Frederick James Furnivall
Encyclopedia
Frederick James Furnivall (4 February 1825 – 2 July 1910), one of the co-creators of the Oxford English Dictionary
(OED), was an English
philologist.
He founded a number of learned societies on early English Literature, and made pioneering and massive editorial contributions to the subject, of which the most notable was his parallel text edition of the Canterbury Tales. He was one of the founders of and teachers at the London Working Men's College
and a lifelong campaigner against what he perceived as injustice.
, Surrey
, the son of a surgeon who had made his fortune from running the Great Fosters
lunatic asylum. He was educated at University College London
and Trinity Hall, Cambridge
, where he took an undistinguished mathematics degree. He was called to the bar from Lincoln's Inn
in 1849 and practiced desultorily until 1870.
In 1862 Furnivall married Eleanor Nickel Dalziel (born ca. 1838 —died 1937). Some authors describe her as a lady's maid, which would have been a socially unusual match at the time, although her social status is disputed.
Some time before 1866, Furnivall lost a child, Eena, whom he described as "my sweet, bright, only child". He lost his inheritance in a financial crash in 1867. When he was 58, he left Eleanor and their one surviving son for a 21-year-old secretary named Teena Rochfort-Smith. Two months after his formal separation from Eleanor, Teena Rochfort-Smith suffered serious burns while burning correspondence in Goole
and died in 1883.
Furnivall joined the Philological Society
in 1847, and was its Secretary from 1853 almost until his death in 1910 at the age of 85.
. He founded a series of literary and philological societies: the Early English Text Society
(1864), the Chaucer Society (1868), the Ballad Society (1868), the New Shakspere Society (1873), the Browning Society
(1881, with Miss Emily Hickey
), the Wyclif Society (1882), and the Shelley Society (1885). Some of these, notably the Early English Text Society
, were very successful; all were characterised by extreme controversy. The most acrimonious of all was the New Shakspere Society, scene of a bitter dispute between Furnivall and Algernon Charles Swinburne
.
These societies were primarily textual publishing ventures. Furnivall edited texts for the Early English Text Society
, for the Roxburghe Club
and the Rolls Series
; but his most important work was on Geoffrey Chaucer
. His "Six-Text" edition of the Canterbury Tales was a new conception. It has been described as containing full and accurate transcriptions, though some modern scholars disagree about his merits as an editor. His work, and that of the amateurs he recruited, was often slapdash, but it was substantial, and it laid the foundation for all subsequent editions. He was one of a small group of Victorian scholars who have been credited with establishing the academic study of English literature.
and John Ruskin
. It was through this group that he became one of the founders of the Working Men's College
, and although he later became agnostic
he always retained a connection with the College. He conceived of the college as a classless, democratic community of learning. One biographer wrote that he formed there a conviction that "scholarship could be pursued by quite ordinary people in a spirit of good-humoured enthusiasm" that was to be the key to his later life.
, and till the end kept up his interest in rowing; with John Beesley in 1845 he introduced the new type of narrow sculling
boat, and in 1886 started races on the Thames for sculling fours and sculling eights. In 1896 Furnivall founded the Hammersmith Sculling Club (now called Furnivall Sculling Club
), initially for working-class girls, and he "entered into its activities with his usual boyish enthusiasm, for it brought together two of his favourite activities: vigorous outdoor exercise and enjoyment of the company of young women".
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
(OED), was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
philologist.
Working Men's College
The Working Men's College- WMC, being among the earliest adult education institutions established in the United Kingdom, is Europe's oldest extant centre for adult education and perhaps one of its smallest...
and a lifelong campaigner against what he perceived as injustice.
Life
Frederick James Furnivall was born at EghamEgham
Egham is a wealthy suburb in the Runnymede borough of Surrey, in the south-east of England. It is part of the London commuter belt and Greater London Urban Area, and about south-west of central London on the River Thames and near junction 13 of the M25 motorway.-Demographics:Egham town has a...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, the son of a surgeon who had made his fortune from running the Great Fosters
Great Fosters
Great Fosters is a 16th century mansion which originally lay within Windsor Great Park and is still adjacent to the town of Egham, Surrey, England. It is a Grade I listed building, close to Heathrow and the M25 London orbital motorway.-History:...
lunatic asylum. He was educated at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
and Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
, where he took an undistinguished mathematics degree. He was called to the bar from Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
in 1849 and practiced desultorily until 1870.
In 1862 Furnivall married Eleanor Nickel Dalziel (born ca. 1838 —died 1937). Some authors describe her as a lady's maid, which would have been a socially unusual match at the time, although her social status is disputed.
Some time before 1866, Furnivall lost a child, Eena, whom he described as "my sweet, bright, only child". He lost his inheritance in a financial crash in 1867. When he was 58, he left Eleanor and their one surviving son for a 21-year-old secretary named Teena Rochfort-Smith. Two months after his formal separation from Eleanor, Teena Rochfort-Smith suffered serious burns while burning correspondence in Goole
Goole
Goole is a town, civil parish and port located approximately inland on the confluence of the rivers Don and Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...
and died in 1883.
The Oxford English Dictionary
Furnivall was one of the three founders and, from 1861 to 1870, the second editor of the Oxford English Dictionary. Despite his scholarship and enthusiasm, his stint as editor of the OED nearly ended the project. For a dictionary maker he had an unfortunate lack of patience, discipline and accuracy. After having lost the sub-editors for A, I, J, N, O, P & W through his irascibility or caprice, he finally resigned.Furnivall joined the Philological Society
Philological Society
The Philological Society, or London Philological Society, is the oldest learned society in Great Britain dedicated to the study of language. The society was established in 1842 to "investigate and promote the study and knowledge of the structure, the affinities, and the history of languages"...
in 1847, and was its Secretary from 1853 almost until his death in 1910 at the age of 85.
Literary societies
Furnivall indefatigably promoted the study of early English literatureEnglish literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
. He founded a series of literary and philological societies: the Early English Text Society
Early English Text Society
The Early English Text Society is an organization to reprint early English texts, especially those only available in manuscript. Most of its volumes are in Middle English and Old English...
(1864), the Chaucer Society (1868), the Ballad Society (1868), the New Shakspere Society (1873), the Browning Society
Browning Society
Browning societies were groups of people who met regularly to discuss the works of Robert Browning. Emerging from various reading groups, the societies were an indication of the poet's fame and, unusually, were actively forming during his lifetime...
(1881, with Miss Emily Hickey
Emily Henrietta Hickey
Emily Henrietta Hickey was an Irish author, narrative poet and translator.She was born in Macmine Castle, near Enniscorthy in County Wexford, daughter of the Rev. J. S. Hickey, Protestant rector of Goresbridge and grand-daughter of Rev. William Hickey , an agriculturist...
), the Wyclif Society (1882), and the Shelley Society (1885). Some of these, notably the Early English Text Society
Early English Text Society
The Early English Text Society is an organization to reprint early English texts, especially those only available in manuscript. Most of its volumes are in Middle English and Old English...
, were very successful; all were characterised by extreme controversy. The most acrimonious of all was the New Shakspere Society, scene of a bitter dispute between Furnivall and Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He invented the roundel form, wrote several novels, and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica...
.
These societies were primarily textual publishing ventures. Furnivall edited texts for the Early English Text Society
Early English Text Society
The Early English Text Society is an organization to reprint early English texts, especially those only available in manuscript. Most of its volumes are in Middle English and Old English...
, for the Roxburghe Club
Roxburghe Club
The Roxburghe Club was formed on 17 June 1812 by leading bibliophiles, at the time the library of the Duke of Roxburghe was auctioned. It took 45 days to sell the entire collection. The first edition of Boccaccio's Decameron, printed by Chrisopher Valdarfer of Venice in 1471, was sold to the...
and the Rolls Series
Rolls Series
The Rolls Series, official title The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages, is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources, published in the second half of the 19th century. Some 255 volumes, representing 99 separate...
; but his most important work was on Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
. His "Six-Text" edition of the Canterbury Tales was a new conception. It has been described as containing full and accurate transcriptions, though some modern scholars disagree about his merits as an editor. His work, and that of the amateurs he recruited, was often slapdash, but it was substantial, and it laid the foundation for all subsequent editions. He was one of a small group of Victorian scholars who have been credited with establishing the academic study of English literature.
The Working Men's College
In the 1850s Furnivall became involved in various Christian Socialist schemes and his circle included Charles KingsleyCharles Kingsley
Charles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...
and John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
. It was through this group that he became one of the founders of the Working Men's College
Working Men's College
The Working Men's College- WMC, being among the earliest adult education institutions established in the United Kingdom, is Europe's oldest extant centre for adult education and perhaps one of its smallest...
, and although he later became agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
he always retained a connection with the College. He conceived of the college as a classless, democratic community of learning. One biographer wrote that he formed there a conviction that "scholarship could be pursued by quite ordinary people in a spirit of good-humoured enthusiasm" that was to be the key to his later life.
Rowing
Furnivall was always an enthusiastic oarsmanSport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
, and till the end kept up his interest in rowing; with John Beesley in 1845 he introduced the new type of narrow sculling
Sculling
Sculling generally refers to a method of using oars to propel watercraft in which the oar or oars touch the water on both the port and starboard sides of the craft, or over the stern...
boat, and in 1886 started races on the Thames for sculling fours and sculling eights. In 1896 Furnivall founded the Hammersmith Sculling Club (now called Furnivall Sculling Club
Furnivall Sculling Club
Furnivall Sculling Club is a rowing club based on the Tideway in Hammersmith, London. It was founded as Hammersmith Sculling Club in 1896 by Dr Frederick James Furnivall. Originally a club for women only, it opened its doors to men in 1901...
), initially for working-class girls, and he "entered into its activities with his usual boyish enthusiasm, for it brought together two of his favourite activities: vigorous outdoor exercise and enjoyment of the company of young women".
Sources
- Peterson, William S. “Furnivall, Frederick James (1825-1910).” In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, edited by H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33298 (accessed January 26, 2005).
- Utz, Richard. Chaucer and the Discourse of German Philology. A History of Reception and an Annotated Bibliography of Studies, 1793-1948. Turnhout: Brepols, 2002. [pp. 103–157]
- Winchester, SimonSimon WinchesterSimon Winchester, OBE , is a British-American author and journalist who resides mostly in the United States. Through his career at The Guardian, Winchester covered numerous significant events including Bloody Sunday and the Watergate Scandal...
. "The Meaning of Everything: the Story of the Oxford English Dictionary". Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.