadwick's memories was peering for the bear through a window near the vicarage's front door. Chadwick attended

Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational independent day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Entrance is by examination, except for the sixth form, where admission is based on GCSE results. The school g ...

from 1882 to 1883. At Bradford he showed himself a gifted student, but did not like school life, and often feigned sickness in order to stay home from school. In 1884 he was tutored at home by his sister and the curators. From 1885 to 1889, Chadwick attended

Wakefield Grammar School Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) is an independent, public school for boys in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The school was founded by Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I in 1591 at the request of leading citizens in Wakefield (headed ...

as a day-boy. He commuted 8 miles to Wakefield each day, during which he learned German by himself. At Wakefield, Chadwick was a passionate player of tennis, and served as treasurer of the school cricket club. Contemporary students at Wakefield later described him as a determined but shy boy, who happily helped out his classmates with their Latin. Shyness, intelligence, determination and a strong willingness to help others were personality traits which were to characterize him into adulthood. Upon leaving Wakefield in 1889, Chadwick obtained a Cave

Exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

. That summer, he made a trip to Scotland, Ulster, Wales and the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. He subsequently did his Little Go and entered Cambridge. While an undergraduate, Chadwick made memorable visits to

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

with his brother Edward, during which they visited Austria and Italy. In 1890, Chadwick was elected Classical Scholar at Clare. In 1892, Chadwick obtained a First Class, Division 3 of Part I of the

Classical Tripos The Classical Tripos is the taught course in classics at the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge. It is equivalent to Literae Humaniores at Oxford. It is traditionally a three-year degree, but for those who have not previously studied L ...

, and gained his B.A. The next year (1893), he obtained a First Class with distinction in

Philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

in the Classical Tripos. From 1893 to 1899, Chadwick was a Fellow at Clare. In 1894, his "The Origin of the Latin Perfect Formation in -ui" was published in

Adalbert Bezzenberger Adalbert Bezzenberger (14 April 1851 – 31 October 1922) was a German philologist. He was born at Kassel and died at Königsberg. He is considered to be the founder of Baltic philology.Paul Du Chaillu's ''The Viking Age''. Through this book, Chadwick gained a strong interest in the early civilizations of

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...

. The book was characterized by an interdisciplinary approach to every aspect of its subject, which was an approach which was also to characterize his future teaching and research. In the summer of 1895, Chadwick attended lectures at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

under

Wilhelm Streitberg Wilhelm August Streitberg (23 February 1864, in Rüdesheim am Rhein – 19 August 1925, in Leipzig) was a German Indo-Europeanist, specializing in Germanic languages. Together with Karl Brugmann he founded the ''Indogermanische Forschungen'' j ...

Career

Starting out

Georg von Rosen - Oden som vandringsman, 1886 (Odin, the Wanderer)

Returning to Cambridge in 1895, Chadwick taught

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

for Section B of the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos, while devoting himself to the study of the early North. He gained his M.A. in 1896. Section B had been established in 1894. Its teachers at the time included

Israel Gollancz Sir Israel Gollancz, FBA (13 July 1863 – 23 June 1930) was a scholar of early English literature and of Shakespeare. He was Professor of English Language and Literature at King's College, London, from 1903 to 1930. Gollancz was born 13 July ...

and

George Campbell Macaulay George Campbell Macaulay (6 August 1852 – 6 July 1915), also known as G. C. Macaulay, was a noted English classical scholar. His daughter was the fiction writer Rose Macaulay. Family Macaulay was born on 6 August 1852, in Hodnet, Shropshire, ...

. Its Chair was Walter William Skeat, the

. Skeat was primarily concerned with the study of

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

. Section B covered Old English, Middle English, Anglo-French,

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

and Icelandic, and English and

Germanic linguistics Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary tex ...

. It was mostly limited to linguistics, and attracted few students, which however included future distinguished scholars such as

Allen Mawer Sir Allen Mawer (8 May 1879 − 22 July 1942) was an English philologist. A notable researcher of Viking activity in the British Isles, Mawer is best known as the founder of the English Place-Name Society, and as Provost (education), Provost ...

. Chadwick was quickly recognized as a highly gifted tutor. His lectures were conducted in an informal manner, and he was particularly noted for his supervisions, which he began giving his students individually while they were still undergraduates. Many a student of Chadwick later described these supervisions at his home as formative events in their scholarly careers. Chadwick gained a large and loyal following among his students, who gave him the

pet name A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek: (), from (), 'to call by pet names', sometimes also ''hypocoristic'') or pet name is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for I ...

"Chadders". Many of his students were female, and he insisted that they were to be treated equally with their male peers, which was quite uncommon at English universities at the time. Chadwick treated his students as his intellectual peers, which sometimes resulted in him recommending them subjects which were beyond their capabilities. Around thirty of his students came to hold prominent positions in academia, not to mention the large number of museum officials, librarians and learned individuals of prominence who had studied under him. From 1899 to 1919, Chadwick became solely responsible for teaching at the Section B of the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos. In 1899, Chadwick published three works: "Ablaut problems in the Indo-Germanic Verb" in '' Indogermanische Forschungen'', "Studies in Old English" in ''Transactions of the Cambridge Philological Society'', and his first book, ''The Cult of Othin'', which was published by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

. His "Studies in Old English" was a pioneering

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

s and

sound change A sound change, in historical linguistics, is a change in the pronunciation of a language. A sound change can involve the replacement of one speech sound (or, more generally, one phonetic feature value) by a different one (called phonetic chang ...

s in Old English. In ''The Cult of Othin'', he examined worship of

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

among the

. The book took all relevant evidence into consideration, including linguistic, literary, and archaeological evidence, which was to become a typical feature of his scholarly approach. In conclusion, Chadwick argued that worship of Odin was in all essential features the same among all the Germanic peoples, including

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

and Norse peoples. In 1899, his Fellowship at Clare was renewed. In 1900, two important papers by Chadwick, "The Oak and the Thunder-God" and "The Ancient Teutonic Priesthood", appeared in the ''Journal of the Anthropological Institute'' and in ''Folk-Lore''. From 1903 to 1911, he was Librarian at the college. In 1905, Chadwick published ''Studies in Anglo-Saxon Institutions''. It was at the time considered the best work ever published on Anglo-Saxon society, and was highly influential. In 1907, he contributed chapter III on "Early National Poetry" to the first volume of the ''Cambridge History of English Literature''. The same year saw the publishing of his monumental ''The Origins of the English Nation'' (1907). Investigating the origins of the Anglo-Saxons and the

English people The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language in England, English language, a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identi ...

, this work has been highly praised for its interdisciplinary combination of archaeological, historical and philological evidence from both England and Northern Europe. In 1907, the scope of Section B at the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos was broadened to cover Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...

history, culture and religion. Upon a 1909 recommendation of the board of medieval and modern languages at Cambridge, Chadwick was in 1910 appointed Lecturer in Scandinavian at Cambridge, holding this position for two years.

''The Heroic Age''

Helmet from a 7th century boat grave, Vendel era brighter

In 1912, he published ''The Heroic Age'', which is considered one of his most important works. In this work Chadwick conducted a pioneering examination of parallels between the

epic poetry An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

of the Greek Heroic Age and the

Germanic Heroic Age The Germanic (or "German") Heroic Age, so called in analogy to the Heroic Age of Greek mythology, is the period of early historic or quasi-historic events reflected in Germanic heroic poetry. Periodisation The period corresponds to the Germani ...

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

and Slavic epic poetry was also considered, which testifies to the wide and diverse knowledge possessed by Chadwick at this time. Chadwick postulated the Heroic Age as a distinct period in the history of numerous human societies. During such Heroic Ages, warrior aristocrats figure prominently, and courage and martial prowess is valued above all else. For Chadwick, such an Heroic Age was not one of primitiveness, but rather one of youthfulness, vigour and rebellion. According to him, Heroic Ages typically emerged when tribal societies came into close contact with more advanced civilizations, such as when the Germanic peoples encountered

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

. Notably, Chadwick postulated the existence of Heroic Ages also among

and

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

. ''The Heroic Age'' attracted strong interests from both Classicists and Germanicists. It remains a pioneering work of comparative literature.

Leadership and reform at Cambridge

Upon the death of Skeat in 1912, Chadwick was recognized as the obvious successor, and was subsequently elected Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Cambridge. He held this position until reaching the age limit in 1941. Chadwick's election to this professorship marks a new phase in his career, during which his time was mostly dedicated to teaching and administrative work. In agreement with previous wishes expressed by Skeat, Chadwick sought to broaden the scope of the Section beyond the field of philology, and make it concerned not only with the study of Anglo-Saxons, but also with Germanic studies and Celtic studies. By this time, he had come to see philology not as an object in itself, but rather as a key to the early history of the Germanic peoples, and the English people in particular. He insisted that scholarship should be informed through direct engagement with primary sources in their original languages and contexts. Although encountering significant opposition, Chadwick's efforts at reform were successful through a 1917 changing of regulations, which he drew up by himself. The scope of the department subsequently extended well beyond language and literature, to include history, archaeology and the study of culture, including religion and social institutions. Chadwick's reforms at Cambridge were not limited to Section B. With his friends Professor Arthur Quiller-Couch and Dr.

Hugh Fraser Stewart Hugh Fraser Stewart (1863–1948) was a British academic, churchman and literary critic. Life He was the second son of Ludovic(k) Charles Stewart, an army surgeon and son of Ludovick Stewart of Pityvaich, and Emma Ray or Rae. He was educated at T ...

, he remodelled Section A (English studies) and transformed the Medieval and Modern Language Tripos in the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos, in which English became a more or less independent course covered in sections A and B. The reforms encountered significant opposition, most notably by certain members of the

English Association The English Association is a subject association for English dedicated to furthering the study and enjoyment of English language and literature in schools, higher education institutes and amongst the public in general. It was founded in 1906 by ...

, but through his tenacity, persuasiveness and strategic skills, Chadwick was able to outmanoeuvre his conservative critics, and his reforms were subsequently successfully implemented. Among Chadwick's few publications during his early years as a university administrator was his "Some German River-names", a philological study examining the origins of the Celts, which was published in ''Essays and Studies presented to William Ridgeway'' (1913). He accepted the reduction in his literary output without regret, because he considered teaching and directing his students to be a task of even greater importance than his written work.

World War I and continued reform

Portrait of Bertha Phillpotts by Philip de Lazlo

In the years of

World War I 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 ...

, there was general understanding that British scholarship had devoted too much effort on the study of languages as compared to the people who spoke them. As a result, the importance of

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

for the study of history and culture, particularly in the field of English studies, was increasingly emphasized. Chadwick was the dominant figure in this effort. He received an honorary

D.Litt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

from

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

in 1914, and an honorary

LL.D Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the earl ...

from the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in 1919. On 4 May 1922, Chadwick married Nora Kershaw, a former student of his. Nora eventually became a Fellow at

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sid ...

, and an intimate scholarly companion of Chadwick. They published several influential works together. Nora was an accomplished philologist, in fact so much so that a reviewer of one of her works on

and Old Norse poetry wrongly mistook the work as Hector's. The Chadwicks settled into an old paper-mill outside Cambridge, close to the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Leper Chapel, which came under their care. They were animal lovers, and kept a large number of cats and dogs which they named after personages in ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...

'' and

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

. Their home became a

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

for enthusiasts of early Germanic and Celtic literature. With Nora as the driver, the Chadwicks took students by car to see archaeological sites near Cambridge, and made long trips together to Wales, Scotland and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. They bought a house at

Vowchurch Vowchurch is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, situated in the Golden Valley, on the River Dore. The village is about southwest of Hereford. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 163, increasing to 176 ...

in the Golden Valley near Wales, where they spent much time. Chadwick was proud of his Scottish ancestry, and had a passionate interest in all things Celtic. During the first years of its existence, Chadwick was almost entirely responsible for teaching at his rapidly growing Section B, but was admirably assisted by his wife. Former students of his who lectured at his section included

Cyril Fox Sir Cyril Fred Fox (16 December 1882 – 15 January 1967) was an English archaeologist and museum director. Fox became keeper of archaeology at the National Museum of Wales, and subsequently served as director from 1926 to 1948. His most ...

and

Frederick Attenborough Frederick Levi Attenborough (4 April 1887 – 20 March 1973) was a British academic and principal of University College, Leicester. Biography He was the son of Mary (née Saxton) and Frederick August Attenborough of Stapleford, Nottinghamshir ...

. In 1920, Chadwick and his Section B had lost its eminent Celticist

Edmund Crosby Quiggin Edmund Crosby Quiggin (23 August 1875 – 4 January 1920) was a British linguist and scholar. Born in Cheadle, Staffordshire, he was educated at Kingswood School in Bath. In 1893 he matriculated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University ...

, and Nora stepped in for the deceased as a teacher of Irish, while Hector taught

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

. In 1925, among their notable students were

Kenneth H. Jackson Prof Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson CBE FRSE FSA DLitt (1 November 1909 – 20 February 1991) was an English linguist and a translator who specialised in the Celtic languages. He demonstrated how the text of the Ulster Cycle of tales, written ''circa ...

, who became an eminent Celticist in Chadwick's department. Chadwick was elected a

Fellow 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 ...

. Following the Royal Commission on the Universities and the introduction of the Faculty system, Chadwick and his Section B acquired a permanent staff. Two lecturers were appointed in 1926, including his friend and former student

Bertha Phillpotts Dame Bertha Surtees Phillpotts (25 October 1877 – 20 January 1932) was an English scholar in Scandinavian languages, literature, history, archaeology and anthropology. Biography Phillpotts was born in Bedford on 25 October 1877. Her fa ...

, widely recognized as one of England's foremost authorities in

Old Norse studies Scandinavian studies is an interdisciplinary academic field of area studies, mainly in the United States and Germany, that primarily focuses on the Scandinavian languages (also known as North Germanic languages) and cultural studies pertaining to ...

. Her premature death in 1932 was keenly felt by Chadwick and his colleagues. In the late 1920s, Chadwick became increasingly interested in the fields of archaeology and anthropology. In 1927, he transferred his Section B to the new Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology, where it become known as the Department for Anglo-Saxon and Kindred Studies. Chadwick sought to make its courses into a broad independent discipline akin to the

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. In 1928, he was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of the Humanities at Lund.

''The Growth of Literature''

Although Chadwick had heavily concentrated on his university duties rather than his own writing after becoming Professor, Nora insisted that he begin writing again. He argued that his university work was more important, but Nora persisted, and eventually persuaded him into resuming writing after suggesting to him that they write a work together. This ushered in what Chadwick's student, friend and colleague Jose Maria de Navarro considers the final stage of Chadwick's career. The Chadwicks continued the line of research pursued by Chadwick in his ''The Heroic Age'' (1912). Their original intention was to conduct a comparative study of the literature, archaeology and general civilization of the Viking Age and Ancient Greece, to which they began collecting material in 1919. About this time however, Chadwick came upon ''Early Adventures in Persia, Susiana and Babylonia'' by

Austen Henry Layard Sir Austen Henry Layard (; 5 March 18175 July 1894) was an English Assyriologist, traveller, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, politician and diplomat. He was born to a mostly English family in Paris and largely raised in It ...

, in which the effect of the recital of the ''

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,00 ...

'' on the followers of Mehemet Taki Khan is described. Impressed by the parallels of the ''Shahnameh'' with Greek epic poetry, the Chadwicks decided to broaden the scope of their project, which eventually came to encompass the oral literature of a large number of peoples. The resulting work, ''The Growth of Literature'' (1932–1940), was published in three volumes. The first volume was mostly written by Hector, and was concerned with the ancient oral literature of Europe, although Nora collected the material on Irish literature. The second volume was mostly written by Nora, although Chadwick wrote its sections of Slavic,

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and

Indian literature Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognised languages. The earliest works of Indian literature were o ...

. The third volume was mostly written by Nora, and included sections on

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

, Polynesian and African literature, while the concluding section, summarizing all the material of the three volumes, was written by Hector. The Chadwicks were proficient in nearly all of the languages of the literature covered in the book, and it took literary, historical, philological, anthropological and archaeological evidence into account. It has been described as a pioneering and masterful study, and the finest work of Chadwick's career.

Last years at Cambridge

It was at his country home in Vowchurch that Chadwick began writing his ''Early Wales and the Saxon Penetration of the West'', but the threat of an invasion of England eventually convinced him to abandon the project in 1940, as he felt the looming prospect of a German invasion had too many parallels with the

Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain is the process which changed the language and culture of most of what became England from Romano-British to Germanic peoples, Germanic. The Germanic-speakers in Britain, themselves of diverse origins, ev ...

. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began in 1939, the Chadwicks moved to a new home at Adams Road. During the war, many younger members of the staff left University, and Chadwick once more conducted most of the teaching at his Department for Anglo-Saxon and Kindred Studies. In his notable "Who was he?", published in ''

Antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

'' in 1940, he examined the site of

Sutton Hoo Sutton Hoo is the site of two early medieval cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near the English town of Woodbridge. Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when a previously undisturbed ship burial containing a ...

, and suggested that its magnificent burial was of Rædwald of East Anglia. Upon attaining the age limit in 1941, Chadwick retired as Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and became an Honorary Fellow at Clare College, but at the request of the university, he continued teaching as head of his department. Chadwick was able to combine his leadership of the department with writing and research. In his ''The Study of Anglo-Saxon'' (1941), Chadwick surveyed the history and contemporary state of Anglo-Saxon studies. In this work, he argued in favour of an interdisciplinary method for the study of the Anglo-Saxons, and suggested that Anglo-Saxon studies should be split from the field of English studies and made into a distinct and broad discipline akin to the

. Both in his ''The Study of Anglo-Saxon'', and his later "Why compulsory philology", which appeared in ''The Universities Quarterly'' for 1946 and was written at the request of the National Union of Students, Chadwick argued against the teaching of philology as a compulsory subject, and instead considered it best suited for post-graduate work. In view of this, some have suggested that he had grown to dislike philology, but Chadwick's ample use of philology in all of his later works suggests that he indeed still appreciated it. Chadwick received an honorary D.Litt. from 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 ...

in 1943. Upon the election of his friend and former pupil Bruce Dickins as Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon, he retired from teaching, satisfied that his department was now safely in good hands. Chadwick thought that the broad approach he advocated for Anglo-Saxon studies should also be applied to the study of foreign peoples. This idea was further elaborated by him in his ''The Nationalities of Europe and the Growth of National Ideologies'' (1945). The writing of this work was strongly connected to the ongoing world war. He argued that the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

had not dedicated enough resources to the study of nationalities and their importance. Chadwick suggested the establishment of a government-sponsored Institute of Imperial and Foreign Studies to provide courses on the history, languages and literature of various countries. He believed such knowledge was indispensable for understanding the culture of any country. Chadwick's book presents a general survey of the various nationalities in Europe from an archaeological, historical and philological perspective. He notably located the Celtic homeland somewhere in the Netherlands and northwest Germany. Much of the work is dedicated to the study of the origins and nature of German imperialism. In subsequent years, ''The Nationalities of Europe and the Growth of National Ideologies'' became an indispensable work for aspiring members of the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

Death and legacy

In his final literary project, Chadwick sought through a combination of archaeological, historical and philological evidence to examine the early history of Scotland. He argued that the ''

Pictish Chronicle The Pictish Chronicle is a name used to refer to a pseudo-historical account of the kings of the Picts beginning many thousand years before history was recorded in Pictavia and ending after Pictavia had been enveloped by Scotland. Version A The ...

'' and the '' Chronicle of the Kings of Alba'' were derived from two distinct oral traditions of the

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic langu ...

and

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ea ...

respectively. Chadwick suggested that the

Pictish language Pictish is the extinct Brittonic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geographica ...

was akin to Welsh, but that nevertheless there had been an early and significant Gaelic presence in early Scotland. Chadwick became gravely ill in February 1946, but recovered and resumed writing on his final work. Within months however, his illness reappeared. He died in his sleep at Evelyn Nursing Home, Trumpington Road,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, on 2 January 1947. His final work was completed by Nora, and published by

under the title ''Early Scotland: The Picts, the Scots and the Welsh of Southern Scotland'' (1947). In 1950, ''The Early Cultures of North-West Europe'', 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 ...

in Chadwick's honour edited by Cyril Fox and Bruce Dickins, his former students, was published. Under the leadership of his former pupil

Dorothy Whitelock Dorothy Whitelock, (11 November 1901 – 14 August 1982) was an English historian. From 1957 to 1969, she was the Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Cambridge. Her best-known work is ''English Historical ...

, Chadwick's Department for Anglo-Saxon and Kindred Studies was in 1967 merged back into the Faculty of English, eventually becoming known as the

Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic The Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic (ASNC or, informally, ASNaC) is one of the constituent departments of the University of Cambridge, and focuses on the history, material culture, languages and literatures of the various peoples who i ...

. Chadwick is today considered the founder of this department. The H.M. Chadwick Lecture was established in 1990, and is given annually by a scholar who is invited to Cambridge for the occasion. Chadwick left a long-lasting impact on subsequent scholarship.

Christopher N. L. Brooke Christopher Nugent Lawrence Brooke (23 June 1927 – 27 December 2015) was a British medieval historian. From 1974 to 1994 he was Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge. Early life and education Born on 2 ...

heralds him as one of the most notable

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

s in the history of Cambridge. As a researcher and writer, Chadwick pioneered interdisciplinary research for the study of the cultures of early Northern Europe and beyond. The interdisciplinary approach of the Chadwicks has strongly influenced Celtic studies up to the present day. At Cambridge, Chadwick is notable for having developed the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, and supervised the education of generations of scholars, a large number of whom made major contributions to scholarship.

Selected works

Books

*
The Cult of Othin
', 1899 *
Studies in Old English
', 1899 *
Studies on Anglo-Saxon Institutions
', 1905 *
The Origin of the English Nation
', 1907 *
The Heroic Age
', 1912 * (With Nora K. Chadwick)
The Growth of Literature
', 1932–1940 *
The Study of Anglo-Saxon
', 1941 *
The Nationalities of Europe
', 1945 * (Edited by Nora K. Chadwick)
Early Scotland
', 1949

Articles

* "The Origin of the Latin Perfect in ''-ui", 1894 *
Ablaut Problems in the idg. Verb
, 1899 *
The Oak and the Thunder God
, 1900 *
The Ancient Teutonic Priesthood
, 1900 * "Early Inscriptions in the North of England", 1901 * "Early National Poetry", 1907 * "Ancestor Worship and the Cult of the Dead: Teutonic", 1908 * "Calendar: Teutonic", 1910 * "Some German River Names", 1913 *
The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial VII: Who was he?
, 1940 * "Why Compulsory Philology? II", 1946

References

Sources

* * * * * * * *