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Francis Barton Gummere

November 30, 2023

Francis Barton Gummere (March 6, 1855, Burlington, New Jersey – May 30, 1919, Haverford, Pennsylvania) was a Professor of English, an influential scholar of folklore and ancient languages, and a student of Francis James Child.

Francis Barton Gummere, c. 1910

Early life edit

Gummere was a descendant of an old German-American Quaker family; his grandfather John Gummere (1784-1845) was one of the founders of the Haverford School, which became Haverford College, of which Gummere's father Samuel James Gummere (1811-1874) was the first president.[1] Gummere's father became the president of the college in 1862, when Gummere was 7, and Gummere graduated from Haverford at the age of 17. After working for several years, he returned to study and received an A.B. from Harvard University and an A.M. from Haverford in 1875. From 1875 to 1881 he taught at the Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island, where his father had taught some years previously. During these years he took trips to Europe to pursue further studies, ultimately earning a PhD magna cum laude at Freiburg in 1881.

Later academic career edit

After a year teaching English at Harvard, Gummere spent five years as the headmaster of the Swain Free School in New Bedford, Massachusetts. In 1887 he became an English professor at Haverford, a position he held until his death on May 30, 1919. Gummere served as president of the Modern Language Association in 1905.[2]

Child ballads edit

Both Francis James Child and his successor George Lyman Kittredge gathered about themselves a group of students to assist in and continue the study of the ballads. While a student at Harvard, Gummere assisted Child in their compilation. He later wrote two books which were based upon this collaboration.

His first was Old English Ballads, which he dedicated to Child as "the teacher who has taught a host of pupils to welcome honest work in whatever degree of excellence, and of the friend who never failed to help and encourage the humblest of his fellows."[3]: v  In the Preface, Gummere acknowledged Child's review of the publisher's proof sheets for his book's Glossary, and acknowledged Kittredge's review of the proof sheets of the Introduction, Glossary, and Notes. Gummere's selection was intended as a representative sampling from the Child ballads.[3]: vii  It was in this book that Gummere introduced his concept of the communal composition of ballads[3]: xi-xii  as primitive "poetry which once came from the people as a whole, from the compact body as yet undivided by lettered or unlettered taste, and represents the sentiment neither of individuals nor of a class."[3]: xvi 

In his second book, The Popular Ballad,[4] Gummere described in detail his proposal for ballad evolution, which was based upon changes in structure and form.[4]: 78  The classification ranges from the primitive to the epic:

  1. ballads which are structured as a series of progressive refrains
    • the simplest structure
  2. ballads which are structured as a dominant chorus, but with a simple subordinate narrative
    • the transition between situations is abrupt, which Gummere called "leaping and lingering"[4]: 90-91 
  3. longer ballads which are completely narrative
    • what Gummere called "chronicle ballads" (now known as the Border ballads), and the "greenwood ballads" (now known as the Robin Hood ballads)
  4. combination of narrative ballads as a "coherent epic poem"[4]: 78 

Two other students of Kittredge's expanded Gummere's classification:

  • Walter Morris Hart later wrote Ballad and Epic. A Study in the Development of the Narrative Art.[5]
  • William Hall Clawson[6] wrote his doctoral thesis on the Robin Hood ballads, which was later published as The Gest of Robin Hood.[7] Prior to the publication of his thesis, Clawson wrote a summary article for The Journal of American Folklore.[8] In this article, Clawson combined the ballad classification work done by Gummere and Hart.

Beowulf translation edit

Gummere was also a translator; his Beowulf was published in 1910 as part of the Harvard Classics series.[9] In 1991 John Espey wrote of Gummere's Beowulf, "it remains the most successful attempt to render in modern English something similar to the alliterative pattern of the original", in a review of an audiobook version of Gummere's Beowulf by George Guidall.[10] A graphic novel version of Beowulf by Gareth Hinds published in the 2000s uses Gummere's translation.

Grendel reaches Heorot: Beowulf 710–714
Old English verse Gummere's translation[11]

Ðá cóm of móre | under misthleoþum
Grendel gongan· | godes yrre bær·
mynte se mánscaða | manna cynnes
sumne besyrwan | in sele þám héan·

Then from the moorland, by misty crags,
with God's wrath laden, Grendel came.
The monster was minded of mankind now
sundry to seize in the stately house.

In memoriam edit

One of Gummere's students was writer Christopher Morley, whose memoriam on Gummere was part of his 1922 essay collection Plum Pudding.[12]

Family edit

Gummere married Amelia Smith Mott (1859-1937) in 1882; she was a noted scholar of Quaker history. Their son Richard Mott Gummere was a professor of Latin and headmaster of the William Penn Charter School. Their second son Samuel James Gummere had a military career, reaching the rank of major. A third son, Francis Barton Gummere Jr., was an invalid.

Works edit

  • The Anglo-Saxon Metaphor, 1881
  • A Handbook of Poetics, 1885
  • Germanic Origins: A study in primitive culture, 1892.[13] Republished in 1930 as Founders of England with notes by Francis Peabody Magoun.
  • Old English Ballads, 1894[3]
  • The Beginnings of Poetry, 1901
  • The Popular Ballad, 1907[4]
  • The Oldest English Epic, 1909
  • Democracy and Poetry, 1911

References edit

  1. ^ "Francis Barton Gummere", John Matthews Manly, Modern Philology, Sept. 1919, p. 241-246
  2. ^ list of past presidents, MA website
  3. ^ a b c d e Gummere, Francis B (1897). Old English Ballads (1 ed.). Boston MA: Ginn & Company. Archived from the original on 5 April 2005. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e Gummere, Francis B (1907). The Popular Ballad (1 ed.). Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  5. ^ Hart, Walter Morris (1907). "III". Ballad and Epic. A Study in the Development of the Narrative Art (1 ed.). Boston MA: Ginn & Co. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  6. ^ . RPO Representative Poetry online. University of Toronto Libraries. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  7. ^ Clawson, William Hall (1909). The gest of Robin Hood (1 ed.). Toronto CA: University of Toronto library. Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  8. ^ Clawson, William Hall (1908). "Ballad and Epic". The Journal of American Folklore. American Folklore Society. 21 (82): 349–361. doi:10.2307/534582. JSTOR 534582. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  9. ^ Gummere, Francis B. (1910). Beowulf. Harvard Classics. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  10. ^ Los Angeles Times, February 17, 1991
  11. ^ Beowulf translated by Frances B. Gummere. Poetry Foundation
  12. ^ In Memoriam: Francis Barton Gummere, by Christopher Morley
  13. ^ "Review of Germanic Origins: a Study in Primitive Culture by Francis B. Gummere". The Athenaeum (3380): 196–197. August 6, 1892.

External links edit

  • Works by or about Francis Barton Gummere at Internet Archive
  • Works by Francis Barton Gummere at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)  

November 30, 2023
francis, barton, gummere, march, 1855, burlington, jersey, 1919, haverford, pennsylvania, professor, english, influential, scholar, folklore, ancient, languages, student, francis, james, child, 1910, contents, early, life, later, academic, career, child, balla. Francis Barton Gummere March 6 1855 Burlington New Jersey May 30 1919 Haverford Pennsylvania was a Professor of English an influential scholar of folklore and ancient languages and a student of Francis James Child Francis Barton Gummere c 1910 Contents 1 Early life 2 Later academic career 3 Child ballads 4 Beowulf translation 5 In memoriam 6 Family 7 Works 8 References 9 External linksEarly life editGummere was a descendant of an old German American Quaker family his grandfather John Gummere 1784 1845 was one of the founders of the Haverford School which became Haverford College of which Gummere s father Samuel James Gummere 1811 1874 was the first president 1 Gummere s father became the president of the college in 1862 when Gummere was 7 and Gummere graduated from Haverford at the age of 17 After working for several years he returned to study and received an A B from Harvard University and an A M from Haverford in 1875 From 1875 to 1881 he taught at the Moses Brown School in Providence Rhode Island where his father had taught some years previously During these years he took trips to Europe to pursue further studies ultimately earning a PhD magna cum laude at Freiburg in 1881 Later academic career editAfter a year teaching English at Harvard Gummere spent five years as the headmaster of the Swain Free School in New Bedford Massachusetts In 1887 he became an English professor at Haverford a position he held until his death on May 30 1919 Gummere served as president of the Modern Language Association in 1905 2 Child ballads editBoth Francis James Child and his successor George Lyman Kittredge gathered about themselves a group of students to assist in and continue the study of the ballads While a student at Harvard Gummere assisted Child in their compilation He later wrote two books which were based upon this collaboration His first was Old English Ballads which he dedicated to Child as the teacher who has taught a host of pupils to welcome honest work in whatever degree of excellence and of the friend who never failed to help and encourage the humblest of his fellows 3 v In the Preface Gummere acknowledged Child s review of the publisher s proof sheets for his book s Glossary and acknowledged Kittredge s review of the proof sheets of the Introduction Glossary and Notes Gummere s selection was intended as a representative sampling from the Child ballads 3 vii It was in this book that Gummere introduced his concept of the communal composition of ballads 3 xi xii as primitive poetry which once came from the people as a whole from the compact body as yet undivided by lettered or unlettered taste and represents the sentiment neither of individuals nor of a class 3 xvi In his second book The Popular Ballad 4 Gummere described in detail his proposal for ballad evolution which was based upon changes in structure and form 4 78 The classification ranges from the primitive to the epic ballads which are structured as a series of progressive refrains the simplest structure ballads which are structured as a dominant chorus but with a simple subordinate narrative the transition between situations is abrupt which Gummere called leaping and lingering 4 90 91 longer ballads which are completely narrative what Gummere called chronicle ballads now known as the Border ballads and the greenwood ballads now known as the Robin Hood ballads combination of narrative ballads as a coherent epic poem 4 78 Gummere placed a single ballad in this category A Gest of Robyn Hode Child 117 Two other students of Kittredge s expanded Gummere s classification Walter Morris Hart later wrote Ballad and Epic A Study in the Development of the Narrative Art 5 William Hall Clawson 6 wrote his doctoral thesis on the Robin Hood ballads which was later published as The Gest of Robin Hood 7 Prior to the publication of his thesis Clawson wrote a summary article for The Journal of American Folklore 8 In this article Clawson combined the ballad classification work done by Gummere and Hart Beowulf translation editGummere was also a translator his Beowulf was published in 1910 as part of the Harvard Classics series 9 In 1991 John Espey wrote of Gummere s Beowulf it remains the most successful attempt to render in modern English something similar to the alliterative pattern of the original in a review of an audiobook version of Gummere s Beowulf by George Guidall 10 A graphic novel version of Beowulf by Gareth Hinds published in the 2000s uses Gummere s translation Grendel reaches Heorot Beowulf 710 714 Old English verse Gummere s translation 11 Da com of more under misthleothum Grendel gongan godes yrre baer mynte se manscada manna cynnes sumne besyrwan in sele tham hean Then from the moorland by misty crags with God s wrath laden Grendel came The monster was minded of mankind now sundry to seize in the stately house In memoriam editOne of Gummere s students was writer Christopher Morley whose memoriam on Gummere was part of his 1922 essay collection Plum Pudding 12 Family editGummere married Amelia Smith Mott 1859 1937 in 1882 she was a noted scholar of Quaker history Their son Richard Mott Gummere was a professor of Latin and headmaster of the William Penn Charter School Their second son Samuel James Gummere had a military career reaching the rank of major A third son Francis Barton Gummere Jr was an invalid Works editThe Anglo Saxon Metaphor 1881 A Handbook of Poetics 1885 Germanic Origins A study in primitive culture 1892 13 Republished in 1930 as Founders of England with notes by Francis Peabody Magoun Old English Ballads 1894 3 The Beginnings of Poetry 1901 The Popular Ballad 1907 4 The Oldest English Epic 1909 Democracy and Poetry 1911References edit Francis Barton Gummere John Matthews Manly Modern Philology Sept 1919 p 241 246 list of past presidents MA website a b c d e Gummere Francis B 1897 Old English Ballads 1 ed Boston MA Ginn amp Company Archived from the original on 5 April 2005 Retrieved 24 January 2022 a b c d e Gummere Francis B 1907 The Popular Ballad 1 ed Boston Houghton Mifflin amp Co Archived from the original on 16 September 2008 Retrieved 24 January 2022 Hart Walter Morris 1907 III Ballad and Epic A Study in the Development of the Narrative Art 1 ed Boston MA Ginn amp Co Archived from the original on 29 August 2019 Retrieved 24 January 2022 WILLIAM HALL CLAWSON 1879 1964 RPO Representative Poetry online University of Toronto Libraries Archived from the original on 11 May 2021 Retrieved 24 January 2022 Clawson William Hall 1909 The gest of Robin Hood 1 ed Toronto CA University of Toronto library Archived from the original on 23 September 2008 Retrieved 24 January 2022 Clawson William Hall 1908 Ballad and Epic The Journal of American Folklore American Folklore Society 21 82 349 361 doi 10 2307 534582 JSTOR 534582 Retrieved 24 January 2022 Gummere Francis B 1910 Beowulf Harvard Classics Retrieved 22 October 2020 Los Angeles Times February 17 1991 Beowulf translated by Frances B Gummere Poetry Foundation In Memoriam Francis Barton Gummere by Christopher Morley Review of Germanic Origins a Study in Primitive Culture by Francis B Gummere The Athenaeum 3380 196 197 August 6 1892 External links editWorks by or about Francis Barton Gummere at Internet Archive Works by Francis Barton Gummere at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Francis Barton Gummere amp oldid 1180657360, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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