The Toller Lecture is an annual lecture at the University of Manchester's Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies (MANCASS). It is named after Thomas Northcote Toller, one of the editors of An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary . [1]
Notable lecturers have included Janet Bateley, the first Toller lecturer, [2] Rolf Bremmer, [3] George Brown, Michelle P. Brown, [4] Roberta Frank, [5] Helmut Gneuss, [6] Nicholas Howe, Joyce Hill, [7] Simon Keynes, Clare Lees, [8] Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe, [9] Paul Szarmach, Elaine Treharne, [10] Leslie Webster [11] and Barbara Yorke. [12] In the past, most Toller lectures were published in the Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester; while a collection containing the revised and updated lectures from 1987 to 1997, together with new essays on Toller and the Toller Collection in the John Rylands Library, was published in 2003. [13] However, with the establishment of the John Rylands Research Institute, the decision was made to prioritise the Special Collections of the Library in a revamped Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, and Toller lectures were no longer published there. It was therefore decided to publish recent Toller lectures as a separate collection which appeared in 2017. [14]
Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th century, and the first Old English literary works date from the mid-7th century. After the Norman conquest of 1066, English was replaced, for a time, by Anglo-Norman as the language of the upper classes. This is regarded as marking the end of the Old English era, since during this period the English language was heavily influenced by Anglo-Norman, developing into a phase known now as Middle English in England and Early Scots in Scotland.
Edgar was King of England from 959 until his death. He became king of all England on his brother's death. He was the younger son of King Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu. A detailed account of Edgar's reign is not possible, because only a few events were recorded by chroniclers and monastic writers were more interested in recording the activities of the leaders of the church.
The John Rylands Research Institute and Library is a late-Victorian neo-Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. It is part of the University of Manchester. The library, which opened to the public in 1900, was founded by Enriqueta Augustina Rylands in memory of her husband, John Rylands. It became part of the university in 1972, and now houses the majority of the Special Collections of The University of Manchester Library, the third largest academic library in the United Kingdom.
Frederick Fyvie Bruce, usually cited as F. F. Bruce, was a Scottish biblical scholar who supported the historical reliability of the New Testament. His first book, New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? (1943), was voted by the American evangelical periodical Christianity Today in 2006 as one of the top 50 books "which had shaped evangelicals".
The quoit brooch is a type of Anglo-Saxon brooch found from the 5th century and later during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain that has given its name to the Quoit Brooch Style to embrace all types of Anglo-Saxon metalwork in the decorative style typical of the finest brooches. The brooches take their modern name from the rings thrown in the game of quoits, and have the form of a broad ring, or circle with an empty centre, usually in bronze or silver, and often highly decorated. The forms are in a very low relief, so contrasting with other early Anglo-Saxon styles, with detail added by shallow engraving or punching within the main shapes. Dots or dashes are often used to represent fur on the animal forms, as well as lines emphasizing parts of the body. They are fixed with a single, straight hinged pin like those of other Anglo-Saxon ring or Celtic brooches and are further defined by the presence of a slot and pin-stops on the ring.
Charles Harold Dodd (1884–1973) was a Welsh New Testament scholar and influential Protestant theologian. He is known for promoting "realized eschatology", the belief that Jesus' references to the kingdom of God meant a present reality rather than a future apocalypse. He was influenced by Martin Heidegger and Rudolf Otto.
Anglo-Saxon dress refers to the clothing and accessories worn by the Anglo-Saxons from the middle of the fifth century to the eleventh century. Archaeological finds in Anglo-Saxon cemeteries have provided the best source of information on Anglo-Saxon costume. It is possible to reconstruct Anglo-Saxon dress using archaeological evidence combined with Anglo-Saxon and European art, writing and literature of the period. Archaeological finds have both supported and contradicted the characteristic Anglo-Saxon costume as illustrated and described by these contemporary sources.
Barbara Yorke FRHistS FSA is a historian of Anglo-Saxon England, specialising in many subtopics, including 19th-century Anglo-Saxonism. She is currently emeritus professor of early Medieval history at the University of Winchester, and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She is an honorary professor of the Institute of Archaeology at University College London.
Charles Patrick Wormald was a British historian born in Neston, Cheshire, son of historian Brian Wormald.
Arthur Samuel Peake (1865–1929) was an English biblical scholar, born at Leek, Staffordshire, and educated at St John's College, Oxford. He was the first holder of the Rylands Chair of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis in the University of Manchester, from its establishment as an independent institution in 1904. He was thus the first non-Anglican to become a professor of divinity in an English university.
John Joscelyn, also John Jocelyn or John Joscelin, (1529–1603) was an English clergyman and antiquarian as well as secretary to Matthew Parker, an Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Joscelyn was involved in Parker's attempts to secure and publish medieval manuscripts on church history, and was one of the first scholars of the Old English (Anglo-Saxon) language. He also studied the early law codes of England. His Old English dictionary, although not published during his lifetime, contributed greatly to the study of that language. Many of his manuscripts and papers eventually became part of the collections of Cambridge University, Oxford University, or the British Library.
John Fitchett was an English poet.
The University of Manchester Library is the library system and information service of the University of Manchester. The main library is on the Oxford Road campus of the university, with its entrance on Burlington Street. There are also ten other library sites, eight spread out across the university's campus, plus The John Rylands Library on Deansgate and the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre situated inside Manchester Central Library.
Thomas Northcote Toller (1844–1930) was the first professor of English language at Manchester and one of the editors of An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary which had been begun by Joseph Bosworth. He was appointed to the chair in 1880 and retired in 1903. The annual Toller Lecture, which commemorates his achievements, is held in Manchester.
Alfred the Great was an Anglo-Saxon king of Wessex, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom that existed from 519 to 927 south of the river Thames in England. In the late 9th century, the Vikings had overrun most of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that constituted England at the time. Alfred's reign has become regarded as pivotal in the eventual unification of England, after he famously defended Wessex and southern England against the Viking invasions, winning a decisive victory at the Battle of Edington in 878.
Alice Margaret Cooke was a British historian and writer. Cooke catalogued the books in the John Rylands Library and she helped in the development of higher education for women in Manchester.
Gale Owen-Crocker is a professor emerita of the University of Manchester, England. Before her retirement she was Professor of Anglo-Saxon Culture and Director of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies.
The Manchester Geographical Society is a learned society and a registered charity based in Manchester, England.
Gernot Wieland is an emeritus professor at the University of British Columbia, who specializes in the Anglo-Saxon period, specifically glosses in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, relations between Anglo-Saxon scholars and their continental counterparts, and the Latin literature written by Anglo-Saxons.
Charles Reginald Dodwell (1922–1994) was a British art historian who specialized in the period covering the years 800–1200.