Walter William Skeat | |
|---|---|
| Deacon | |
 Skeat at his writing desk, no later than 1895 | |
| Church | Anglican |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | Ely |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 November 1835 London, England |
| Died | 6 October 1912 (aged 76) Cambridge, England |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Alma mater | Christ's College, Cambridge |
| Signature |  |
Walter William Skeat,FBA (21 November 1835 – 6 October 1912) was a Britishphilologist andAnglican deacon. The pre-eminent Britishphilologist of his time, he was instrumental in developing the English language as a higher education subject in the United Kingdom.
Skeat was born in London[1] to architect William Skeat, of Perry Hill,Sydenham,[2] later of Mount Street,Park Lane,City of Westminster, and his wife Sarah, daughter of Timothy Bluck. The Skeat family were a branch of an ancient Surrey family, and were resident in the parish ofSt George Hanover Square since the 1700s.[3][4] He was educated atKing's College School (Wimbledon),Highgate School, andChrist's College, Cambridge. He became a fellow at Christ's College in July 1860.[5]
In 1860 Skeat was ordained an Anglicandeacon and married Bertha Clara. In December 1860, he became acurate atEast Dereham, where he served during 1861 and most of 1862. From 1862 to 1863, Skeat served as thecurate atGodalming, Surrey. In October 1864, he returned to Cambridge University as a mathematics lecturer, a position he held until 1871.
Skeat soon developed an interest in the history of the English language. In 1870, Skeat andHenry Bradshaw collaborated on an edition ofGeoffrey Chaucer for theUniversity of Oxford. However, the project fell through when Bradshaw failed to keep his commitment. In 1894, Skeat published a six-volume edition of Chaucer; a supplementary volume,Chaucerian Pieces, was published in 1897.[6]
In 1878 Skeat was elected theElrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon atCambridge. He completedMitchell Kemble's edition of theAnglo-Saxon Gospels, and did work both inOld English and theGothic language. Skeat is best known for his work inMiddle English, and for his standard editions of Chaucer andWilliam Langland'sPiers Plowman.[7]
Skeat was the founder and only president of the English Dialect Society from 1873 to 1896.[8] The society's purpose was to collect materials for the publication ofThe English Dialect Dictionary. The society was dissolved in 1897.[9]
Skeat is buried at theAscension Parish Burial Ground inCambridge.[citation needed]
Skeat's wife, Bertha Clara, born 6 February 1840, died 15 July 1924, is buried with him, as is a daughterBertha Marian Skeat who was a writer and headmistress.[10] His son was theanthropologistWalter William Skeat. His grandsons include the notedpalaeographerT. C. Skeat and the stained glass painterFrancis Skeat.[11]
In purephilology, Skeat's principal achievement was hisAn Etymological Dictionary of the English Language (4 parts, 1879–1882; rev., and enlarged, 1910).[7] While preparing the dictionary, he wrote hundreds of short articles on word origins for the London-based journalNotes and Queries.
Skeat also coined the termghost word and was a leading expert in this subject.[12] Skeat was also a pioneer oftoponymy. His major publications in this field include:
Skeat edited works for theEarly English Text Society:
For theScottish Text Society:
Skeat produced what is still the main edition ofÆlfric of Eynsham'sLives of the Saints;[15] the edition includes translations which were largely the work of two women referred to as Mss Gunning and Wilkinson, who were credited in the preface to his edition.[16]
According to A. J. Wyatt, Skeat "was not a great teacher ... he left the teaching to those who had learned from him" – i.e. Wyatt himself andIsrael Gollancz – "his teaching was episodic. Yet his lectures were eagerly followed by the fit though few; they were always interesting when least utilitarian, when he forgot examinations and syllabuses, and poured forth from the quaint storehouse of his motley memory things new and old."[17]
Skeat's pedagogical works include:
Skeat was one of the very few scholars in English studies who had sufficient expertise to compete with the state-employed and tenured colleagues from German universities.
LikeHenry Sweet, Skeat regardedGeoffrey Chaucer and other medieval English authors as part of his national heritage and objected to German scholars publishing works on them. At one point, Skeat exclaimed that even though he was "...to some extent disqualified, as being merely a native of London, in which city Chaucer himself was born," he should be able to contribute scholarship on Chaucer without perceived German interference.[19]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Skeat, Walter William".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 168–169.
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