Thorlac Turville-Petre facts for kids

Thorlac Francis Samuel Turville-Petre (born January 6, 1944) is an English expert in language and literature. He is a Professor Emeritus and used to be the head of the English department at the University of Nottingham. He is especially known for his studies of Middle English literature. This is the English language used between the 12th and 15th centuries.

About Thorlac Turville-Petre

Thorlac Turville-Petre was born on January 6, 1944. His parents, Gabriel and Joan Turville-Petre, were also important scholars. They studied Old Norse, which is an old language from Scandinavia, at the University of Oxford.

His Education and Career

Thorlac went to Magdalen College School in Oxford. He then studied at Jesus College, Oxford, where he earned several degrees. In 1971, he started working at the University of Nottingham as a lecturer. He later became a Professor of Medieval English Literature there.

Professor Turville-Petre has done important research on old English poetry. He also studied the Wollaton Manuscripts, which are significant historical documents. He was the editorial secretary for The Society for Early English and Norse Electronic Texts. You can find more about this society online at seenet.org.

Retirement and Recognition

Thorlac Turville-Petre retired from the University of Nottingham on August 31, 2010. He is now a Professor Emeritus, which means he keeps his title after retirement. He has written many books and scholarly papers. He also received awards for his work.

In 2010, a special book called Medieval Alliterative Poetry was published in his honor. This type of book, called a festschrift, celebrates a scholar's work. It was put together by John A. Burrow and Hoyt N. Duggan. Thorlac Turville-Petre is married and has two sons and two granddaughters.

His Contributions to Literature

Thorlac Turville-Petre is a philologist. This means he studies language in historical texts. He has focused a lot on Middle English literature. This includes famous works like the Alliterative Morte Arthure and Piers Plowman.

Key Works and Research

He has written many books that help us understand Middle English better. Some of his books include:

• The Alliterative Revival (1977)
• Alliterative Poetry in the Later Middle Ages (1989)
• A Book of Middle English (1992, with J. A. Burrow)
• England the Nation: Language, Literature, and National Identity, 1290-1340 (1996)
• Reading Middle English Literature (2007)
• The Wollaton Medieval Manuscripts: Texts, Owners and Readers (2010, with Ralph Hanna)
• Poems from BL MS Harley 913:‘The Kildare Manuscript’ (2015)
• Description and Narrative in Middle English Alliterative Poetry (2018)
• Pearl (2021)
• St Erkenwald: A Critical Edition (2024)

He also helped create online versions of important texts. These are called Electronic Editions. They are available on the Piers Plowman Electronic Archive website piers.chass.ncsu.edu. These online archives make old texts easier for students and researchers to study.