Ephraim Emerton
Encyclopedia
Ephraim Emerton, Ph. D. was an American
educator, author
, translator, and historian
prominent in his field of Europe
an medieval history.
, to James and Martha West Emerton. His elder brother was James Henry Emerton
(1847–1930), naturalist
and arachnologist
.
At the age of twenty, Emerton graduated from Harvard College
. He continued his postgraduate
education in Germany
and received his doctorate from the University of Leipzig
in 1876. Returning to Massachusetts the following year, he married Sybil M. Clark of Cambridge
and accepted a teaching position at Harvard.
Emerton served at first as an instructor in both History
and German language
. He eventually became Harvard's foremost Professor of Ecclesiastical History
, and served on the faculty for forty-two years (1876–1918). A devout Unitarian
, he taught at the Harvard Divinity School
and most of his writings deal with religious figures and issues. In 1882, he was appointed to a Harvard chair as Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History, the first such professorship bestowed by the Winn financial endowment
.
In 1884, Emerton became one of the founders of the oldest and largest historians' society in the United States, the American Historical Association
. Throughout his life he was active in numerous academic organizations including the New England History Teachers' Association
, the Massachusetts Historical Society
, the Essex Institute
and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
of which he was a Fellow.
Professor Emerton retired from teaching on 1 September 1918 and he was granted the title of professor emeritus
. In his retirement he continued his historical research and translation work. He remained active with academic groups and, in 1921, he accepted the position of president of the Cambridge Historical Society. He died at his home in Cambridge on 3 March 1935 at the age of eighty-four.
(1466–1536) was the inspiration for Emerton's Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, first published as one section of a multi-author compilation called Heroes of the Reformation
. Published as a standalone book in 1899, it is regarded by scholars as his greatest historical work.
Emerton frequently contributed to larger works, writing articles for books, journals, and even the New York Evening Post. He was an authoritative contributor to the New International Encyclopedia
(1914), and provided the full entries for Erasmus and the papacy.
The professor also authored several widely-read textbooks for high school and college students, including Mediæval Europe, 814-1300 and An Introduction to the Study of the Middle Ages (375-814) which were highly acclaimed by his contemporaries. Professor Emerton's texts were standard reading within the American educational system for decades after their publication.
A facility for languages never left Emerton, and the translation of medieval German
and Latin
texts to contemporary English language was his special occupation. One of his most enduring efforts is a translation of the letters of Saint Boniface
, the last work published before his death.
Professor Emerton's body of work includes:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
educator, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, translator, and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
prominent in his field of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an medieval history.
Life and career
Ephraim Emerton was born in Salem, MassachusettsSalem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
, to James and Martha West Emerton. His elder brother was James Henry Emerton
James Henry Emerton
James Henry Emerton was an American arachnologist.-Early life:Emerton was born at Salem, Massachusetts, on March 31, 1847. He was rather frail, and a young helper in his father's drug store, George F. Markoe, interested the boy in outdoor life...
(1847–1930), naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
and arachnologist
Arachnology
Arachnology is the scientific study of spiders and related animals such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, collectively called arachnids. However, the study of ticks and mites is sometimes not included in arachnology, but is called Acarology...
.
At the age of twenty, Emerton graduated from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
. He continued his postgraduate
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
education in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and received his doctorate from the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
in 1876. Returning to Massachusetts the following year, he married Sybil M. Clark of Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
and accepted a teaching position at Harvard.
Emerton served at first as an instructor in both History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. He eventually became Harvard's foremost Professor of Ecclesiastical History
History of Christianity
The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, its followers and the Church with its various denominations, from the first century to the present. Christianity was founded in the 1st century by the followers of Jesus of Nazareth who they believed to be the Christ or chosen one of God...
, and served on the faculty for forty-two years (1876–1918). A devout Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
, he taught at the Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
and most of his writings deal with religious figures and issues. In 1882, he was appointed to a Harvard chair as Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History, the first such professorship bestowed by the Winn financial endowment
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
.
In 1884, Emerton became one of the founders of the oldest and largest historians' society in the United States, the American Historical Association
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. Founded in 1884, the association promotes historical studies, the teaching of history, and the preservation of and access to historical materials...
. Throughout his life he was active in numerous academic organizations including the New England History Teachers' Association
New England History Teachers' Association
The New England History Teachers' Association was founded in 1897 and is the United States' oldest association of teachers of history and social studies. It promotes discussion of teaching in the field amongst teachers, students and academics....
, the Massachusetts Historical Society
Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
, the Essex Institute
Essex Institute
The Essex Institute in Salem, Massachusetts, was "a literary, historical and scientific society." It maintained a museum, library, historic houses; arranged educational programs; and issued numerous scholarly publications...
and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
of which he was a Fellow.
Professor Emerton retired from teaching on 1 September 1918 and he was granted the title of professor emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
. In his retirement he continued his historical research and translation work. He remained active with academic groups and, in 1921, he accepted the position of president of the Cambridge Historical Society. He died at his home in Cambridge on 3 March 1935 at the age of eighty-four.
Works
The Dutch theologian ErasmusDesiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian....
(1466–1536) was the inspiration for Emerton's Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, first published as one section of a multi-author compilation called Heroes of the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. Published as a standalone book in 1899, it is regarded by scholars as his greatest historical work.
Emerton frequently contributed to larger works, writing articles for books, journals, and even the New York Evening Post. He was an authoritative contributor to the New International Encyclopedia
New International Encyclopedia
The New International Encyclopedia was an American encyclopedia first published in 1902 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It descended from the International Cyclopaedia and was updated in 1906, 1914 and 1926.-History:...
(1914), and provided the full entries for Erasmus and the papacy.
The professor also authored several widely-read textbooks for high school and college students, including Mediæval Europe, 814-1300 and An Introduction to the Study of the Middle Ages (375-814) which were highly acclaimed by his contemporaries. Professor Emerton's texts were standard reading within the American educational system for decades after their publication.
A facility for languages never left Emerton, and the translation of medieval German
Middle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
and Latin
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...
texts to contemporary English language was his special occupation. One of his most enduring efforts is a translation of the letters of Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface , the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, probably at Crediton , was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz...
, the last work published before his death.
Professor Emerton's body of work includes:
Other
- Papers of Ephraim Emerton, 1891-1930, a collection of notes and lectures including a sound recording, is in the permanent collection of the Harvard University LibraryHarvard University LibraryThe Harvard University Library system comprises about 90 libraries, with more than 16 million volumes. It is the oldest library system in the United States, the largest academic and the largest private library system in the world...
(OCLC 77069261).