Kenneth Grant Tremayne Webster (1871–1942) was a Canadian-born American

literary scholar Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. T ...

Biography

Kenneth G. T. Webster was born in

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Yarmouth is a town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. A port town, industries include fishing, and tourism. It is the terminus of a ferry service to Bar Harbor, Maine, run by Bay Ferries. History Originally inhabited by the Mi'kmaq, the regio ...

on June 10, 1871, and was educated at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

, graduating in 1892. He then took another undergraduate degree at Harvard University, followed by a master's and doctorate there, after which he was immediately offered a

faculty Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument) A faculty is a legal in ...

position at the institution. Influenced by

Archibald MacMechan Archibald McKellar MacMechan (June 21, 1862 – 7 August 1933) was a Canadian academic at Dalhousie University and writer. His works deal mainly with Nova Scotia and its history. ''The Halifax Disaster (Explosion)'' was an official history of th ...

he became a medievalist and Arthurian scholar, with an interest in

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

s. He married Edith Forbes on August 15, 1903, and they had two children. Webster was also a

restorer The conservation and restoration of cultural property focuses on protection and care of cultural property (tangible cultural heritage), including artworks, architecture, archaeology, and museum collections. Conservation activities include preve ...

of historic houses. They include the Barnard Capen House from the early seventeenth century in

Dorchester, Massachusetts Dorchester (colloquially referred to as Dot) is a Boston neighborhood comprising more than in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester ...

, which he moved to its current site in Milton, Massachusetts in 1913, and the eighteenth century Ross-Thompson House in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, which he bought in 1932 to save it from demolition, and is now a museum. He died at Baker Memorial Hospital in Boston on October 31, 1942.

Works

*''Chief British poets of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries'' (1916) editor with

William Allan Neilson William Allan Neilson (28 March 1869 – 1946) was a Scottish-American educator, writer and lexicographer, graduated in the University of Edinburgh in 1891 and became a PhD in Harvard University in 1898. He was president of Smith College betwe ...

*'' Sir Gawain & The Green Knight: Piers the Ploughman'' (1917) translator with William Alan Nielson *'' Lanzelet: A Romance of Lancelot by

Ulrich Von Zatzikhoven Ulrich von Zatzikhoven was the author of the Middle High German Arthurian romance ''Lanzelet''. Ulrich's name and his place of origin (''Zezikon'' in Switzerland) are only known definitively from the work itself. However, it is generally accepted ...

'' (1951) ** New print with additional notes by Roger Sherman Loomis. Columbia University Press, New York City 2005, . *''

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

: A Study of Her Abductions'' (1951)

Notes

External links

Castle colleection at Dalhousie University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Kenneth G. T. Arthurian scholars 1871 births 1942 deaths Harvard University alumni Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian literary critics Canadian people of British descent People from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia