David Norman Dumville(5 May 1949 – 8 September 2024) was a BritishmedievalistandCelticscholar.
Life and career
editDumville was born on 5 May 1949 to Norman Dumville and Eileen Florence Lillie Dumville (née Gibbs).[1]He attendedEmmanuel College, Cambridge,where he studiedAnglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic;Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München;and received hisPhDat theUniversity of Edinburghin 1976, presenting the thesis "The textual history of the Welsh-Latin Historia Brittonum".[2][1]
Following his doctoral studies, Dumville was a Fellow ofSwansea University(1975–1977) and, in 1977–1978, both assistant professor of English at theUniversity of Pennsylvaniaand O'Donnell Lecturer in Celtic Studies at theUniversity of Oxford.He became a lecturer in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at theUniversity of Cambridgein 1977 (and a fellow ofGirton Collegein 1978), winning promotion to Reader in Early Mediaeval history and Culture of the British Isles (1991–1995) and then to Professor of Palaeography and Cultural History (1995–2005).[3][1]
In 2005, Dumville moved to the School of Divinity, History and Philosophy at theUniversity of Aberdeenas Professor in History & Palaeography. Shortly afterwards his post was reconfigured to be shared with the School of Language and Literature: Dumville taught in both departments, taking a key role in establishing an MA in Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Studies, with his title changed to Professor in History, Palaeography and Celtic.[4]
Dumville retired in 2020, becoming Emeritus Professor[4]of Celtic & Anglo-Saxon[citation needed]at Aberdeen.
Among other honorary and visiting academic appointments, he was visiting professor at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles(1995).[1]He was a founding member of theMedieval Chronicle Society.[citation needed]
Dumville died on 8 September 2024, at the age of 75.[4]
Publications
editDumville produced numerous scholarly articles and books. In 2007, he established ascholarly journalforAnglo-Saxon studies,entitledAnglo-Saxon,which ceased after one issue. He was also involved in refounding the journalsMediaeval ScandinaviaandThe Journal of Celtic Studies.[4][5]
References
edit- ^abcd"David Dumville (b 1949)".dumville.org.
- ^Dumville, David Norman(1975).Textual History of the Welsh-LatinHistoria Brittonum(PhD thesis).University of Edinburgh.hdl:1842/8972.Archived fromthe originalon 25 October 2022.Retrieved25 October2022.
- ^"Professor David Dumville".Staff directory.University of Aberdeen.
- ^abcdO'Connor, Ralph (11 September 2024)."Remembering Professor David Dumville".University of Aberdeen Staffnet.Archivedfrom the original on 11 September 2024.Retrieved11 September2024.
- ^"Brepols - Series - The Journal of Celtic Studies".brepols.net.Retrieved11 September2024.