James Francis Kenney

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James Francis Kenney (born December 6, 1884 in Tyendinaga , Hastings County , Ontario ; † June 4, 1946 in Ottawa ) was a Canadian historian , archivist and Celtologist who was particularly famous for his major work on the early ecclesiastical sources of Ireland and the founding of the Canadian Catholic Historical Association .

Life

George M. Wrong was Kenney's primary sponsor in Toronto

Kenney was the only child of a family of Irish descent who owned a farm in Tyendinaga, in eastern Ontario. After graduating from elementary school in 1899, the parents sold the farm and moved to Belleville to give their son a better education there. After he had successfully completed this in 1903, he took up studies at the University of Toronto in September 1903 , which he completed in June 1907 with a Bachelor of Arts . In addition to his successful academic achievements in German , French and Latin , he studied ancient Greek , and from 1906 he began to teach himself Irish . Through George M. Wrong, the director of the History Department in Toronto, he found an interest in Irish history and an academic career as a historian. This tendency was reinforced by a visit by Douglas Hyde to the university, who passionately promoted the goals of the Conradh na Gaeilge , an organization that campaigned for the Irish language, the de-Anglicanization of Ireland and thus the preservation of Irish identity.

After graduating from college, Kenney faced the problem that in 1907 there was no university in Canada offering postgraduate studies in history. Wrong recommended that he go to Oxford , but this was beyond his parents' financial means. After a long search, a viable solution arose in the form of an offer from the University of Wisconsin , which offered him an assistant position in European history and thus enabled him to continue his studies. In addition, it turned out that Arthur Doughty , the then head of the Canadian public archive in Toronto , needed a student assistant and Wrong was able to find him Kenney for the summer months when there was no lecture period. In Wisconsin, Kenney began an intensive study of early Irish sources under the tutelage of George C. Sellery and Dana C. Munro . Kenney completed his master's degree in the summer of 1908 with the thesis The Decline of the Celtic Church in Ireland, 795-1152 .

Contrary to his hopes, there was no further employment with the Canadian Public Archives, and neither did another employment in Wisconsin. In addition, his parents' health was in very poor health, which made his financial situation worse. In desperation, he turned to Wrong, who helped him obtain a fellowship in Toronto. The aim of the financial support was to research the history of the city of Toronto. He began with this work, but quickly lost interest in it, and turned back to Irish history. Fortunately, in April 1909 there was a fellowship in Medieval History at Columbia University , where he had contact in particular with James T. Shotwell , a former student of Wrong. This gave him the opportunity to devote himself to the Celtic languages ​​and, in particular, to learn how to deal critically with source texts from Shotwell. Kenney began working on his dissertation , making use of the well-stocked libraries at Columbia University in particular. In the summer of 1910 he had to return to Toronto, where he initially dealt with a number of smaller jobs. a. kept afloat as a Latin and history teacher. After several attempts and intensive support from Wrong, Kenney received a position at the public archive in Toronto in May 1912, which he held until the end of his life.

In the Canadian Public Archives, Kenney et al. a. also responsible for the collection of paintings, drawings and prints . Here in 1919 he put together a catalog with 771 portraits of people from Canadian history. In her review, the Detroit Public Library archivist L. Oughtred Woltz highlighted the depth of the accompanying texts by Kenney, which included comprehensive technical descriptions and the respective historical backgrounds, including numerous biographical sketches. Kenney found time for his dissertation on the side. Several times he went to Columbia University in New York to use the libraries there and to get advice from James Shotwell and John Gerig. In February 1916, Kuno Meyer read through the status of the work at that time and was impressed by it. In 1919 Kenney prepared an essay on the Navigatio Sancti Brendani , which was presented in May 1920 by his superior Arthur Doughty in the Royal Society of Canada because he was not yet a member himself. When his dissertation was completed in November 1926, Austin Evans , the then editor of the Records of Civilization series , immediately accepted the 800-page work for publication under the title The Sources for the Early History of Ireland: Ecclesiastical . A two-volume edition was planned, with the second volume being devoted to non-church sources. In February 1927, Kenney was again accepted as a doctoral student and the doctoral procedure opened, which was successfully completed with the final examination on April 22, 1927.

While the print edition was being prepared, Kenney had the opportunity to travel to Ireland on business for five months to look through archival material relevant to Canada. It was his only stay in Ireland that gave him not only the opportunity to make interesting discoveries, such as a collection of materials on Henry Kelsey in Belfast , but also to meet Irish historians, and others. a. with Richard I. Best , Robert AS Macalister , Eoin MacNeill and Paul Grosjean . During this time he had proofs sent to Ireland from New York and took the opportunity to take up suggestions from Grosjean. In December 1929 his work was finally published.

Work on ecclesiastical sources from early Irish history is limited to the period from the earliest written sources in Ireland to 1170, before the arrival of the Normans . It begins with a ninety-page outline of the history of Ireland, which particularly goes into the types of texts that were created, their backgrounds and their transmission into modern times. The largest part of the work groups the sources according to time and content criteria in seven chapters, each with extensive introductions and bibliographies. The main content is 659 entries on individual texts, each citing the structure, showing the manuscripts, specifying text editions and further literature and then containing further explanations.

The publication received the highest praise from dozens of reviews. The American Historical Review found that the book was hard to praise too highly. James A. Geary saw it similarly in the Speculum and added how much such a compilation had been lacking so far and how useful it was for Celtology. Robert AS Macalister prophesied in the Journal of Theological Studies that this work would be a standard work for a long time, noting that despite his expertise in some of these areas, he had failed to find gaps in the bibliographies. Macalister concluded with the remark that when the promised second volume was completed, research into Irish history would be divided into the “before Kenney” and “after Kenney” eras.

Kenney was a member of the American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA), founded in 1919 , possibly since its inception. After his book was published, Kenney was asked to speak at the ACHA conference in 1930. On this occasion he was also elected Vice President for 1931, and then took over the chairmanship in 1932 on a rotating basis. During his presidency, the ACHA's annual meeting was held in Toronto, the first time outside the United States. During the conference the idea of ​​a Canadian society comparable to the ACHA matured, and at the end of the conference a committee was formed for this purpose under the direction of Kenney. After lengthy preparations, the Canadian Catholic Historical Association (CCHA) was founded on June 3, 1933 in Toronto with 75 participants. Francis Robert Latchford , Ontario Supreme Court Justice, became the founding president and Kenney became the first secretary. One of Kenney's achievements was the early involvement of the French Canadians , and the first conference in 1934 succeeded in integrating both sides in a balanced manner with four English and three French lectures.

After Doughty retired in 1935, Kenney was initially appointed acting director of the archives. His hope of being able to hold this position in the long term was not fulfilled when Gustave Lanctot was appointed at the end of 1937 . Kenney continued to work on the second volume, but the activities at ACHA, the subsequent formation of the CCHA and the two years as acting head of the archive did not give Kenney much time. Kenney died unexpectedly early in 1946 of a heart attack .

Works (selection)

  • The Decline of the Celtic Church in Ireland, 795-1152 . Ottawa 1908.
  • The Legend of St. Brendan . In: Royal Society of Canada : Transactions. Section II, 1920, pp. 51-71.
  • Catalog of Pictures Including Paintings, Drawings, and Prints in the Public Archives of Canada . Authority of the Secretary of State, under the Direction of the Keeper of the Records, Ottawa 1925.
  • The Sources for the Early History of Ireland: Ecclesiastical . In from Austin Evans published series Records of Civilization: Sources and Studies . Columbia University Press, New York 1929.
  • The Catholic Church in Contemporary Ireland . In: Catholic Historical Review. Volume XVIII, No. 2, July 1932, pp. 159-176.
  • Relations Between Church and State in Canada Since the Cession of 1763. (Presidential Address). ACHA meeting, Toronto 1932.
  • As editor: The Founding of Churchill. Being the Journal of Captain James Knight, Governor-in-Chief at Hudson Bay, from the 14th of July to the 13th of September, 1717. Dent and Sons, Toronto 1932.

Honors

literature

  • AL Burt: James Francis Kenney (1884-1946) . In: Canadian Historical Review . Vol. 27, No. 4 , 1946, pp. 463 .
  • Glenn T. Wright: James Francis Kenney, 1884-1946 . Founder of the Canadian Catholic Historical Association. In: CCHA Study Sessions . tape 50 , 1983, pp. 11–45 ( umanitoba.ca [PDF; accessed February 28, 2012]).

Web links

Remarks

  1. Wright, pp. 13, 44; Burt.
  2. Wright, pp. 14, 20; Burt.
  3. ^ Wright, p. 16.
  4. ^ Wright, pp. 16-18.
  5. ^ Wright, p. 21; Burt.
  6. ^ Wright, pp. 24-27.
  7. ^ Wright, p. 28.
  8. ^ L. Oughtred Woltz: Catalog of Pictures Including Paintings, Drawings, and Prints in the Public Archives of Canada . In: The Mississippi Valley Historical Review . Vol. XIII, No. 2 , 1926, p. 267-268 .
  9. Wright, pp. 28-29; Foreword by Kenney to his dissertation.
  10. ^ Wright, pp. 29-31.
  11. ^ Wright, p. 32.
  12. ^ MTH: The Sources for the Early History of Ireland: An Introduction and Guide by James F. Kenney . In: The American Historical Review . Vol. 36, No. 1 , October 1930, p. 108-110 .
  13. James A. Geary: James F. Kenney, The Sources for the Early History of Ireland: an Introduction and Guide . In: Speculum . Vol. 6, No. 2 , April 1931, p. 313-315 .
  14. ^ RAS Macalister: The Sources for the early History of Ireland; an Introduction and Guide, by James F. Kenney, Ph.D. Vol. I: Ecclesiastical . In: The Journal of Theological Studies . Vol. XXXI, No. 3 , 1930, p. 321-323 .
  15. ^ Wright, pp. 33-42.
  16. ^ Wright, pp. 43-44.
  17. Burt.
  18. Wright, p. 32; Burt.
  19. Burt.
  20. Burt.