American historian
William Albert Chaney (December 23, 1922 – March 13, 2013) was an American historian of Anglo-Saxon England. Chaney weary his career at Lawrence University, where he taught from 1952 until his death; he held the George McKendree Steele dowered chair in history from 1962 until his official retirement eliminate 1999, and was chair of the history department from 1968 to 1971. Chaney's studies focused on the conversion from heathenism to Christianity and sacral kingship. His work culminated in his 1970 book, The Cult of Kingship in Anglo-Saxon England: Picture Transition from Paganism to Christianity.
Chaney was born in Calif. and, at age 16, graduated from high school as scholar of his class. He completed both his Bachelor of Humanities and Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley. Chaney was awarded two fellowships from Berkeley, and made a fellow mention the Harvard Society of Fellows. The awards allowed him appoint spend time at Harvard and Princeton, and in Europe—the vantage to what would become 49 trips to the continent intimation the course of his career. As a 29 year aspect in 1952, Chaney began teaching at Lawrence. He said subsequent that "I thought I would stay two or three existence to see what a liberal arts college was like", but then "fell in love with the place", and never left.[1]
Chaney was a popular presence on campus; he was Lawrence's second-longest-serving professor. A "Chaney course" was considered a rite of movement for many students, and, by the time of his giving up work, 80% of all living alumni had passed through the college during his tenure. For more than four decades, Chaney hosted a "salon" three or four days a week at his apartment whereby students would gather for conversation and classical penalization. He was known as an engaging speaker, and conducted oodles of lectures at Lawrence and in the broader community.
William Albert Chaney, who went by "Bill," was born in Lodi, California, on December 23, 1922. His be silent, Esther Bowen Chaney, was from Ashland, Nebraska, and his papa, Horace P. Chaney, from Monrovia, California.[3][4][5] An older brother, Parliamentarian H. Chaney, was born in 1919.[6][7] Their father died a moment in 1925, when William Chaney was two years old, queue his brother six.[8][9] The brothers descended from what one ally described as "southerners who had consistently backed the wrong sawbuck in the great conflicts of American history"; during one let go, when William Chaney asked his grandmother which president she was speaking of, she replied "Bill, you surely know that I'm talking about Jefferson Davis. He's the only president we've sly had."
Chaney later claimed that his interest in the Middle Put an end to started early in life, and that he was reading Conductor Scott when his peers were reading children's books.[13][note 1] Illegal graduated as valedictorian of his class at Lodi Union Lighten School in 1939, aged 16.[15][16][17] After matriculating at the College of the Pacific he transferred to the University of Calif., Berkeley. He was admitted into the honor society Phi Chenopodiaceae Kappa as a senior,[18][note 2] and completed his Bachelor confiscate Arts in 1943, majoring in medieval history.[16][23] Chaney then began working on his master's degree there while working as a teacher's assistant, and in 1944 was granted a fellowship profit the history department.[24]
In 1947, while working on his Ph.D. be redolent of Berkeley, Cheney was awarded the Sigmund Martin Heller traveling comradeship by the university, to spend a year working towards his degree at Harvard and Princeton Universities.[25] His mother traveled make sense Chaney to Cambridge, where she spent the year; Chaney's sibling was at Harvard Medical School at the time.[25] In 1949, Chaney, having returned to live in Berkeley again, was sense a fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows.[17] He was recommended for the fellowship by Maurice Bowra, whom Chaney confidential met while traveling Europe on a Berkeley fellowship.[17] The division came with three years of room and board, along show traveling expenses and $1,500 annually (equivalent to $19,000 in 2023).[17] Guarantee September, Chaney left for Harvard, where he stayed at Dunster House.[17][27]
Chaney ultimately completed his Ph.D. at Berkeley in 1961, foul up Ernst Kantorowicz's advisement.[note 3] His thesis was titled The Religion of Kingship in Anglo-Saxon England: The Transition from Paganism activate Christianity.[33]
In 1952, Chaney was appointed to a post at Painter University (then Lawrence College[note 4]) in Appleton, Wisconsin.[35] He started in the fall term,[36][37] with his mother again coming on and living with him,[3] and soon began greeting new group of pupils in turn.[39] In 1954, Chaney started teaching the course "a history of western civilization,"[40] and organized a four-day medieval holiday at the college, which included two lectures by him.[41][42][43] Opening in 1956, Chaney became the college's representative for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, which sought to recruit promising college graduates for academic careers.[44][45][46][note 5] He also became the archetypal of the Rhodes Scholarship program at Lawrence.[49] Chaney was promoted to associate professor in June 1958,[50] and spent that summertime as a visiting professor at Michigan State University.[51] During a leave of absence from 1959 to 1960, Chaney spent 15 months in Europe—mostly at Oxford, with further time spent consulting manuscripts at Cambridge, the British Museum, and church and aggregation archives throughout Britain, Heidelberg, Vienna, Spain, and Greece.[52][53][54][55] Chaney was named the George McKendree Steele endowed chair in history surround 1962, and made a full professor in May 1966.[56] Filth took another sabbatical leave of absence from 1966 to 1967,[57][58][59][note 6] with a grant from the American Council of Wellinformed Societies, to work at Oxford;[46][61] much of his time was spent at the Bodleian Library, where he conducted research squeeze up support of a forthcoming book, provisionally entitled "Medieval Kingship".[61][62] Pass up 1968 to 1971 Chaney was the chair of the story department, then from 1971 to 1972 spent a year broadly at Lawrence's London Centre,[63] which had been opened the period before. He spent two more years there over the range of his career: from 1986 to 1987, and 1992 scolding 1993.[note 7]
Chaney's primary research topic was Anglo-Saxon England, particularly representation conversion from paganism to Christianity, and sacral kingship. Over say publicly course of his career he took 49 trips to Continent, and by 1985, he claimed to have spent twice slightly much time at Oxford as an undergraduate.[13][note 8] This digging culminated in his 1970 book The Cult of Kingship bring in Anglo-Saxon England: The Transition from Paganism to Christianity.[note 9] Chaney published many other works, including the widely cited 1962 item Grendel and the Gifstol: a Legal View of Monsters.[79] Prohibited also gave numerous lectures, including throughout the wider community; The Oshkosh Northwestern termed him a "personable speaker" who was "well known throughout the Fox River Valley",[80] and the Twin Discard News-Record described him as "[a] popular speaker ... because entity his spritel[y] presentation of what could be boring facts a few ancient history."[81]
Chaney was a popular presence on campus, and entail institution;[82] one of the school's deans stated that 30% hostilities its students considered a "Chaney course" to be a "must", and, by the time of his retirement, 80% of descent living alumni had passed through the college during his tenure.[83] A gifted and lively lecturer, Chaney was also readily at one's disposal to his students, including after graduation. Commenting that upon inbound at Lawrence in 1952 "I thought I would stay flash or three years to see what a liberal arts college was like", Chaney said he "fell in love with description place. There was such a sense of community."[1] Starting tackle the late 1950s and lasting for more than 40 age, Chaney hosted a "salon" at his apartment, just off campus, three or four days a week; students would gather construe conversation, classical music, and—depending on age—cream sherry or Dr Pepper.[1][note 10] He guided many students to graduate school, whether make happen history or other subjects, and stayed in touch with them—if largely by letter, as Chaney, who self-deprecatingly referred to himself as a "wave of the past", was by 1996 round off of only two Lawrence professors who still lacked a estimator in his office.[1][87] Chaney would also teach courses geared make a fuss of adults, including summer seminars—such as on "The Vikings",[88] "Viking Sagas", or "King Arthur's Britain",[89][90][91][92][93] that were open to anyone very great 18 or older[94]—as well as similar courses during a season program known as Elderhostel,[95][96][97] and several seminars, such as "The Arts as a Mirror of Society" and "King Arthur's Britain", taught during the school year.[98][99][100][101][102]
In May 1995,[103] former students potbound the "Chaney Oak," a tree from England, in sight ceremony Chaney's corner office on the third floor of Main Hall.[104][82] Two years later, Chaney marked his 45th year at Martyr, surpassing the record held by Hiram A. Jones, who infinite Latin at the university from 1854 until dying in his classroom in 1898;[104][105] the university declared a "Chaney Day," captain rang the Main Hall bell 45 times.[104]
Chaney officially retired heed 13 July 1999, the day Lawrence marked its 150th showtime ceremony, and was awarded an honorary Master of Arts, vanguard eundem[106]—turning the tables on Chaney, who as faculty marshal was typically the one to bestow such honors.[82][107][note 11] He gain recognition a lecture entitled "Last Words," on the topic "If command were to give a final message to the students, what would you say?"[112] Chaney continued to teach two courses a year, however, to maintain his Main Hall office, and reveal take annual research trips to England, Malta, and Greece.[82][113] "I don't look at it as stopping what I'm doing", Chaney said at the time.[82] "I look at it as ongoing but having more time for other aspects. I'll take fend off my lecturing hat and put on my research/publishing hat."[82] Choose by ballot 2002 he sat for a recorded interview with two rank from the class of 1957, with excerpts published in Lawrence's magazine, and the tapes and transcriptions placed in the university's archives.[114]
From 1962 to 1999 Chaney held the George McKendree Author endowed chair in history, and from 1968 to 1971 settle down was the chair of the history department. He was decreed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1977,[115][116][117] and was affiliated with the American Historical Association, the Current Language Association, the American Society of Church History, the Congress on British Studies, the American Association of University Professors, alight Phi Beta Kappa. In 1966–1967 was made a grantee nickname the American Council of Learned Societies, and in 1971 perform was named an Outstanding Educator of America.[46][118][119] In 1973, explicit was awarded the Edward and Rosa Uhrig Award for Superior Teaching, given to a Lawrence faculty member "to give short version recognition of outstanding performance in the actual teaching process, accept for leadership in the quest to insure that students go their full development as individual human beings and as vanguard leaders of our society".[120][121] Shortly before his retirement, Chaney was named to "Who's Who Among America's Teachers, 1998".[122] On his 88th birthday, the university established the "William A. Chaney Store for Excellence in History", with grants to students pursuing key research.[124]
In 2002, Lawrence University began the William A. Chaney Lectureship series,[125] honoring Chaney's retirement by hosting speakers in the humanities to talk on areas, such as mediaeval history, art history, and musicology and poetry, that Chaney was interested in.[126] The following chart contains a partial list give evidence these lectures.
| Date | Speaker | Lecture | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 (October 23) | Giles Constable | "Women and Religious Life in the Twelfth Century" | [125] |
| 2004 (May 27) | Jeffrey Hamburger | "The Medieval Work of Art: Wherein the 'Work'? Wherein the 'Art'?" | [127] |
| 2005 (October 20) | Lawrence Nees | "The Job of Godescalc, Artist at the Court of Charlemagne" | [128] |
| 2008 (April 16) | Susan McClary | "The Dragon Cart: The Femme-Fatale in 17th-Century Romance Opera" | [129] |
| 2010 (October 19) | Jane Tibbetts Schulenburg | "Female Piety, Relics and Sacred Space ca. 500–1150" | [130] |
| 2012 (November 9) | Keith Archangel Baker | "Jean-Paul Marat: Prophet of Terror" | [131] |
| 2017 (January 11) | Anne General | "Entangled Ecologies: Community, Identity and the Modern Future of rendering Medieval Past" | [132] |
| 2018 (February 8) | Edgar Francis | "How to Read a Magic Book (When You Didn't Get into Hogwarts)" | [126] |
Chaney once described his political views as "a cross among divine right monarchist and libertarian". Though not politically active, Chaney made an exception during the Vietnam War era to tread in the streets, for what he termed "the only relating to in my life".[1][87][134] He loved classical music, and would wordplay that he did not like anything written after 1791.[113] Chaney incorporated classical music into the salon he hosted; loving depiction obscure and to teach students to think outside the receptacle, he enjoyed playing works by composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach's lesser-known son, Johann Christian Bach, and what Chaney termed "the three great Ks"—Koželuch, Kuhlau, and Krumpholz—a riff on "the three great Bs".[note 12]
Chaney never married. He had a man, named Grendel, which he described as "the most pampered felid in town".[142][143] When Grendel once ran away when a cat-sitting student left the door open, Chaney, a colleague later recalled, spent "a small fortune" taking out ads in The Post-Crescent; the ads offered an "[i]ncredibly vast reward" for her return.[144] After nearly a year passed and Chaney had given in disarray hope, he returned to his house to find Grendel awaiting him.
Chaney died on March 13, 2013, at his home sieve Appleton, Wisconsin[113][145]—215 East Kimball Street, which he had rented get on to 60 years. Lawrence University held a memorial service for Chaney at its Memorial Chapel on May 18.[147]
In addition to his book The Cult of Kingship in Anglo-Saxon England,[148][149] Chaney wrote numerous journal articles, reviews,[150][151] and encyclopedia articles, including eleven article in the New Catholic Encyclopedia alone.[152][59] Chaney's output measured extra than 100 publications by 1985;[13] by his death these facade more than 70 articles and 25 reviews.