Kenneth Roy Norman
FBA (1925–2020) was a British
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined ...
. He was Professor Emeritus of Indian Studies at the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, and was a leading authority on
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...
and other
Middle Indo-Aryan languages
The Middle Indo-Aryan languages (or Middle Indic languages, sometimes conflated with the Prakrits, which are a stage of Middle Indic) are a historical group of languages of the Indo-Aryan family. They are the descendants of Old Indo-Aryan (OIA; ...
.
Life
Norman was educated at
Taunton School in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lor ...
. After military service in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
and
Malaya, he was admitted to
Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the old ...
, where he studied
classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
, receiving his
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in 1954.
The whole of his academic career was spent at Cambridge. He was appointed Lecturer in Indian Studies in 1955, Reader in 1978, and Professor of Indian Studies in 1990. He retired in 1992.
From 1981 to 1994 he was President of the
Pali Text Society
The Pali Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts".
Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The ...
, and from January to March 1994 he was the Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai Visiting Professor at the
School of Oriental and African Studies
SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ...
.
He was made a Foreign Member of the
Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
{{Infobox organization
, name = The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
, full_name =
, native_name = Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab
, native_name_lang =
, logo = Royal ...
in 1983 and a
Fellow of the British Academy
Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are:
# Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom
# ...
in 1985.
Notable works
Translations
*''Elders' Verses: Vol. I'' (1969, 2nd ed. 2007), a translation of the
Theragāthā
*''Elders' Verses: Vol. II'' (1971, 2nd ed. 2007), a translation of the
Therīgāthā
The ''Therīgāthā'', often translated as ''Verses of the Elder Nuns'' (Pāli: ''therī'' elder (feminine) + ''gāthā'' verses), is a Buddhist text, a collection of short poems of early enlightened women who were elder nuns (having experienced ...
''The Word of the Doctrine''(1991), a translation of the
Dhammapada
The Dhammapada ( Pāli; sa, धर्मपद, Dharmapada) is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures. The original version of the Dhammapada is in the Khuddak ...
''The Group of Discourses''(1992, 2nd ed. 2001), a translation of the
Suttanipāta
*''Pātimokkha'' (2001), a translation of the
Pātimokkha
*''Overcoming Doubts: Vol. I: The Bhikkhu-Pātimokkha Commentary'' (with P. Kieffer-Pülz and W. Pruitt, 2018), a translation of the
Kaṅkhāvitaraṇī
Other books
''Pali Literature''(1983)
''A Philological Approach to Buddhism: The Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai Lectures 1994''(1997)
*''Collected Papers: Vols. IVIII'' (19902007)
Papers
Samprasāraṇa in Middle Indo-Aryan(1958)
Notes on Aśoka's Fifth Pillar Edict(1967)
Dr. Bimala Churn Law(1969)
Some Aspects of the Phonology of the Prakrit Underlying the Aśokan Inscriptions(1970)
Notes on the Bahapur Version of Aśoka's Minor Rock Edict(1971)
Notes on the Greek Version of Aśoka's Twelfth and Thirteenth Rock Edicts(1972)
Aśoka and Capital Punishment: Notes on a Portion of Aśoka's Fourth Pillar Edict, with an Appendix on the Accusative Absolute Construction(1975)
Two Pali Etymologies(1979)
A Note on Attā in the Alagaddūpama-sutta(1981)
The Nine Treasures of the Cakravartin(1983)
The Pāli Language and the Theravādin Tradition(1983)
The Pratyeka-Buddha in Buddhism and Jainism(1983)
The Origin of Pāli and Its Position among the Indo-European Languages(1988)
Aspects of Early Buddhism(1990)
Pāli Philology and the Study of Buddhism(1990)
Studies in the Minor Rock Edicts of Aśoka(1991)
On Translating from Pāli(1992)
Theravāda Buddhism and Brahmanical Hinduism: Brahmanical Terms in a Buddhist Guise(1992)
‘ Solitary as Rhinoceros Horn ’(1996)
The Four Noble Truths(2003)
Why are the Four Noble Truths Called “Noble”?(2008)
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, K. R.
1925 births
2020 deaths
Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge
British Indologists
British orientalists
British philologists
Fellows of the British Academy
Pali scholars
Pali
People educated at Taunton School