Gaisford Prize

Thomas Gaisford

The Gaisford Prize is a prize in the University of Oxford, founded in 1855 in memory of Dr Thomas Gaisford (1779–1855). For most of its history, the prize was awarded for Classical Greek Verse and Prose. The prizes are now the Gaisford Essay Prize and the Gaisford Dissertation Prize.

History

Dr Thomas Gaisford, Dean of Christ Church, Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Oxford for more than forty years (1811–1855), died on 2 June 1855. Ten days later, at a meeting held in Christ Church on 12 June, it was resolved to establish a prize in his honour, to be called the Gaisford Prize, and to raise for that purpose £1,000 by public subscription, the interest to be applied "to reward a successful prizeman or prizemen, under such regulations as shall be approved by Convocation".[1]

The Prize was first awarded in 1857.

When Oscar Wilde won the Newdigate Prize in 1878, his prize poem, Ravenna, was published by Thomas Shrimpton and Son of Oxford with two lists of names on the wrapper, one of the winners of the Newdigate Prize from 1840 to 1877, the other of the winners of the Gaisford Prize for Greek Prose from 1857 to 1876.[2]

There were originally two Gaisford Prizes, for Greek Verse and for Greek Prose. To these were added two more, for an Essay and for a Dissertation. However, under 'Part 21: Gaisford Fund', the current Schedule to the University's Statutes and Regulations provides for only two prizes:

“ (1) a Gaisford Essay Prize for Greek Language and Literature (for which only undergraduates shall be eligible);
(2) a Gaisford Dissertation Prize for Greek or Latin Language and Literature (for which only graduates shall be eligible).[3]		 ”

Winners of the Gaisford Prize for Greek Verse

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Winners of the Gaisford Prize for Greek Prose

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Winners of the Gaisford Essay Prize

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Winners of the Gaisford Dissertation Prize

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Notable winning entries

John Davidson Beazley's winning entry for the 1907 Greek Prose prize, Herodotus at the Zoo, was reprinted by Blackwell in 1911 and later appeared in a collection of classical parodies produced in Switzerland in 1968. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography calls it "an enchanting work".[54]

George Stuart Robertson won the prize for Greek Verse in 1894 with a translation of a hundred lines of Shakespeare into comic iambic verse, and the next year he won the prize for Greek Prose and a Blue for hammer throwing. He heard about the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first of the modern era, and later explained "Greek classics were my proper academic field, so I could hardly resist a go at the Olympics, could I?" On arrival in Athens, he found to his dismay that his discipline of hammer throwing was not to be competed in, so in the spirit of amateurism he entered the shot put, the discus and the tennis. In the discus, he recorded the Games' worst ever throw, and in the tennis doubles he lost his only match but nevertheless won a Bronze Medal. In a ceremony after the Games, Robertson recited an ode to athletic prowess which he had composed in Greek.[55]

In fiction

In Max Beerbohm's satirical tragedy of undergraduate life at Oxford, Zuleika Dobson (1911), the hero, called the Duke of Dorset,[56] has won one of the Prizes:

At Eton he had been called "Peacock", and this nick-name had followed him up to Oxford. It was not wholly apposite, however. For, whereas the peacock is a fool even among birds, the Duke had already taken (besides a particularly brilliant First in Mods) the Stanhope, the Newdigate, the Lothian, and the Gaisford Prize for Greek Verse.[57]

References

  1. ↑ Urban, Sylvanus, The Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. XLIV (July to December 1855) page 100 online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  2. ↑ Mason, Stuart, Bibliography of Oscar Wilde, (Reprint by Read Books, 2007, of 1914 edition, ISBN 978-1-4067-5485-8) p. 241
  3. ↑ Schedule (Page 2 of 5) to Statutes and Regulations of the University of Oxford, online at admin.ox.ac.uk, accessed 16 August 2008
  4. ↑ Warner, J. H., Gaisford Prize: Greek Hexameters Recited in the Theatre, Oxford, June 24, MDCCCLVII (Oxford: T. and G. Shrimpton, 1857), online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  5. ↑ Broughton, R., Gaisford Prize: Greek Iambics Recited in the Theatre, Oxford, June 16, MDCCCLVIII (Oxford: T. and G. Shrimpton, 1858), online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  6. ↑ Luke, George R., Morte D'Arthur, The Gaisford Prize Poem: Recited in the Sheldonian Theatre, July 6, A. D. MDCCCLIX (Oxford: T. and G. Shrimpton, 1859), online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  7. ↑ Chute, Chaloner W., Gaisford Prize: Greek Iambics Recited in the Theatre, Oxford, June 20, MDCCCLX (Oxford: T. and G. Shrimpton, 1860), online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  8. ↑ Bryce, James, The May queen : a Greek idyll: Gaisford prize, Greek verse (Oxford: T. and G. Shrimpton, 1861, 7 pp.)
  9. ↑ Raper, Robert W., Gaisford Prize: Greek Iambics Recited in the Theatre, Oxford, July 2, MDCCCLXII (Oxford: T. and G. Shrimpton, 1862), online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  10. ↑ Pearson, Charles J., Gaisford Prize: A translation of Milton's Paradise lost, Book 6, 824–877, Homeric hexameters : recited in the Theatre, Oxford, June 17, MDCCCLXIII] (Oxford: T. and G. Shrimpton, 1863)
  11. ↑ Selected Poetry of Ernest Myers (1844–1921) at rpo.library.utoronto.ca, accessed 16 August 2008
  12. ↑ Nutt, George, Gaisford Prize: Greek Comic Iambics Recited in the Theatre, Oxford, Jube xiii, mdccclxvi (Oxford: Rivingtons, 1866), online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  13. ↑ Bell, Alexander M., Gaisford Prize Recited in the Theatre, Oxford, June 26, 1867, by Alexander M. Bell, Balliol College (Oxford: T. and G. Shrimpton, 1867, 15pp.)
  14. ↑ Godley, John Arthur, Gaisford Prize: Greek Theocritean verse Recited in the Theatre, Oxford, July 4, MDCCCLXIX (Oxford: T. and G. Shrimpton, 1869), online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  15. ↑ Matthew, H. C. G., 'Godley, (John) Arthur, first Baron Kilbracken (1847–1932), civil servant' in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 (online edition, subscription required), accessed 16 August 2008
  16. ↑ Nicholson, Edward Byron, Gaisford Prize: Greek verse recited in the Sheldonian theatre, Oxford, June 14, MDCCCLXXI (Oxford: G. Shrimpton, 1870, 7 pp.)
  17. ↑ Haigh, Arthur Elam, Gaisford Prize: Greek Verse (Oxford: Thos. Shrimpton & Son, 1876), online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  18. ↑ Hamilton, Sidney Graves, Gaisford Prize: Greek Verse (Oxford: 1877), online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  19. ↑ Hardie, William Ross, Gaisford Prize: Greek iambics (Oxford: B. H. Blackwell, 1884, 15 pp.)
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Foster, op. cit: "Russell, Cecil Henry St. Leger, born at Trinidad, West Indies, 18 April 1862 ; is. Richard, arm. TRINITY, matric. 15 Oct., 81, aged 19 (from Lancing coll.), scholar 81–5, B.A. 86, M.A. 88 (HONOURS: 2 classical mods. 82, Latin verse 82, Greek verse 83, Greek prose 84, 2 classics 85); a master at Clifton coll."
  21. ↑ House, Harry Hammond, Gaisford Prize: Greek iambics (Oxford: B. H. Blackwell, 1884, 11 pp.)
  22. ↑ Du Pontet, René L. A., Gaisford prize, 1889. Hexameter verse (Oxford: B. H. Blackwell, 1889, 15 pp.)
  23. ↑ Foster, Joseph, Oxford men, 1880–1892, with a record of their schools, honours and degrees (1893) online at us.archive.org, accessed 18 August 2008: "Du-Pontet, Rene Louis Alphonse, born in London 27 Aug., 1868; is. Marc Jules Henri, cler. TRINITY, matric. 15 Oct., 87, aged 19 (from St. Paul's school), scholar 86, B.A. 91 (HONOURS : i classical mods. 89, 2 classics 91, Hertford scholarship 88, Greek verse 89, Taylorian (French) scholarship 89, Latin verse 90, Craven scholarship 90, Latin essay 92, Derby scholarship 92) ; a master at Winchester"
  24. ↑ Cole, Edward L. D., Gaisford prize, 1896. Greek hexameters (Oxford, B. H. Blackwell, 1896, 13 pp.)
  25. ↑ Rose, Kenneth, 'Grigg, Edward William Macleay, first Baron Altrincham (1879–1955), colonial administrator and politician' (rev.) in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, (online edition, January 2008, subscription required) accessed 16 August 2008
  26. ↑ Hunter, Leslie Whitaker, Gaisford Prize for Greek elegiac verse, translation from Tennyson's Lotos-eaters (Oxford: Blackwell, 1906)
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 J. A. Emerton, 'Driver, Sir Godfrey Rolles (1892–1975)', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Millar, Fergus, Hannah M. Cotton, & Guy M. Rogers, Rome, the Greek World, and the East, page 401 online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  29. ↑ Page, Denys Lionel, Tragic iambics: A translation of Masefield's Pompey the Great, Act 2, Scene I (Gaisford prize for Greek verse) (Oxford: B. Blackwell, 1928)
  30. ↑ Lloyd-Jones, Hugh, 'Page, Sir Denys Lionel (1908–1978), classical scholar' in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004)
  31. ↑ Davidson, Brian, A translation of Addison's 'Cato', act IV, sc.iv, to act V, sc.1: Gaisford prize for Greek verse (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1930, 8 pp.)
  32. ↑ 'BARRETT, (William) Spencer' in Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2007, online edition (subscription required) by Oxford University Press, December 2007: BARRETT, (William) Spencer, accessed 14 August 2008
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Oxford University Gazette, 23 June 1995 at ox.ac.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 Oxford University Gazette, 25 July 1996 at ox.ac.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 Oxford University Gazette, 24 September 1998 at ox.ac.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 Oxford University Gazette, 23 September 1999 at ox.ac.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Oxford University Gazette, 19 October 2000 at ox.ac.uk, accessed 14 August 2008
  38. ↑ Luke, George R., Nikais : a Greek dialogue on superstition, Gaisford prize, Greek prose (Oxford: T. and G. Shrimpton, 1858, 23 pp.)
  39. ↑ Jones, Martin D. W., 'Bigg, Charles (1840–1908)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 (online (subscription site), accessed 16 August 2008
  40. ↑ Godley, John Arthur, Gaisford Prize: Phidias, or Concerning Sculpture: a Platonic dialogue (Oxford: T. and G. Shrimpton, 1870)
  41. ↑ Jeans, George Edward, Gaisford Prize: Iceland: in Herodotean prose (Oxford: George Shrimpton, 1871, 19 pp. )
  42. ↑ Bertie, David M., Scottish Episcopal Clergy, 1689–2000, p. 254: "FAUSSET, William Yorke, M.A. b. 1859... Gaisford Prize (Prose) 1880... D 1884, P 1887... Became headmaster of Ripon Grammar School, Yorks. in 1890"
  43. ↑ Russell, Cecil Henry St Leger, Gaisford prize, Greek prose: The Athenian state: a platonic dialogue (Oxford & London: B. H. Blackwell, 1884)
  44. ↑ Robertson, George Stuart, Herodotus in Britain, Gaisford prize for Greek prose (Oxford: Blackwell, 1895)
  45. ↑ Powell, L. F., 'Chapman, Robert William (1881–1960)', rev. M. Clare Loughlin-Chow, in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 online edn, May 2006 (subscription site), accessed 16 August 2008
  46. ↑ Beazley, John Davidson, Herodotus at the Zoo (Oxford: Blackwell, reprinted 1911)
  47. ↑ Known as Frank Hardie, later a Fellow of Magdalen and Corpus Christi and President of Corpus Christi from 1950 to 1969
  48. ↑ Rev. Stephen X. Winters S.J. Papers at georgetown.edu, accessed 16 August 2008
  49. ↑ Hacker, P. M. S. 'Austin, John Langshaw (1911–1960)', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 online (subscription site), accessed 16 August 2008
  50. ↑ Griffith, John Godfrey, Tolstoy's 'Thou shalt not kill': Translated into Greek verse, Gaisford prize for Greek prose, 1936 (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1936)
  51. ↑ 25 YEARS OF WOMEN AT NEW COLLEGE DISTINCTIONS at new.ox.ac.uk, accessed 16 August 2008
  52. ↑ de Melo, Wolfgang David Cirilo, The Early Latin Verb System, Preface, p. ix: "I should like to thank the anonymous committees that gave me the Gaisford Prize for Greek Verse (jointly) and the Gaisford Dissertation Prize (jointly). The latter was for my 2002b article, which forms the basis of Ch. 6."
  53. ↑ Oliver Thomas CV at users.ox.ac.uk, accessed 16 August 2008
  54. ↑ Robertson, Martin, 'Beazley, Sir John Davidson (1885–1970)', rev. David Gill, in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 (online edition (subscription required) accessed 16 Aug 2008
  55. ↑ Hodge, Gavvandra, Olympian odes: I say, what rhymes with Discoboloi? in The Independent on Sunday August 8, 2004, at findarticles.com
  56. ↑ Or in full, John Albert Edward Claude Orde Angus Tankerton Tanville-Tankerton, fourteenth Duke of Dorset, Marquis of Dorset, Earl of Grove, Earl of Chastermaine, Viscount Brewsby, Baron Grove, Baron Petstrap, and Baron Wolock
  57. ↑ Beerbohm, Max, Zuleika Dobson online at fulltextarchive.com, accessed 10 August 2009

See also