Robinson Ellis, FBA (5 September 1834 – 9 October 1913) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

classical scholar 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 ...

. Ellis was born at

Barming Barming is a civil parish in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. It lies to the west of Maidstone and at the 2011 census had a population of 2,690. The eastern end of the parish is part of the built-up area of Maidstone, although the remaind ...

, near

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

, and was educated at

Elizabeth College, Guernsey The Royal College of Elizabeth, better known as Elizabeth College, is a co-educational independent school in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. One of the earliest members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), it is a public school ...

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

, and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. He took a First in Classical Moderations in 1854 and a First in Literae Humaniores ('Greats') in 1856. In 1858 he became fellow of

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, and in 1870 professor of

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 ...

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

. In 1876 he returned to Oxford, where from 1883 to 1893 he held the university readership in Latin. In 1893 he succeeded

Henry Nettleship Henry Nettleship (5 May 1839 – 10 July 1893) was an English classical scholar. Life Nettleship was born at Kettering, and was educated at Lancing College, Durham School and Charterhouse schools, and gained a scholarship for entry to Corpus Chri ...

as Corpus Professor of Latin.''Who Was Who, 1897-1916'', London : A. & C. Black, 1920, p. 226. His chief work was on

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His s ...

, whom he began to study in 1859. In the course of his research he used an important early manuscript of Catullus, named the ''Codex Oxoniensis'' (many sources credit him with a discovery here, but that exact codex is already mentioned in an edition of Catullus made by Friedrich Wilhelm Doering in 1822). However, Ellis did not recognise the importance of that codex, and failed to consult it for his ''Commentary on Catullus'' (1876), thereby attracting criticism (

Emil Baehrens Paul Heinrich Emil Baehrens (24 September 1848, in Bayenthal – 26 September 1888, in Groningen) was a German classical scholar. After completing his studies he became ''Privatdozent'' at Jena. In 1877 he was appointed ordinary professor at the Un ...

first recognised the importance of the Oxoniensis and published his conclusions two years earlier, in 1874). In 1889 Ellis produced a second, enlarged edition, which resulted its author's recognition as an authority on Catullus. Professor Ellis quoted largely from the early Italian commentators, maintaining that the land where the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

originated had done more for scholarship than is commonly recognized. He supplemented his critical work by a translation (1871, dedicated to

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

), ''The Poems and Fragments of Catullus in the Metres of the Original''. Another author to whom Professor Ellis devoted many years' study was

Manilius The gens Manilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are frequently confused with the Manlii, Mallii, and Mamilii. Several of the Manilii were distinguished in the service of the Republic, with Manius Manilius obtaini ...

, the

astrological Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

poet. In 1891 he published ''Noctes Manilianae'', a series of dissertations on the '' Astronomica'', with emendations. He also treated

Avianus Avianus (or possibly Avienus;Alan Cameron, "Avienus or Avienius?", ''ZPE'' 108 (1995), p. 260 c. AD 400) a Latin writer of fables,"Avianus" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 5. identified as a pagan. The 4 ...

Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...

and the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

poet Orientius, whose poem ''

Commonitorium The ' or ''Commonitory'' is a 5th-century Christian treatise written after the council of Ephesus under the pseudonym "" and attributed to Vincent of Lérins. Has good notes. It is known for Vincent's famous maxim: "Moreover, in the Catholic Churc ...

'' he edited for the ''Vienna Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum''. He edited the ''Ibis'' of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

, the ''Aetna'' of the younger Lucilius, and contributed to the ''Anecdota Oxoniensia'' various unedited

Bodleian The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

and other manuscripts. In 1907 he published ''

Appendix Vergiliana The ''Appendix Vergiliana'' is a collection of poems traditionally ascribed as being the juvenilia (work written as a juvenile) of Virgil.Régine ChambertVergil's Epicureanism in his early poems in "Vergil, Philodemus, and the Augustans" 2003: "V ...

'' (an edition of the minor poems); in 1908 ''The Annalist Licinianus''. He is buried in

St Sepulchre's Cemetery __NOTOC__ St Sepulchre's Cemetery is a cemetery located on Walton Street, Jericho, central Oxford, England. The cemetery was opened in 1848 as a cemetery for the Oxford parishes of St Giles, St Paul, St Michael, and St Mary Magdalen. It was ...

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

, Oxford.

References

External links

* *
Grave of Robinson Ellis in St Sepulchre's Cemetery, Oxford, with biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Robinson English classical scholars Corpus Christi Professors of Latin Fellows of Trinity College, Oxford Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford People educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey People educated at Rugby School Academics of University College London 1834 births 1913 deaths People from Barming Fellows of the British Academy Burials at St Sepulchre's Cemetery