Helen Damico (January 30, 1931 – April 14, 2020) was a Greek-born American scholar of
Old English
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 was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...
and
Old English literature.
Career
Damico was a professor emerita at the
University of New Mexico, where she began teaching in 1981 and founded the Institute for Medieval Studies. She was previously on the faculty of
Brooklyn College and the
University of Minnesota. She earned her B.A. from the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 co ...
in 1952, and received her Ph.D. from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
in 1980.
The author of ''Beowulf's Wealhtheow and the Valkyrie Tradition'', Damico made important contributions to the study of women in Old English and Old Norse literature, and her work on
Wealhþeow is frequently cited. She saw representations of the
valkyrie in both Wealhþeow and
Grendel's Mother in the
Old English poem Beowulf (c. 700–1000 AD).
Damico was a recipient of the New Mexico Humanities Award for Lifetime Contributions to the Humanities, and a recipient of the Medieval Academy of America's CARA Award for Outstanding Service to Medieval Studies.
Personal life
Born in Chios, Greece, Damico emigrated to the United States in 1937. She died on April 14, 2020, as a result of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
.
Books authored and edited
Monographs
*''Beowulf's Wealhtheow and the Valkyrie Tradition'' (1984)
*''Beowulf and the Grendel-kin: Politics and Poetry in Eleventh-Century England'' (2015)
Edited collections
*
*''Medieval Scholarship: Biographical Studies on the Formation of a Discipline'' (3 vols)
*''Heroic Poetry in the Anglo-Saxon Period: Studies in Honor of Jess B. Bessinger, Jr.'' (with John Leyerle; Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University, 1993)
* ''New Readings on Women in Old English Literature.'' Eds. Helen Damico and Alexandra Hennessey Olsen. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. 176–89
Essays
*"The Valkyrie Reflex in Old English Literature." In ''New Readings on Women in Old English Literature.'' Eds. Helen Damico and Alexandra Hennessey Olsen. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. 176–89
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Damico, Helen
1931 births
2020 deaths
Writers from Chios
Greek emigrants to the United States
Anglo-Saxon studies scholars
New York University alumni
University of Iowa alumni
Old Norse studies scholars
University of New Mexico faculty
Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio