Eugène Vinaver (russian: Евгений Максимович Винавер ''Yevgeniĭ Maksimovich Vinaver'', 18 June 1899 – 21 July 1979) was a Russian-born British literary scholar who is best known today for his edition of the works of Sir

Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'Ar ...

Early life

Vinaver was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, the son of Jewish-Russian lawyer, national politician, and Jewish community leader

Maxim Vinaver Maxim Moisseyevitsch Vinaver (russian: Макси́м Моисе́евич Вина́вер; 30 November Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._18_November.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style ...

, who emigrated to France in 1919. Eugene Vinaver studied at the

École pratique des hautes études The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...

in Paris, where he was a pupil of

Joseph Bédier Joseph Bédier (28 January 1864 – 29 August 1938) was a French writer and scholar and historian of medieval France. Biography Bédier was born in Paris, France, to Adolphe Bédier, a lawyer of Breton origin, and spent his childhood in Réunio ...

Life in England

From the late 1920s, he lived in England (one of his teachers was

Mildred Pope Mildred Katherine Pope (28 January 1872 – 16 September 1956) was an English scholar of Anglo-Norman England. She became the first woman to hold a readership at Oxford University, where she taught at Somerville College. Biography Mildred Pope w ...

) and in 1933 he was appointed Professor of French Language and Literature at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

. He received his doctorate from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

in 1950.

Truro 1930 photo 1 Arthurian Society photographer unknown

In 1928, Vinaver founded in Oxford the Arthurian Society, which published two volumes under the title ''Arthuriana'' (1929, 1930). This society was renamed the Society for the Study of the Medieval Languages and Literatures. ''Arthuriana'' became ''Medium Aevum''. In 1948, the

International Arthurian Society ''Arthuriana'' is a quarterly journal published by the North American branch of the International Arthurian Society. Its focus is on the Arthurian legend. The four annual issues are published in February, May, October, and December. History The ...

was organized by Eugène Vinaver and Jean Frappier. In 1947, Eugène Vinaver published a new edition of Malory's ''

Morte d'Arthur ' (originally written as '; inaccurate Middle French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the Rou ...

'', based on the 15th-century

Winchester Manuscript ' (originally written as '; inaccurate Middle French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the Rou ...

which W.F. Oakeshott had discovered in the Fellows' Library at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

in 1934. He noted the structural differences between the text in the manuscript and Caxton's edition of ''

'', such as chapter headings and divisions, and wording changes. In addition to his interest in Arthurian legend, Vinaver was also a recognised authority on Racine and

Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

. Vinaver was a correspondent member 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 spa ...

, laureate of the French Academy of Sciences, and the

Medieval Academy of America The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until c. 1980) is the largest organization in the United States promoting the field of medieval studies. It was founded in 1925 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The academy publishes ...

, and a foreign member of Académie royale de langue et de littérature française of Belgium. He was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor. Vinaver died in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

on 21 July 1979 of malignant lymphoma.

Selected works

* French translation of the Russian lyrics to Lazare Saminsky's opera ''La Galliarde d'une Peste Joyeuse'', 1924 * ''Form and Meaning in Medieval Romance'', 1966 * ''À la recherche d'une poétique médiévale'', 1970 * ''The Rise of Romance'', 1971

References

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

International Arthurian Society; Archives of the Society
Writers from Paris 1899 births 1979 deaths French scholars Arthurian scholars University of Paris alumni Jews from the Russian Empire French medievalists École pratique des hautes études alumni Comparative literature academics Alumni of the University of Oxford Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature) Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Academics of the University of Manchester English literature academics Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy {{France-academic-bio-stub