Jane Roberts, FSA, FEA, is a Northern Irish literary scholar. She was the Professor of English Language and Medieval Literature at King's College London from 1998 to 2001.

Early life and education

Jane Roberts was raised in Ballymena,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. After attending Cambridge House School, she read modern languages at

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 ...

graduating in 1956, then completed a diploma of higher education and an

MLitt The Master of Letters degree (MLitt or LittM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. Ireland Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University offer MLitt degrees. Trinity has offered them the longest, owing largely to its tradition as Ireland ...

in 1959 with a

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

on women in Anglo-Saxon England. She then studied at St Hugh's College, Oxford, from 1959 to 1961; she was awarded a

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1967. Louise M. Sylvester and Christian J. Kay, "Jane Roberts: A Personal Tribute", in Christian J. Kay and Louise M. Sylvester (eds), ''Lexis and Texts in Early English: Studies Presented to Jane Roberts'', Costerus New Series, no. 133 (Amsterdam and Atlanta, Georgia: Rodopi, 2001), pp. v-vi.

Academia

Between 1961 and 1964, she was an assistant at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. Promotion to a lectureship in English literature came in 1964. In 1968, she was appointed to a lectureship in Old and Middle English at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

. She was there for a year, moving to King's College London in 1969 to take up a lectureship in English. She was promoted to a

readership Readership may refer to: * The group of readers of a particular publication or writer: their target audience * The total number of readers of a particular publication (newspaper, magazine, book), as proxy-measured by web/app views or print circulat ...

in 1982 and a personal chair ten years later. She was appointed to the Professorship of English Language and Medieval Literature in 1998. She retired in 2001 and was appointed to an emeritus professorship at King's and a senior research fellowship at the

Institute of English Studies The Institute of English Studies (abbreviated as IES) is a centre of excellence in the research, promotion and facilitation in the field English Literature and Language. With a specialisation in book history, palaeography and textual scholarsh ...

."Professor Jane Roberts"
'' King's College London''. Retrieved 6 April 2021. Roberts's books include ''The Guthlac Poems of the Exeter Book'' (1979), ''A Thesaurus of Old English'' (co-authored with Christian Kay, 1995), ''A Guide to Scripts Used in English Writing up to 1550'' (2005), and (as co-editor) ''Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary'' (2009). She was elected a

fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London 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 ...

in 2009. She was also elected a fellow of the English Association in 2014. She was the subject 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 ...

published in 2001. In 2022 she was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Jane (literary scholar) Living people Academics of King's College London Alumni of Trinity College Dublin English literature academics Members of the Royal Irish Academy Year of birth missing (living people)