Whitley Stokes,
CSI,
CIE,
FBA (28 February 1830 – 13 April 1909) was an Irish lawyer and
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 ...
scholar.
Background
He was a son of
William Stokes (1804–1878), and a grandson of
Whitley Stokes the physician and anti-
Malthusian
Malthusianism is the idea that population growth is potentially exponential while the growth of the food supply or other resources is linear, which eventually reduces living standards to the point of triggering a population die off. This event, ...
(1763–1845), each of whom was
Regius Professor of Physic at the
University of Dublin
The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...
. His sister
Margaret Stokes
Margaret McNair Stokes (March 1832 – 20 September 1900) was an Irish Illustrator, antiquarian and writer.
Life
Born in Dublin, she was the daughter of Dr William Stokes and his wife Mary (née Black). One brother, Whitley Stokes, was a lead ...
was a writer and archaeologist.
He was born at 5
Merrion Square
Merrion Square () is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre.
History
The square was laid out in 1752 by the estate of Viscount FitzWilliam and was largely complete by the beginning of the 19th century. The demand fo ...
, Dublin and educated at
St Columba's College where he was taught Irish by Denis Coffey, author of a ''Primer of the Irish Language''.
Through his father he came to know the Irish antiquaries
Samuel Ferguson
Sir Samuel Ferguson (10 March 1810 – 9 August 1886) was an Irish poet, barrister, antiquarian, artist and public servant. He was an acclaimed 19th-century Irish poet, and his interest in Irish mythology and early Irish history can be seen ...
,
Eugene O'Curry
Eugene O'Curry ( ga, Eoghan Ó Comhraí or Eoghan Ó Comhraidhe, 20 November 179430 July 1862) was an Irish philologist and antiquary.
Life
He was born at Doonaha, near Carrigaholt, County Clare, the son of Eoghan Ó Comhraí, a farmer, and hi ...
,
John O'Donovan and
George Petrie.
He entered
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 ...
in 1846 and graduated with a BA in 1851. His friend and contemporary Rudolf Thomas Siegfried (1830–1863) became assistant librarian in Trinity College in 1855, and the college's first professor of
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
in 1858. It is likely that Stokes learnt both Sanskrit and
comparative philology
Comparative linguistics, or comparative-historical linguistics (formerly comparative philology) is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness.
Genetic relatedness ...
from Siegfried, thus acquiring a skill-set rare among Celtic scholars in Ireland at the time.
Career
Stokes qualified for the bar at
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...
. His instructors in the law were
Arthur Cayley,
Hugh McCalmont Hughes, and
Thomas Chitty. Stokes became an English
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
on 17 November 1855, practicing in London before going to India in 1862, where he filled several official positions. In 1865 he married Mary Bazely by whom he had four sons and two daughters.
One of his daughters, Maïve, compiled a book of ''Indian Fairy Tales'' in 1879 (she was 12 years old) based on stories told to her by her Indian ''ayahs'' and a man-servant. It also included some notes by Mrs. Mary Stokes. Mary died while the family was still living in India. In 1877, Stokes was appointed legal member of the viceroy's council, and he drafted the codes of civil and criminal procedure and did much other valuable work of the same nature. In 1879 he became president of the commission on Indian law. Nine books by Stokes on Celtic studies were published in India. He returned to settle permanently in London in 1881 and married Elizabeth Temple in 1884.
In 1887 he was made a
CSI, and two years later a
CIE He was an original fellow of 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 ...
, an honorary fellow of
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...
and foreign associate of the
Institut de France
The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...
.
Celtic scholarship
Whitley Stokes is perhaps most famous as a Celtic scholar, and in this field he worked both in India and in England. He studied Irish,
Breton
Breton most often refers to:
*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
and
Cornish texts. His chief interest in Irish was as a source of material for comparative
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 ...
. Despite his learning in
Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
and
Middle Irish
Middle Irish, sometimes called Middle Gaelic ( ga, An Mheán-Ghaeilge, gd, Meadhan-Ghàidhlig), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old Engli ...
, he never acquired Irish pronunciation and never mastered
Modern Irish
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was the ...
.
In the hundred years since his death he has continued to be a central figure in Celtic scholarship.
Many of his editions have not been superseded in that time and his total output in Celtic studies comes to over 15,000 pages.
He was a correspondent and close friend of
Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer (20 December 1858 – 11 October 1919) was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I in the United States was a source of controversy. His brother ...
from 1881 onwards. With Meyer he established the journal ''Archiv für celtische Lexicographie'' and was the co-editor, with
Ernst Windisch
Ernst Wilhelm Oskar Windisch (4 September 1844, Dresden30 October 1918, Leipzig) was a German classical philologist and comparative linguist who specialised in Sanskrit, Celtic and Indo-European studies.
In his student days at the University of L ...
, of the ''Irische Texte'' series.
In 1862 he was awarded the
Cunningham Gold Medal by the Royal Irish Academy.
Death and reputation
![Whitleystokes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Whitleystokes.jpg)
Stokes died at his London home, 15 Grenville Place, Kensington, in 1909 and is buried in Paddington Old Cemetery. Willesden Lane, where his grave is marked by a Celtic cross. Another Celtic cross was erected as a memorial to him at St Fintan's, Sutton, Dublin. The
Gaelic League
(; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...
paper ''
An Claidheamh Soluis
''An Claidheamh Soluis'' () was an Irish nationalist newspaper published in the early 20th century by ''Conradh na Gaeilge'' (the Gaelic League). It was named for the " Sword of Light" (in modern spelling ''Claíomh Solais'') of Gaelic myth.
...
'' called Stokes "the greatest of the Celtologists" and expressed pride that an Irishman should have excelled in a field which was at that time dominated by continental scholars.
In 1929 the Canadian scholar James F. Kenney described Stokes as "the greatest scholar in philology that Ireland has produced, and the only one that may be ranked with the most famous of continental savants".
A conference entitled "Ireland, India, London: The Tripartite Life of Whitley Stokes" took place 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 ...
from 18–19 September 2009.
The event was organised to mark the centenary of Stokes's death.
A volume of essays based on the papers delivered at this conference, ''The Tripartite Life of Whitley Stokes (1830–1909)'', was published by
Four Courts Press
Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably t ...
in autumn 2011.
In 2010
Dáibhí Ó Cróinín
Dáibhí Iarla Ó Cróinín (born 29 August 1954) is an Irish historian and authority on Hiberno-Latin texts, noted for his significant mid-1980s discovery in a manuscript in Padua of the "lost" Irish 84-year Easter table. Ó Cróinín was Prof ...
published ''Whitley Stokes (1830–1909): The Lost Celtic Notebooks Rediscovered'', a volume based on the scholarship in Stokes's 150 notebooks which had been resting unnoticed at the University Library,
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
since 1919.
Works
*''
The Passion: Middle Cornish Poem'' (1860–1861)
*''Three Irish Glossaries'' (1862)
Gwreans an Bys: the Creation of the WorldTranslation of
William Jordan's 1611 Cornish play (1864)
*''Beunans Meriasek The Life of Saint Meriasek Bishop and Confessor'' (1872) - Editor
rubner & Co London*''Three Middle-Irish Homilies'' (1877)
*''Old Irish Glosses at Merzburg and Carlsruhe'' (1887)
*''Irische Texte'' published at Leipzig (1880–1900), co-editor with
Ernst Windisch
Ernst Wilhelm Oskar Windisch (4 September 1844, Dresden30 October 1918, Leipzig) was a German classical philologist and comparative linguist who specialised in Sanskrit, Celtic and Indo-European studies.
In his student days at the University of L ...
*''The Anglo-Indian Codes'' (1887).
*''Lives of Saints from the Book of Lismore'' (1890) translator
*''Urkeltischer Sprachschatz'' (1894) with
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.John Strachan
John Strachan (; 12 April 1778 – 1 November 1867) was a notable figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto. He is best known as a political bishop who held many government positions and promoted education from common sc ...
See also
*
The Meeting on the Turret Stairs
References
Sources
*
External links
Stokes bibliographyat
University College Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork.
The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...
's CELT project
Irish Texts edited, some translated, by Whitley Stokes, CELT project, retrieved 23 May 2007*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, Whitley
1830 births
1909 deaths
Celtic studies scholars
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Fellows of the British Academy
Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire
Companions of the Order of the Star of India
Administrators in British India
Irish Protestants
People from Howth
Members of the Council of the Governor General of India