Robert Rattenbury
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Robert Mantle Rattenbury (9 December 1901 – 29 July 1970) was an English classical scholar and
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 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 ...
. His most important publication was an edition of the '' Aethiopica'' of
Heliodorus of Emesa Heliodorus Emesenus or Heliodorus of Emesa () is the author of the ancient Greek novel called the '' Aethiopica'' () or ''Theagenes and Chariclea'' (), which has been dated to the 220s or 370s AD. Identification He identifies himself at the end ...
, in three volumes, with notes in French. He was editor of ''
The Classical Review ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'' and a contributor to the ''
Oxford Classical Dictionary The ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (''OCD'') is generally considered "the best one-volume dictionary on antiquity," an encyclopædic work in English consisting of articles relating to classical antiquity and its civilizations. It was first pub ...
''.


Early life

Rattenbury was a son of John Ernest Rattenbury, a
doctor of divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...
, one of the leading Methodist evangelists and preachers of his day, who served as President of the National Free Church Council. He was educated at
Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
, where in 1919 he played at
outside right In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bei ...
in the school's First XI for
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
. He went on to
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
, gaining
First Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...
in the
Classical Tripos The Classical Tripos is the taught course in classics at the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge. It is equivalent to '' Literae Humaniores'' at Oxford University. It is traditionally a three-year degree, but for those who have not previ ...
.


Career

In 1926 Rattenbury was elected as a
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 Trinity College and in 1953 as
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,"RATTENBURY, Robert Mantle" in ''
Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...
'' (London, 1968), p. 2524
meaning as head of its administration. Between 1935 and 1938, Rattenbury and T. W. Lumb published in Paris an edition of the '' Aethiopica'' of
Heliodorus of Emesa Heliodorus Emesenus or Heliodorus of Emesa () is the author of the ancient Greek novel called the '' Aethiopica'' () or ''Theagenes and Chariclea'' (), which has been dated to the 220s or 370s AD. Identification He identifies himself at the end ...
, in three volumes, with critical notes in French. These were later translated into English and the work was republished in
Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
in 1957. At Trinity, Rattenbury was the supervisor of
Geoffrey Kirk Geoffrey Stephen Kirk, () was a British classicist who served as the 35th Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge. He published widely on pre-Socratic philosophy and the work of the Greek poet Homer, culminating in a six-volu ...
, and an obituary of Kirk by
Hugh Lloyd-Jones Sir Peter Hugh Jefferd Lloyd-Jones (21 September 1922 – 5 October 2009)
says of Rattenbury that he was "a sound scholar but by no means an inspiring teacher". When in 1940 Kirk said he was leaving to join the Navy, Rattenbury remarked: "Good Heavens! Well, I don't suppose I shall be seeing ''you'' again!" Nevertheless, Kirk returned to Cambridge at the end of the war and went on to become Regius Professor of Greek there.
Hugh Lloyd-Jones Sir Peter Hugh Jefferd Lloyd-Jones (21 September 1922 – 5 October 2009)

"Geoffrey Stephen Kirk 1921–2003"
(obituary), thebritishacademy.ac.uk, accessed 11 December 2022
By 1946, Rattenbury was editor of ''The Classical Review'', the journal of the
Classical Association The Classical Association (CA) is an educational organisation which aims to promote and widen access to the study of Classics, classical subjects in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1903, the Classical Association supports and advances classical ...
. 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 ...
, two Cambridge colleges, Trinity and King's, agreed to take in twenty-five Hungarian student refugees. Wielding the authority of his office as Registrary, Rattenbury took charge of the exercise, giving the Anglo-Hungarian don Robert Bolgar of King's the task of escorting the new recruits from London and helping them to settle in. Rattenbury was a contributor to ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'', under the initials RMR. Rattenbury continued to serve as Registrary until 1969 but did not reach retirement as a fellow, dying suddenly in July 1970 at
Grantchester Grantchester () is a village and civil parish on the River Cam or Granta (river), Granta in South Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about south of Cambridge. Name The village of Grantchester is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Granteset ...
, where he lived. He left an estate valued at £29,091. In 1934, he married Monica Mary Miller Jones, and they had three daughters. His widow continued to live in Cambridge and died there in 1998, aged 97."Monica Mary M Rattenbury"
in ''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007'', accessed 17 December 2022


Selected publications

* Heliodoros, '' Aithiopika'', ed. Robert Mantle Rattenbury, Thomas Wallace Lumb (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, three volumes, 1935–1938) * "Chastity and Chastity Ordeals in the Ancient Greek Romances", ''Proceedings of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, Literary and Historical Section'' 1 (1926): 59–71 * "A New Interpretation of the Chione Fragments" in ''
Classical Quarterly The Classical Association (CA) is an educational organisation which aims to promote and widen access to the study of classical subjects in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1903, the Classical Association supports and advances classical learning ...
'' 20/3-4 (1926), 181-185 * "Traces of Lost Greek Novels" in J. U. Powell, ''New chapters in the History of Greek Literature'' (Oxford, 1933), 211–257 * "Tacitus, Hist. i. 79" in ''The Classical Review'' Vol. 57, No. 2 (September 1943)
67-69
* "An Ancient Armoured Force" in ''
The Classical Review ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'' 56/3 (1942): 113–116 * ''The Classical Review'', LX (1946), ed. C. J. Fordyce, R. M. Rattenbury * ''The Classical Review'', X (1960), Vol. LXXIV of the Continuous Series, ed. C. J. Fordyce, R. M. Rattenbury


Notes


External links


Robert Mantle Rattenbury (1901–1970), Lecturer in Classics, Cambridge
National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rattenbury, Robert 1901 births 1970 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Westminster School, London Registraries of the University of Cambridge