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Dictionary of Old English: 2006 Progress Report

 

Joan Holland, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto

http://www.doe.utoronto.ca

Our 2007 report begins with the happy news that Eric Stanley, Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor Emeritus of the University of Oxford, and a thirty-year member of our International Advisory Committee, will be awarded an honorary degree from the University of Trinity College in the University of Toronto in May 2008 for his achievements in the field of English language and literature.

It is also with great joy that we announce the release, in December, of the Dictionary of Old English: A to G online; this represents a major milestone for the project, the first Web-based version of the first eight letters, acces¬sible to any operating system. The publication incorporates several technological innovations, perhaps the most exciting development being the link with the Oxford English Dictionary. Users of the DOE with access to the online OED can click on the OED link, if there is one, and see displayed the modern English derivatives of the Old English vocabulary. Other hotlinks allow the user access to the (revised and updated) bibliographic references to the short titles at the beginning of our citations, and to the (revised and updated) bibliographic information on the Latin sources to the Old English texts. The search engine for A to G not only supports individual searches on the fields of a DOE entry but also Boolean searches both within fields and across fields. For example, a medical researcher interested in the use of plants in Anglo-Saxon England can search on 'medical' and 'plant' in the definition field and discover an interesting range of plants used as ingredients in medical remedies, e.g. agrimony, cinquefoil, cockle, yarrow. The search engine was developed by our former systems analyst, Peter Mielke, coordinating work with our present systems analyst, Xin Xiang. The creation of the online DOE: A to G would not have been possible without infrastructure support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation for the Text Analysis Portal for Research (TAPoR). DOE: A to G online is distributed by the project by site license to both institutions and individuals. Information on subscriptions can be found on our web page (http://www.doe.utoronto.ca). In early 2008, we will publish the Dictionary of Old English: A to G on CD-ROM and then the letter G alone on microfiche. The CD-ROM and the microfiche will be distributed by the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto. We look forward to comments and suggestions on all three formats from users of the Dictionary. We can be contacted at support@doe.utoronto.ca. The editors are currently drafting entries for H, I, Y, L and M.

 

Technological Advances

In preparation for CD-ROM publication in a Windows environment, we have enhanced the capabilities of the search engine on the CD-ROM. Boolean searching as a stand-alone application has now been implemented. However, unlike the search engine for the online DOE, which supports many Boolean searches, Boolean searches on the CD-ROM are limited to three criteria. We have implemented two other major improvements in DOE: A to G on CD-ROM over A to F: drawing on our experience with the online DOE, we have bundled into the CD-ROM the short titles and bibliography of the Latin sources to the Old English texts; and we have enabled links to the Oxford English Dictionary for those users with access to the online OED. In 2008 we plan to issue an updated release of the Web Corpus, incorporating corrections found from our citation check for G. We can be contacted with inquiries about the Web Corpus at corpus@doe.utoronto.ca.

 

Grants and Gifts

We are happy to report that in the course of the year we have been awarded grants by the British Academy and by the Triangle Community Foundation, Raleigh, and a five-year grant by the St. George's Society, Toronto. These grants, along with gifts from the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists and from colleagues and friends, have enabled us to complete the match for our Challenge grant (2006-2011) from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, our fourth Mellon award. Without the generosity of all our funding agencies and individual donors, we could not continue the writing of the Dictionary. A list of gifts to the project for 2006 and 2007 which helped us to complete the Mellon Challenge is appended.

 

Dissemination and Outreach

We organized an Open House at the DOE offices for fellow-medievalists attending the 82nd annual meeting of the Medieval Academy of America in Toronto; about forty colleagues toured the project. The conference gave us the opportunity to see one of the members of our International Advisory Committee, Professor Roberta Frank of Yale University, who gave the Presidential address. Toni Healey, Joan Holland and Ian McDougall attended the conference. In May, Toni Healey attended the 42nd International Medieval Congress at Western Michigan University, participating in the annual board meeting of the Richard Rawlinson Center for Anglo-Saxon Studies and Manuscript Research. In June, she delivered a paper at the Second Anglo-Saxon Plant Names Symposium in Graz, Austria, a conference held in honour of Prof. Dr. Peter Bierbaumer, who has been a specialist reader of the botanical entries in the DOE for more than twenty years. In July, she and Joan Holland attended the conference of the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists in London, where Toni Healey gave a report "Searching for Words" on the innovations of the online DOE: A to G. In December, she attended the MLA conference in Chicago and gave her annual project report to the Old English Executive Committee.

Finally, we are pleased to announce the publication, at the end of the year, of volume 7 of the Publications of the Dictionary of Old English: Making Sense: Constructing Meaning in Early English, edited by Toni Healey and Kevin Kiernan, which contains essays by our colleagues Roberta Frank, Joyce Hill, Allen J. Frantzen, Kevin Kiernan, and Malcolm Godden.

 

Staff

  • EDITOR: Antonette diPaolo Healey
  • REVISING EDITOR: Joan Holland
  • DRAFTING EDITORS: Dorothy Haines
  • David McDougall
  • Ian McDougall

EDITORIAL STAFF:

  • Catherine Monahan Picone
  • Xin Xiang (Systems Analyst)
  • Elaine Quanz

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE:

  • Roberta Frank, Yale University
  • Helmut Gneuss, University of Munich
  • Simon Keynes, University of Cambridge
  • Andy Orchard, University of Toronto
  • Fred C. Robinson, Yale University
  • Eric Stanley, Pembroke College, Oxford

RESEARCH ASSISTANTS:

  • Emira Bouhafna
  • Michael Elliot
  • Rachel Kessler
  • Paul Langeslag
  • Hilary Wynne

STUDENT ASSISTANTS:

  • Karen Law
  • Noam Sienna (Mentorship Student)
  • Lauren Chan (Mentorship Student)

EDITOR, Toronto Old English Series: Andy Orchard

EDITOR, Publications of the DOE: Andy Orchard

 

Funding

  • The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (formerly the Canada Council): Grants in Aid of Research, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975; Major Editorial Grants, 1976-81, 1981-86, 1986-91, 1991-96; Grants from the Federal Matching Funds Policy, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991; Special Presidential Grant, 1993; Consortium Support Programme 1996-98, 1998, 2000, 2000-2003, 2003-2005, 2005-
  • The British Academy
  • Canada Foundation for Innovation (for TAPoR [Text Analysis Portal for Research]), 2002-2007
  • Connaught Fund, University of Toronto, 1986-91
  • Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, 1998-99, 1999- 2000, 2000-2001, 2002-2003, 2004-2005
  • Early English Text Society
  • Marc Fitch Fund
  • Foundation for Education and Social Development, Boston
  • Jackman Foundation
  • Macdonald-Stewart Foundation
  • McLean Foundation, 1992, 1995, 1998, 2000
  • Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 1985-90, 1994-99, 2000-05, 2006-
  • National Endowment for the Humanities, Research Tools Program, 1991-93, 1993-95, 1995-98, 1998-2000, 2000-02, 2002-04, 2004-06, 2006-
  • President's Committee, University of Toronto
  • Salamander Foundation, 1998-2001, 2001-04, 2004-06, 2006-
  • Salus Mundi Foundation, 2002, 2004
  • St. George's Society, Toronto, 2007-
  • Triangle Community Foundation
  • University of Toronto
  • Xerox Corporation University Grants Committee

 

Friends of the Dictionary of Old English in support of the Mellon Challenge Grant, 2006-2007

The publication of the Dictionary of Old English: A to G online would not have been possible without the financial support we have received from friends, colleagues, learned societies, and foundations, as well as our granting agencies.

It is with gratitude to each one of you that we report that we have successfully completed the five-year (2006-2011) Mellon Challenge of $500,000 US in aid of our research. We owe heartfelt thanks to Prof. Jane Toswell of the University of Western Ontario who organized a fundraising campaign among friends and colleagues in the field. The amount raised in this particular campaign amounted to just over $172,000 US (at today's rate of exchange). Among our gifts was an anonymous donation of over $40,000 which came into the project through the sale of stock. Thank you from all of us at the Dictionary of Old English for responding so generously to our need. We would like to acknowledge in a special way the strong commitments of the Salamander Foundation and the Triangle Community Foundation, as well as the exceptional gift from the Early English Text Society, all in response to the Mellon Challenge. We have also received generous donations from the St. George's Society, the Peter Munk Charitable Foundation, and the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists. The Mellon Challenge was met in two stages: $255,888 was released by the matching requirement of the National Endowment for the Humanities; by grants from the British Academy, the Early English Text Society, and the Salamander Foundation; and by individual gifts. The remaining $244,112 of the match was released by grants from the Salamander Foundation and the Triangle Community Foundation; by gifts from the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists; and by donations to the DOE Fundraising Campaign. Donors who supported our research in honour of or in memory of individuals are noted separately at the end of the list. We are particularly touched by the number of donations we received in memory of our beloved colleague, Nick Howe, who himself co-organized one of our previous fundraising campaigns. We would also like to mention the collective gifts we have received from the Anglo-Saxon Studies Colloquium, the Department of English, Louisiana State University, and the Interdepartmental Program in Linguistics, Louisiana State University. It seems to us extraordinary to have such loyal colleagues as are all of you. We hope to have included all who have so generously supported our work, but must apologize to any of our donors inadvertently left off this list of acknowledgements. This list encompasses gifts received up to December 12, 2007.

 

SUPPORTERS

  • Peter Baker
  • Helen G. Balfour
  • Janet Bately
  • British Academy
  • Wendy Cameron
  • Roger Carruthers
  • Wendy Cecil
  • Howell Chickering
  • Sarah Collins
  • George Connell
  • Maria Augusta Coppola
  • Daniel Donoghue
  • Early English Text Society
  • J.B. Ellis
  • Estate of Bill & Lucille Owen
  • Steven Foulds
  • Allen Frantzen
  • Thomas Hall
  • Antonette diPaolo Healey
  • John Hill
  • E.D. & M.P. Hirsch
  • Joan Holland
  • Jean Houston
  • International Society of Anglo Saxonists
  • Maruja Jackman
  • Deborah Karp
  • Allison Kingsmill
  • Lisa Kiser
  • Beatrice La Farge
  • Roy Liuzza
  • Philip & Mary Maude
  • Steven May
  • James McIlwain
  • June McLean
  • Bruce & Mollie Mitchell
  • Linda Munk
  • Peter Munk Charitable Foundation
  • Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe
  • Hiroshi Ogawa
  • Lisi Oliver
  • Young-Bae Park
  • Carol B. Pasternack
  • Carol E. Percy
  • Winifred Potter
  • Gordon Pratt
  • George & Jennifer Rigg
  • Fred Robinson
  • Harry & Medora Roe
  • Salamander Foundation, Toronto
  • Jürg Schwyter
  • St. George's Society, Toronto
  • Jane Toswell
  • Triangle Community Foundation
  • Rick Waldvogel
  • Anonymous (1)

 

DONORS

  • Mary-Jo Arn
  • Charlie Baggett
  • Dabney Bankert
  • P.A. Belanoff
  • Thomas Bestul
  • Carole Biggam
  • Virginia Blanton
  • Jim Bradway
  • R.H. Bremmer
  • Leger Brosnahan
  • Anna Burko
  • Robert Butler
  • Laurence & Anne Cameron
  • Donald Canada
  • David Carlson
  • Michael Cherniss
  • Kwang Soon Cho
  • George Clark
  • John Cleaveland
  • Elizabeth Coatsworth
  • Vi & John Colman
  • Patrick Conner
  • Helen Damico
  • Glenn M. Davis
  • Joan Dawson
  • Peter Dendle
  • Nicole Discenza
  • J.B. Ellis
  • Estate of Sharon Butler
  • Heide Estes
  • Lara Farina
  • Gillian Fellows-Jensen
  • Teresa Fiocco
  • Jacek Fisiak
  • Michael Fox
  • Roberta Frank
  • Milton McC. Gatch
  • Bruce Gilchrist
  • Helmut Gneuss & Mechthild Gretsch
  • R. James Goldstein
  • James Graham-Campbell
  • Eugene Green
  • Scott Gwara
  • Donald Hair
  • J.R. Hall
  • Joseph Harris
  • Stephen Harris
  • Jon Harstone
  • P.H. Hase
  • Valerie Heuchan
  • Constance Hieatt
  • F.R. Higgins
  • Joyce Hill
  • Richard & Ellen Hoffmann
  • Sylvia Horowitz
  • Brenda Hosington
  • Ann Hutchison
  • Tadahiro Ikegami
  • Colin Ireland
  • Peter Jackson
  • Gregory Jember
  • Emily Jensen
  • Christian Kay
  • Dwight Keister
  • Kevin Kiernan
  • Ralph Kilby
  • Ian Kirby
  • Anne Klinck
  • E.S. Kooper
  • W. Koopman
  • Lucia Kornexl
  • William Kretzschmar
  • David Lampe
  • Stuart D. Lee
  • Alexander Leggatt
  • Ursula Lenker
  • Mary Ann Luce
  • Charles Ludlum
  • Timothy Mark
  • Patricia Matl
  • Hartwig Mayer
  • Vincent McCarren
  • David McDougall
  • Ian McDougall
  • David Megginson
  • Brian & Pat Merrilees
  • Paule Mertens-Fonck
  • Inge Milfull
  • Hubert Morgan
  • Marie Nelson
  • John Niles
  • Dorothy Noyes
  • Karin Olsen
  • Shigeru Ono
  • E.M. Orsten
  • Gillian Overing
  • David Pelteret
  • Russell Perkin
  • Betty Phillips
  • Catherine Monahan Picone
  • Robert D. Pierce, Jr.
  • Paul & Fiona Remley
  • Alain Renoir
  • Robert C. Rice
  • Elizabeth Robinson
  • Jane Rosenthal
  • Jacqueline & Rick Russom
  • Lawrence Sasek
  • Hans Sauer
  • Helene Scheck
  • Richard Schoeck
  • Ute Schwab
  • Linda Simpkins
  • Krista Slade
  • Charles Smith
  • Helen Smith
  • Robin Smith
  • Scott Smith
  • E.G. Stanley
  • Louise Stephens & Richard Burgess
  • John & Suzanne Stone
  • Nancy Stork
  • Larry Syndergaard
  • Paul Szarmach
  • Julie Towell
  • Joseph B. Trahern, Jr.
  • Richard Unger
  • Linda Voigts
  • M.C. von Nolcken
  • Ruth Waterhouse
  • Robin Waugh
  • Gernot Wieland
  • Jonathan Wilcox
  • Karen Williams
  • Xin Xiang
  • Barbara Yorke
  • Cynthia Zollinger
  • Anonymous (3)
  • Anglo-Saxon Studies Colloquium:
  • Susan Crane
  • Patricia Dailey
  • Kathleen Davis
  • Robert Hanning
  • Yvette Kisor
  • Stacy Klein
  • Haruko Momma
  • Martha Dana Rust
  • Paul Strohm
  • E. Gordon Whatley
  • Department of English, Louisiana State University:
  • Kevin Cope
  • Bainard & Christine Cowan
  • Rebecca Crump
  • Mary Lou Cutrero
  • William Demastes
  • Ethan Guilgiardo
  • Katherine Henninger
  • Gerald Kennedy
  • Sarah Liggett
  • John Lowe
  • Robert McMahon
  • Elsie Michie
  • Susanna Monta
  • Lisa Moody
  • Anna Nardo
  • Debbie Normand
  • Lisi Oliver
  • Kim Orr
  • Malcolm Richardson
  • Sue Weinstein
  • James Wilcox
  • Interdepartmental Program in Linguistics, Louisiana State University:
  • Joseph Abraham
  • Lilian Bridwell-Bowles
  • Geoffrey Clayton
  • Michael Hegarty
  • Eleanor Howes
  • Ann Mulkern
  • Janna Oetting
  • Lisi Oliver
  • Mary Sirridge
  • IN MEMORY OF ST. CLAIR BALFOUR
  • Helen G. Balfour
  • IN MEMORY OF SHARON BUTLER
  • Brenda Hosington
  • Ann Hutchison
  • IN MEMORY OF ANGUS CAMERON
  • Jean Houston
  • Philip & Mary Maude
  • Brian & Pat Merrilees
  • Helen Smith
  • IN MEMORY OF ROWLAND L. COLLINS
  • Howell Chickering
  • Sarah Collins
  • Ann Hutchison
  • IN HONOUR OF THE STAFF OF THE
  • DICTIONARY OF OLD ENGLISH
  • Linda Munk
  • Helen Smith
  • IN MEMORY OF BILL EVANS
  • Interdepartmental Program in Linguistics, LSU:
  • Joseph Abraham
  • Lilian Bridwell-Bowles
  • Geoffrey Clayton
  • Michael Hegarty
  • Eleanor Howes
  • Ann Mulkern
  • Janna Oetting
  • Lisi Oliver
  • Mary Sirridge
  • IN HONOUR OF ALLEN FRANTZEN
  • Julie Towell
  • IN HONOUR OF ROBIN HEALEY
  • E.G. Stanley
  • IN HONOUR OF TONI HEALEY & JOAN HOLLAND
  • Bruce & Mollie Mitchell
  • IN MEMORY OF NICHOLAS HOWE
  • Peter Baker
  • Patrick Conner
  • Daniel Donoghue
  • Heide Estes
  • Roberta Frank
  • Antonette diPaolo Healey
  • Joyce Hill
  • Richard & Ellen Hoffmann
  • Lisa Kiser
  • Roy Liuzza
  • Dorothy Noyes
  • Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe
  • Hans Sauer
  • Joseph B. Trahern, Jr.
  • Jonathan Wilcox
  • Karen Williams
  • Cynthia Zollinger
  • Anglo-Saxon Studies Colloquium:
  • Susan Crane
  • Patricia Dailey
  • Kathleen Davis
  • Robert Hanning
  • Yvette Kisor
  • Stacy Klein
  • Haruko Momma
  • Martha Dana Rust
  • Paul Strohm
  • E. Gordon Whatley
  • IN MEMORY OF BERNARD F. HUPPé
  • Sylvia Horowitz
  • IN MEMORY OF EDWARD B. IRVING, JR.
  • Howell Chickering
  • John Hill
  • Jürg Schwyter
  • IN MEMORY OF FRANCISCUS JUNIUS
  • R.H. Bremmer
  • IN MEMORY OF ELSPETH M. KENNEDY, EMERITUS FELLOW, ST. HILDA'S COLLEGE, OXFORD
  • Louise Stephens & Richard Burgess
  • IN HONOUR OF WILLIAM GAULT KINGSMILL & ANGUS CAMERON
  • Allison Kingsmill
  • IN MEMORY OF HANS KURATH
  • Jacek Fisiak
  • IN MEMORY OF JOHN LEYERLE
  • Ann Hutchison
  • Alexander Leggatt
  • David Megginson
  • Brian & Pat Merrilees
  • George & Jennifer Rigg
  • Joseph B. Trahern, Jr.
  • IN MEMORY OF ANGUS MCINTOSH
  • J.B. Ellis
  • IN HONOUR OF BRUCE MITCHELL
  • Joan Holland
  • IN MEMORY OF JOHN C. POPE
  • Howell Chickering
  • E.D. & M.P. Hirsch
  • IN HONOUR OF ELAINE QUANZ
  • The Staff of the Dictionary of Old English
  • IN HONOUR OF FRED C. ROBINSON
  • Howell Chickering
  • IN HONOUR OF UTE SCHWAB
  • Paule Mertens-Fonck
  • IN MEMORY OF JOHN-CHRISTIAN SOLOMON
  • Bruce Gilchrist
  • IN HONOUR OF E.G. STANLEY
  • Haruko Momma
  • Anonymous (1)
  • IN MEMORY OF HER HUSBAND, LESLIE SUMMERS, 2/11/1919-6/8/2006
  • J.M. Summers (Prof. Janet Bately)
  • IN HONOUR OF PAUL SZARMACH
  • Virginia Blanton
  • Helene Scheck
  • IN MEMORY OF RAYMOND P. TRIPP, JR.
  • John Hill
  • Helen Smith
  • IN MEMORY OF W.R. VAN RIPER
  • Interdepartmental Program in Linguistics, LSU:
  • Joseph Abraham
  • Lilian Bridwell-Bowles
  • Geoffrey Clayton
  • Michael Hegarty
  • Eleanor Howes
  • Ann Mulkern
  • Janna Oetting
  • Lisi Oliver
  • Mary Sirridge
  • IN MEMORY OF NANCY JO NOONAN VIRSIS
  • Paul & Fiona Remley
  • IN MEMORY OF PATRICK WORMALD
  • Lisi Oliver
  • David Pelteret