Morton W. Bloomfield

Morton W. Bloomfield, Warren House, Harvard University c.1970 Morton Wilfred Bloomfield (May 19, 1913 – April 14, 1987) was an American medievalist. He was the Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of English at Harvard University. He is best known for his scholarly work, teaching and mentoring on Medieval literature, language, as well as contributions to intellectual history, literary criticism and theory. He also was one of the founders of the first U.S. national center for the humanities, the National Humanities Center.

Life and career Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from 1968 to 1972. He became emeritus in 1983 and fully retired in 1986. He served as chairman of the center's Board of Trustees from 1973 to 1976.

Honors and awards Called "one of the truly great medieval scholars" of his generation and "one of the glories of the Harvard English department," Bloomfield was twice awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship (1949; 1964); was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1963); a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America (1967); a corresponding fellow of the British Academy (1975); a member of the American Philosophical Society (1981); and served on the executive committee of the Modern Language Association during a turbulent time in academia (1966–69). (International Association of University Professors of English); and a Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey (1972).

In honor of his career and becoming emeritus, Larry Benson and Siegfried Wenzel in 1982 edited a festschrift for Bloomfield, The Wisdom of Poetry.

Selected publications Title Publication Publication Date George H. Brown's Publications' List# "Personification Metaphors" Directions in Medieval Literary Criticism 1979-1980 200 "Recent Scholarship on Joachim of Fiore and his Influence" Prophecy and Millernarianism 1980 199 "Episodic Juxtaposition or the Syntax of Episodes in Narration" Studies in English Linguistics for Randolph Quirk 1980 196"The Wisdom of the Nun's Priest's Tale" Chaucerian Problems and Perspectives; Essays Presented to Paul E. Beichner 1979 190 "Continuities and Discontinuities" Medieval Literature and Contemporary Theory 1978-1979 182 "Stylistics and the Theory of Literature" NLH7 1975-1976 156 "The Study of Language" Daedalus Summer 1973 129 "The Interpretation of Narrative: Theory and Practice" Harvard English Studies 1 1970 103 "The Gloomy Chaucer" Veins of Humor, Harvard English Studies 3 1972 119 "Allegory as Interpretation" NLH3 1971-1972 116 "Judaism and the Study of Literature" Tradition 12 1971 114

Personal life Bloomfield married Caroline Lichtenberg in 1952. Caroline died in 2020. He is survived by their three children, Micah, Hanna and Sam. To date, his additional descendants are seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Harvard Scholars in English 1890 – 1990, (1991), p. 117