Ritchie Girvan facts for kids
Ritchie Girvan (born in 1877, died around 1958) was a Scottish expert in literature, an author, and a university teacher. He spent most of his career at the University of Glasgow. He became famous for studying an old English poem called Beowulf. His most well-known work is his 1935 book, Beowulf and the Seventh Century: Language and Content.
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About Ritchie Girvan's Life
Ritchie Girvan was born in 1877 in Campbeltown, Scotland. He started studying at the University of Glasgow in 1894. He earned his Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1899.
In 1907, he became a lecturer in English Language at the university. He stayed there for his entire career. In 1947, he was made a full professor. The university gave him an honorary law degree (LLD) in 1950. He also served as the Dean of Faculties from 1954 to 1958.
His Work on Beowulf
Girvan is most famous for his 1935 book, Beowulf and the Seventh Century: Language and Content. In this book, he suggested that the famous poem Beowulf was written earlier than many others thought, probably around 680–700 AD.
He also believed that the poem could not be used to understand daily life during the Anglo-Saxon migration (around 550 AD). This was because there was a long time between when those events happened and when the poem was written. However, Girvan did believe that the poet knew a lot about the history of the Geats. He also thought that Beowulf, as king of the Geats, was a real historical figure.
What J.R.R. Tolkien Said
Ritchie Girvan's work on Beowulf was mentioned by the famous author J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien talked about Girvan's ideas in his own lecture, Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.
Tolkien quoted Girvan, who wondered why the Beowulf poet chose this specific story. Girvan felt there were "greater" stories the poet could have chosen.
In the final peroration of his notable lecture on Folk-tale and History in Beowulf, given last year [1935], Mr Girvan said:
- "Confessedly there is matter for wonder and scope for doubt, but we might be able to answer with complete satisfaction some of the questionings which rise in men's minds over the [Beowulf] poet's presentment of his hero, if we could also answer with certainty the question why he chose just this subject, when to our modern judgment there were at hand so many greater, charged with the splendour and tragedy of humanity, and in all respects worthier of a genius as astonishing as it was rare in Anglo-Saxon England."
There is something irritatingly odd about all this. One even dares to wonder if something has not gone wrong with 'our modern judgement', supposing that it is justly represented. Higher praise than is found in the learned critics, whose scholarship enables them to appreciate these things, could hardly be given to the detail, the tone, the style, and indeed to the total effect of Beowulf. Yet this poetic talent, we are to understand, has all been squandered on an unprofitable theme: as if Milton had recounted the story of Jack and the Beanstalk in noble verse.
Tolkien found it a bit strange that Girvan thought the Beowulf poet wasted his talent on a "less important" story. Tolkien felt that the poem was highly praised by experts. He compared it to a great poet like John Milton writing about a simple story like Jack and the Beanstalk.
Ritchie Girvan's Legacy
While he was a professor at Glasgow, Ritchie Girvan gave a stained glass window to Hyndland Parish Church in Glasgow. This window shows scenes from the Bible, including parts of Jesus's childhood. Because of this, it is often called the "Nativity" window.
Books and Papers by Girvan
Here are some of the works Ritchie Girvan wrote:
- Angelsaksisch Handboek (1931), Haarlem.
- Beowulf and the Seventh Century: Language and Content (1935), Methuen.
- Finnsburuh (1940), Proceedings of the British Academy 26: 327–60.
