Caius Coriolanus Robert Ralph Bolgar (2 June 1913 – 23 June 1985), sometimes spelt Bolgár, was an English classical scholar of Hungarian origins, a Fellow of

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

. Known as Robert, he published most of his work as R. R. Bolgar. Bolgar gained an international reputation with his book ''The Classical Heritage and its Beneficiaries'' (1954), his contributions to the '' Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'', and in editing the proceedings of symposia on "Classical Influences on European Culture".

Early life

Caius Coriolanus Robert Ralph Bolgar was born in London in June 1913, the son of Ernest Joseph Bolgar, who had begun life as Ernst Johann von Brokl, and his wife Erna Edith Szibenliszt. His father was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

of Sudeten-German origin who spoke both Hungarian and German. He had changed his name after being cheated out of an inheritance, and Bolgar said in later life that but for this misfortune of his father's, instead of becoming a

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

don, he might well have been a landowner in

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

who supported the Nazis and been

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...

by the Russians in 1945."Dr. Robert Bolgar" (obituary) in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 26 June 1985, p. 14 At the time of his birth, Bolgar's father had a job at the Austro-Hungarian consulate in London, but at the age of one year Bolgar was taken to live in Hungary, later in Germany and France, where until the age of eleven he had his early education. In 1925, his father returned to London, and Bolgar was sent to the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that lies within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and largely surrounds its namesake park, Holland Park. Colloquially referred to as 'Millionaire's Row', ...

. From there, he won a classical scholarship to

, entering the college in 1932. In 1939, Bolgar graduated as a Ph.D, and was awarded a

Fellowship 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 or professional societies, the term refers ...

at King's.

Second World War

When the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

began in September 1939, Bolgar's father was Second Secretary at the Hungarian Legation in London, and the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

was one of the

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

. He was allowed to stay in England to look after the legation building, but was nevertheless an

enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any alien native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secur ...

. Bolgar's parents were then living at 94, Philbeach Gardens, in

Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

. Bolgar, born in England, applied to join the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, but due to the status of his father he could not be commissioned. He was able to join the

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment Line infantry, of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the World War I, First and ...

as an enlisted man, and after two years was transferred to the

Army Educational Corps The Royal Army Educational Corps (RAEC) was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills. On 6 April 1992 it became the Educational and Training Services Branch (ETS) of the Adjutant Gen ...

. For eighteen months he was posted to

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

in the

Bihar Province Bihar Province was a province of British India, created in 1936 by the partition of the Bihar and Orissa Province. History In 1756, Bihar was part of Bengal. On 14 October 1803, Orissa was occupied by the British Raj. On 22 March 1912, both Bih ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, in command of an educational centre which suffered from many sudden transfers of its instructors. He returned to civilian life in 1946.

''The Classical Heritage and its Beneficiaries''

After returning from India, Bolgar spent eight years as a research fellow at King's, developing the work for his thesis into a book, ''The Classical Heritage and its Beneficiaries'', which was finally published in 1954. This deals with a process lasting a thousand years and includes sections on classical studies in Ireland and Britain 450–600, the Anglo-Saxon schools 650–800, the educational reforms of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

, a chapter on Byzantine culture, Douglas Bush, "R. R. Bolgar, ''The Classical Heritage and its Beneficiaries''. Cambridge: At the University Press, 1954. vii + 592 pp." in ''Renaissance News'' Vol. 8, No. 1 (Spring, 1955)
pp. 14-19
/ref> and appendices which list the translations from Greek and Roman classical authors before 1600 and the Greek manuscripts in Italy during the fifteenth century. It was published by Cambridge University Press in a volume of 599 pages. Douglas Bush called ''The Classical Heritage and its Beneficiaries'' a "massive book" and

John Guillory John David Guillory (born 1952) is an American literary critic whose "distinguished career has transformed the ways in which the discipline of literary studies understands itself." He is thProfessor of English Emeritus at New York University. Gu ...

"an encyclopedic account of the transmission of classical literature from late antiquity through the end of the Renaissance". Bolgar notes in it that his aim was "to show the impact of the dominant ideologies of each period upon general education". The book brought him to the attention of scholars in the United States when re-published in New York in both hardback and paperback editions.

Academic career

From 1954 to 1956, Bolgar was a research fellow in education at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

. He then returned to King's as a fellow and college lecturer in Modern Languages, in 1958 becoming the college's Director of Studies and Supervisor in French. He was also appointed as a governor of Impington Village College and the Bottisham Village College. At the time of the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

, King's and

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

agreed to take in twenty-five Hungarian student refugees, and

Robert Rattenbury Robert Mantle Rattenbury (9 December 1901 – 29 July 1970) was an English classical scholar and Registrary of the University of Cambridge. His most important publication was an edition of the '' Aethiopica'' of Heliodorus of Emesa, in three vol ...

, the

Registrary The Registrary is the senior administrative officer of the University of Cambridge. The term is unique to Cambridge, and uses an archaic spelling. Most universities in the United Kingdom and in North America have administrative offices entitled " re ...

of the university, gave Bolgar the task of escorting them from London and helping them to settle in. Bolgar invited them to his own house, where they met his mother and were astonished at the survival of a refined form of Hungarian society dating from the early years of the 20th century.Magda Czigány, ''"Just Like Other Students": Reception of the 1956 Hungarian Refugee Students in Britain'' (2009)
p. 70
/ref> Bolgar gained a greater international reputation by his contributions to the '' Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'', and by editing the proceedings of three international conferences on "Classical Influences on European Culture" which he organized with Patrick Wilkinson. The first, in 1969, covered the period from 500 to 1500; the second, in 1974, that from 1500 to 1700; the third, in 1977, that from 1650 to 1870. Bolgar's lectures, sponsored by three faculties

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

, Modern Languages, and English , were stimulating and entertaining, but as they cut across the faculties they were mostly supported until 1973 by King's College; the university then created an ''ad hominem'' Readership for him.

Personal life

In the summer of 1943, at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, Bolgar married Elizabeth Rowley or Adcock, with whom he had two daughters and a son. They lived in the villages of Girton and Great Wilbraham, both near

, where Bolgar developed an interest in local history as a recreation. Bolgar's father died in

Cheam Cheam () is a suburb of London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to t ...

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 ...

, in March 1953, leaving a modest estate to his widow, Erna Edith Bolgar."Bolgar, Ernest Joseph of 10 Norman-road Cheam Surrey died 1 March 1953… £690." in ''Wills and Administrations (England and Wales) 1953'' (1953), p. 774; "Bolgar, Robert Ralph of Lufters 52 Church St Gt Wilbraham Cambridge died 23 June 1985… £34,691" in ''Wills and Administrations (England and Wales) 1985'' (1986), p. 833 She then went to live with her son in Cambridge and died there in 1971, aged 81. "Erna Edith Bolgar"
in ''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007'', ancestry.co.uk, accessed 12 December 2022 Bolgar died at Great Wilbraham in June 1985, leaving an estate valued at £34,691. An obituary in ''

'' reported that his students forgave him for his chronic forgetfulness and lack of punctuality.

Selected publications

* R. R. Bolgar, "Rabelais's edition of the ''Aphorisms'' of Hippocrates" in ''

Modern Language Review ''Modern Language Review'' is the journal of the Modern Humanities Research Association ( MHRA). It is one of the oldest journals in the field of modern languages. Founded in 1905, it has published more than 3,000 articles and 20,000 book reviews. ...

'' Vol. 35, No. 1 (January 1940)
pp. 62-66
* R. R. Bolgar, ''The Classical Heritage and its Beneficiaries: from the Carolingian Age to the End of the Renaissance'' (Cambridge University Press, 1954) * R. R. Bolgar, ed., ''Classical Influences on European Culture, A.D. 500-1500: Proceedings of an international conference held at King’s College, Cambridge, April 1969'' (Cambridge University Press, 1971, ) *R. R. Bolgar, ed., ''Classical Influences on European Culture, A.D. 1500–1700: Proceedings of an International Conference Held at King's College, Cambridge, April 1974'' (Cambridge University Press, 1976) * R. R. Bolgar, ed., ''Classical Influences on Western Thought, A.D. 1650–1870: proceedings of an international conference held at King's College, Cambridge, March 1977 (Cambridge University Press, 1979) * R. R. Bolgar, "The Near-Christian" in ''Theology'', Vol. 70, Issue 565 (July 1967),
pp. 299–302
* R. R. Bolgar, "Humanist education and its contribution to the Renaissance" in ''The Changing Curriculum'' (Routledge, 1971, )

Notes

External links

Bolgar, Robert (Caius Coriolanus Robert Ralph), 1913–1985

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Robert Ralph Bolgar
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R. R. Bolgar (1913–1985)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolgar, Robert Ralph 1913 births 1985 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge British educators Fellows of King's College, Cambridge People educated at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School British classical scholars Suffolk Regiment soldiers British Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from London