Alfred Nutt
Alfred Nutt | |
|---|---|
 Nutt, from an obituary | |
| Born | Alfred Trübner Nutt 22 November 1856 London, England |
| Died | 21 May 1910 (aged 53) Melun, France |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse |
Marie Louise Gelly (m. 1885) |
| Children | 2 |
| Father | David Nutt |
| Relatives | William Miller (great-grandfather) |
| Signature | |
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Alfred Trübner Nutt (22 November 1856 – 21 May 1910) was an English publisher, folklorist, and scholar of Arthurian literature and Celtic studies. Born into a publishing family in London, he succeeded to his father's firm, David Nutt, in 1878. He founded The Folk-Lore Journal, served as president of The Folklore Society, and wrote on the Celtic origins of the Grail legend. He was also involved in the establishment of the Irish Texts Society. Nutt drowned in the Seine in 1910 while trying to rescue his son.
Biography
[edit]Early life and education
[edit]Alfred Trübner Nutt was born in London on 22 November 1856, the eldest, and only surviving, son of bookseller and publisher David Nutt. His mother, Ellen, was the granddaughter of another publisher, William Miller.[1] His middle name came from his father's publishing partnership with Nicholas Trübner.[2]
Nutt was educated at the University College School, London, and the Collège de Vitry-le-François in Vitry-le-François, France.[1]
Career
[edit]Nutt spent three years in a business apprenticeship in Leipzig, Berlin, and Paris before taking over his late father's business in 1878.[1] He founded The Folk-Lore Journal (later Folk-Lore) and was elected president of The Folklore Society in 1897 and 1898.[2]
Nutt was a friend and supporter of Jessie Weston, shared her interest in the Celtic origins of the Grail legend, and published some of her books.[3] He was associated with Whitley Stokes, Eleanor Hull and Kuno Meyer. Juliette Wood has described his work as an influence on the scholarship of Roger Sherman Loomis.[4] Nutt was also involved in the establishment of the Irish Texts Society, and his firm produced its early publications.[1]
His works included Studies on the Legend of the Holy Grail: With Especial Reference to the Hypothesis of Its Celtic Origin and, with Meyer, The Voyage of Bran, Son of Febal, to the Land of the Living; An Old Irish Saga.[2][5] He wrote analyses of the Mabinogion and was working on an annotated edition of Matthew Arnold's Study of Celtic Literature at the time of his death.[2]
Personal life and death
[edit]In 1885, Nutt married Marie Louise Gelly;[6] they had two sons.[2]
Nutt drowned in the Seine while on holiday at Melun on 21 May 1910.[2] He had tried to rescue his disabled 17-year-old son, who had been dragged into the river when his horse bolted; his son survived.[7] His wife succeeded him as head of the firm.[8]
Publications
[edit]- —— (1888). Studies on the Legend of the Holy Grail: With Especial Reference to the Hypothesis of Its Celtic Origin. London: David Nutt.
- ——; Hyde, Douglas (1890). Beside the Fire: A Collection of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories. London: David Nutt.
- ——; MacInnes, Duncan (1890). Folk and Hero Tales. London: David Nutt.
- ——; Meyer, Kuno (1895). The Voyage of Bran, Son of Febal, to the Land of the Living: An Old Irish Saga. London: David Nutt.
- —— (1899). Celtic and Mediæval Romance. London: David Nutt.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Murphy, David (October 2009). "Nutt, Alfred Trübner". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Tedder, H. R. (23 September 2004). "Nutt, Alfred Trübner". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Revised by Sayoni Basu (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35269. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Brookman, H. E. (2012). "From Romance to Ritual: Jessie L. Weston's Gawain" (PDF). Studies in Medievalism. 21: 119–144 – via King's College London.
- ^ Wood, Juliette (1999). "Folklore Studies at the Celtic Dawn: The Rôle of Alfred Nutt as Publisher and Scholar". Folklore. 110 (1–2): 3–12. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1999.9715976. ISSN 0015-587X.
- ^ Meyer, Kuno (1895). The Voyage of Bran, Son of Febal, to the Land of the Living; An Old Irish Saga. London: David Nutt – via HathiTrust.
- ^ "BMD Records (Marriages) - Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France". Geneanet. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ "Alfred Nutt Drowned: Well-Known London Publisher Dies Trying to Save His Invalid Son" (PDF). The New York Times. 24 May 1910. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ^ Crawford, Elizabeth (2003). The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866–1928. London: Routledge. p. 579. ISBN 978-1-135-43402-1 – via Google Books.
Further reading
[edit]- Clodd, Edward (June 1910). "In Memoriam: Alfred T. Nutt". Folk-Lore. 21 (2).
- Rogerson, Ian (2000). "Alfred Nutt: A Fine Victorian Publisher". Bulletin of the John Rylands Library.
- Beaupré, Suzanna (25 October 2024). "At the Sign of the Phoenix: the Folklore of Alfred Nutt". Peter Harrington.
External links
[edit]
- Works by Alfred Nutt at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Alfred Nutt at the Internet Archive
- Alfred Nutt at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Alfred Nutt at Online Books Page
- Alfred Nutt at The National Archives
- Alfred Nutt at the Library of Congress, with 24 library catalogue records
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1856 births
- 1910 deaths
- 19th-century English male writers
- 19th-century English non-fiction writers
- 19th-century English publishers (people)
- 19th-century English scholars
- 20th-century English male writers
- 20th-century English non-fiction writers
- 20th-century English publishers (people)
- Arthurian scholars
- Celtic studies scholars
- Deaths by drowning in France
- English folklorists
- English male non-fiction writers
- People educated at University College School
- Presidents of the Folklore Society
- Publishers (people) from London