Norman Francis Blake (19 April 1934 – 29 July 2012) was a British academic and scholar specialising in
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 ...
and
Early Modern English
Early Modern English or Early New English (sometimes abbreviated EModE, EMnE, or ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transition from Middle E ...
language and literature on which he published abundantly during his career.
Life
Norman Blake was born in
Ceará
Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...
, Brazil, where his English father worked as a banker at the
Bank of London and South America
The Bank of London and South America Limited (BOLSA; es, Banco de Londres y América del Sur, also known simply as ''Banco de Londres'') was a British bank, which operated in South America between 1923 and 1971.
Origins
The bank's predecessor w ...
. His mother was half-Brazilian and half-German. In 1938, when he was four years old, he was sent to boarding school in Surrey and then to
Magdalen College School in
Brackley
Brackley is a market town and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, bordering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from Oxford and from Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the inters ...
, Northamptonshire, in 1944.
The outbreak of
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 ...
meant that he was not able to see his parents for eight years. Two years after the end of the war his older brother, who attended the same boarding school, died in an accident.
In 1953 he went up to study at
Magdalen College
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
where his tutors for Medieval English were, amongst others,
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
and
J. A. W. Bennett,
and for
Old Icelandic
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
Gabriel Turville-Petre
Edward Oswald Gabriel Turville-Petre (25 March 1908 – 17 February 1978) was an English philologist who specialized in Old Norse studies.
Born at Bosworth Hall, Leicestershire to a prominent Roman Catholic family, Turville-Petre was edu ...
. During the academic year 1956–1957 he studied Old Icelandic
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
s at the newly established
Arnamagnæan Institute
The Arnamagnæan Institute ( da, Den Arnamagnæanske Samling, formerly ''Det Arnamagnæanske Institut'') is a teaching and research institute established in 1956 to further the study of the manuscripts in the Arnamagnæan Manuscript Collection, th ...
, part of the
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...
. He finished his studies with a
BLitt Bachelor of Letters (BLitt or LittB; Latin ' or ') is a second undergraduate university degree in which students specialize in an area of study relevant to their own personal, professional, or academic development. This area of study may have been t ...
in 1959.
Following his studies at Oxford, he was appointed
assistant lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct res ...
at the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
where he stayed until 1973, interrupted only by an interval as
visiting professor
In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...
at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
in 1963–1964. In 1973 Blake was appointed to the
Chair
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...
of English Language at the
University of Sheffield
, mottoeng = To discover the causes of things
, established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions:
– Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield
, type = Pu ...
, becoming head of the Department for English Language and Linguistics, a post he held until 1998. When the Department of English Language and Linguistics was amalgamated with the Department of English Literature, Blake moved to
De Montfort University
De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...
,
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
, taking up a research professorship.
Norman Blake married Susan Valery Miles at Liverpool in 1965. The couple adopted a daughter, Dorinda, born in 1973. He was an ardent user of public transport and enjoyed
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
, particularly in the
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...
.
In May 2004 Norman Blake suffered a massive stroke severely restricting his movement and speaking capabilities. The ensuing years he spent either at home or at the
Royal Hallamshire Hospital
The Royal Hallamshire Hospital is a general and teaching hospital located in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is in the city's West End, facing Glossop Road and close to the main campus of University of Sheffield and the Collegiate Cresc ...
. Norman Blake passed away on 29 July 2012.
He was survived by his wife and daughter.
Scholarship
Blake's finishing project at Magdalen College in 1959 was editing the ''
Jómsvíkinga saga
The ''Jómsvíkinga saga'' ("''Saga of the Jomsvikings''") is a medieval saga, Icelandic saga composed by an anonymous author. The saga was composed in Iceland during the 13th century. It exists in several manuscripts which vary from each other. T ...
''. His edition of the
saga
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...
was published in 1962.
Whilst being at Liverpool University he published an edition of the
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 ...
poem ''
The Phoenix'' in 1964, and in 1970 an edition of
William Caxton
William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...
's translation of the
Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarch ...
version of ''
The History of Reynard the Fox''.
In the late 1960s and during the 1970s it emerged that Blake's academic interests were twofold, namely the
history of the English Language
English is a West Germanic language that originated from Ingvaeonic languages brought to Britain in the mid-5th to 7th centuries AD by Anglo-Saxon migrants from what is now northwest Germany, southern Denmark and the Netherlands. The Anglo-Sa ...
, particularly late medieval and early modern, and ''The Canterbury Tales''. This led to extensive work not only on
William Caxton
William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...
, but also on
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. The publication of a
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 ...
on William Caxton in 1969, ''Caxton and His World'',
established Blake as one of the foremost scholars on the subject. In the book he put an emphasis on the larger context in which Caxton was operating and challenged the traditional views on Caxton by positing that Caxton was predominantly a merchant and entrepreneur rather than a craftsman printer. Eventually, he would publish more than 40 books and essays on Caxton.
In 1980 Blake published an edition of ''The Canterbury Tales'', based on the
Hengwrt manuscript. This edition was, at the time, not well received as Blake advocated the significance and importance of the Hengwrt manuscript, being the oldest manuscript of the tales, and should take precedence over the
Ellesmere manuscript
The Ellesmere Chaucer, or Ellesmere Manuscript of the Canterbury Tales, is an early 15th-century illuminated manuscript of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'', owned by the Huntington Library, in San Marino, California (EL 26 C 9). It is co ...
on which most published editions and translations were based. The criticism led him to publish a number of books and articles over the following 15 years enhancing and augmenting his argument.
Blake contributed several articles to the German encyclopaedia ''
Lexikon des Mittelalters
The ''Lexikon des Mittelalters'' ("Lexicon of the Middle Ages", LMA, LexMA) is a German encyclopedia on the history and culture of the Middle Ages. Written by authors from all over the world, it comprises more than 36,000 articles in 9 volumes. ...
'' and the ''
Dictionary of the Middle Ages
The ''Dictionary of the Middle Ages'' is a 13-volume encyclopedia of the Middle Ages published by the American Council of Learned Societies between 1982 and 1989. It was first conceived and started in 1975 with American medieval historian Josep ...
'', and was also editor and contributor to the second volume of ''
The Cambridge History of the English Language
''The Cambridge History of the English Language'' is a six volume history of English published between 1992 and 2001. The general editor was Richard Hogg.
* Volume 1, The Beginnings to 1066, Richard Hogg, ed.
* Volume 2, 1066–1476, Norman ...
'' published in 1992.
From 1994 until 2000 Blake was head of the ''Canterbury Tales Project''. The project was first based at the University of Sheffield and from 1998 onwards at De Montfort University. It was funded by amongst others the
Leverhulme Trust
The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to suppo ...
and the
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
. Its aim was to make electronically available all the manuscripts and early printed versions of ''The Canterbury Tales'', a total of approximately 80 manuscripts and books elucidating the textual tradition of the work and providing understanding of the reshaping of the English language during an important phase in its history. By the end of the project eight manuscripts were transcribed as well as the best part of seven others as well as all witnesses of ''
The Franklin's Tale
"The Franklin's Tale" ( enm, The Frankeleyns Tale) is one of ''The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. It focuses on issues of providence, truth, generosity and ''gentillesse'' in human relationships.
Synopsis
A medieval franklin was free, ...
'', consisting of about 330,000 words. Subsequently, ''
The Wife of Bath's Prologue'' and ''
The General Prologue'' were released on
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
, and the Hengwrt Manuscript on CD. No further transcriptions were published until in 2011 the Digital Humanities Institute of the University of Sheffield developed online editions of diplomatic transcriptions of eight of the manuscripts prepared by the ''Canterbury Tales Project'', called the ''Norman Blake Editions of The Canterbury Tales''.
Commemoration
Following his death, the School of English at the University of Sheffield founded a
biennial
Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years.
In particular, it can refer to:
* Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...
lecture, the ''Norman Blake Lecture'' to honour Norman Blake. The first lecture was held in 2013.
Selected publishings
Editions
* ''The Saga of the Jomsvikings'', London, Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd 1962.
* ''The Phoenix'', Manchester, Manchester University Press 1964.
* ''The History of Reynard the Fox'', Oxford, Oxford University Press 1970.
* ''Selections from William Caxton. With an introduction, notes and glossary'', Oxford, Clarendon Press 1973.
* ''Caxton's Own Prose'', London, Andre Deutsch 1973.
* ''Quattuor Sermones. Printed by William Caxton'', Heidelberg, Winter 1975.
* ''The Canterbury Tales: From the Hengwrt Manuscript'', London, Edward Arnold 1980.
Monographs
* ''Caxton and His World'', London, Andre Deutsch 1969.
* ''Middle English Religious Prose'', London, Edward Arnold 1972.
* ''Caxton. England's First Publisher'', London, Osprey Publishing 1976.
* ''The English Language in Medieval Literature'', London, Dent 1977.
* ''Non-standard Language in English Literature'', London, Andre Deutsch 1981.
* ''Shakespeare's Language. An Introduction'', London, Macmillan 1983.
* ''English Historical Linguistics. Studies in Development'', (with Charles Jones), Sheffield, Department of English Language 1984.
* ''The Textual Tradition of the Canterbury Tales'', London, Hodder Arnold 1985.
* ''William Caxton. A Bibliographical Guide'', New York, Garland Publishing 1985.
* ''Index of Printed Middle English Prose'', New York, Garland Publishing 1985.
* ''Traditional English Grammar and Beyond'', Basingstoke, Macmillan 1988.
* ''An Introduction to the Language of Literature'', Basingstoke, Macmillan 1990.
* ''William Caxton and English Literary Culture'', London, A&C Black 1991.
* ''
The Cambridge History of the English Language
''The Cambridge History of the English Language'' is a six volume history of English published between 1992 and 2001. The general editor was Richard Hogg.
* Volume 1, The Beginnings to 1066, Richard Hogg, ed.
* Volume 2, 1066–1476, Norman ...
, Volume II'' (editor and contributor), Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 1992.
* ''An Introduction to the English Language'' (with Jean Moorhead), Basingstoke, Macmillan 1993.
* ''A New Concordance to The Canterbury Tales Based on Blake's Text Edited from the Hengwrt Manuscript'', Okayama, University Education 1994
* ''A History of the English Language'', Basingstoke, Macmillan 1996.
* ''The General Prologue, Geoffrey Chaucer'' (edited by
Elizabeth Solopova
Elizabeth Solopova is a Russian-British philologist and medievalist undertaking research at New College, Oxford. She is known outside academic circles for her work on J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings.
Life
Elizabeth Solopova was born i ...
), Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 2000.
* ''A Grammar of Shakespeare's Language'', Basingstoke, Palgrave 2001.
* ''Shakespeare's Non-Standard English. A Dictionary of his Informal Language'', London, Continuum 2006.
Articles
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
See also
*
The Canterbury Tales
''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''Masterpiece, ...
*
Old English literature
Old English literature refers to poetry and prose written in Old English in early medieval England, from the 7th century to the decades after the Norman conquest of England, Norman Conquest of 1066, a period often termed Anglo-Saxon England. Th ...
*
Middle English literature
The term Middle English literature refers to the literature written in the form of the English language known as Middle English, from the late 12th century until the 1470s. During this time the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English be ...
*
Old Norse literature
Old Norse literature refers to the vernacular literature of the Scandinavian peoples up to c. 1350. It chiefly consists of Icelandic writings.
In Britain
From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Vikings and Norse settlers and their descendants colon ...
*
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
*
Elizabethan literature
Elizabethan literature refers to bodies of work produced during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), and is one of the most splendid ages of English literature. In addition to drama and the theatre, it saw a flowering of poetry, with n ...
*
William Caxton
William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...
References
External links
The ''Canterbury Tales'' Project publishing transcripts, images, collations and analysis of all surviving 15th-century copies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Norman
1934 births
2012 deaths
People educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
Academics of the University of Liverpool
University of Toronto people
Academics of the University of Sheffield
Academics of De Montfort University
Linguists from England
Historical linguists of English
English philologists
Anglo-Saxon studies scholars
Old Norse studies scholars
Chaucer scholars
Shakespearean scholars
English people of German descent
English people of Brazilian descent