Florence Elizabeth Harmer FBA (14 May 1890 – 5 August 1967) was an English historian, specializing in the Anglo-Saxon period. Translating from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, she edited a number of

primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an Artifact (archaeology), artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was cre ...

s for early English history, and her ''Anglo-Saxon Writs'' (1952) remains a standard text.

Life

Born at

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

, then in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, Harmer was the daughter of Horace Alfred Harmer, an exporter of goods to Southern Africa, by his marriage to Harriett Frances Butler. She was educated at the

City of London School for Girls The City of London School for Girls (CLSG) is a private school adjacent to the Barbican Centre, part of the Barbican Estate, in the City of London. It is the partner school of the all-boys City of London School and the City of London Freemen's ...

, from where she gained a scholarship to

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the un ...

and prepared for the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos;

Dorothy Whitelock Dorothy Whitelock, (11 November 1901 – 14 August 1982) was an English historian. From 1957 to 1969, she was the Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Cambridge. Her best-known work is ''English Historica ...

, 'Florence Elizabeth Harmer', in ''Interpreters of Early Medieval Britain''
pp. 369-380
/ref> she completed Section B of the tripos (the forerunner to the Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic tripos) in 1912 in the first class. From 1920 until 1957 Harmer was an academic of the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, becoming a Senior Lecturer in 1949 and a Reader in 1955. She was described by

Simon Keynes Simon Douglas Keynes ( ; born 23 September 1952) is a British historian who is Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon emeritus in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic at the University of Cambridge, and a fellow of Trini ...

and Alfred Smyth as "the formidable Anglo-Saxonist, Florence Harmer". After she retired in 1957, she lived at

Pinner Pinner is a suburb in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, England, northwest of Charing Cross, close to the border with Hillingdon, historically in the county of Middlesex. The population was 38,698 in 2021. Originally a mediaeval ...

, near a sister, continuing to attend meetings of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

, of which she was a Fellow, and events at Cambridge. She was a friend of

, who wrote her obituary after she died in 1967.

Selected publications

*''Select English Historical Documents of the Ninth and Tenth Centuries'' (Cambridge University Press, 1914) *''An Anglo-Saxon Chronicle from British Museum Cotton MS, Tiberius B. IV.'' (1926) *'The English contribution to the epistolary usages of the early Scandinavian kings', in ''Saga-Book'' (1949-1950) *'Chipping and Market, a lexicographical investigation' in

Cyril Fox Sir Cyril Fred Fox (16 December 1882 – 15 January 1967) was an English archaeologist and museum director. Fox became keeper of archaeology at the National Museum of Wales, and subsequently served as director from 1926 to 1948. Many of his m ...

, ed., ''The Early Cultures of North West Europe'' (1950) *''Anglo-Saxon Writs'' (Manchester University Press, 1952) *'A Bromfield and a Coventry Writ of King Edward the Confessor', in

Peter Clemoes Peter Alan Martin Clemoes (20 January 1920 – 16 March 1996) was a British historian. Biography Peter Clemoes was born in Southend-on-Sea and educated at Brentwood School. He originally wished to become an actor and won a scholarship to RADA ...

, ed., ''The Anglo-Saxons: studies in some aspects of their history and culture'' (1959)

Honours

*President, Viking Society for Northern Research, 1949 *

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, 1953 *

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

, 1955 *

Sir Israel Gollancz Prize Sir Israel Gollancz Prize is awarded biannually by the British Academy in honour of Israel Gollancz, a founder member and its first secretary, since 1924. Originally named "Biennial Prize for English Literature" and renamed after Gollancz's death ...

, 1957

Proceedings of the British Academy The ''Proceedings of the British Academy'' is a series of academic volumes on subjects in the humanities and social sciences. The first volume was published in 1905. Up to 1991, the volumes (appearing annually from 1927) mostly consisted of the te ...

, vol. 43 (1958), p. 4: "Sir Israel Gollancz Memorial Prize, to Dr. Florence Harmer." *Honorary Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge, 1957 *Hon. D. Litt,

, 1964

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harmer, Florence Elizabeth 1890 births 1967 deaths Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Fellows of Girton College, Cambridge Fellows of the British Academy People educated at the City of London School for Girls 20th-century English historians English women historians 20th-century English women writers Anglo-Saxon studies scholars