Kenneth H. Jackson
Kenneth H. Jackson | |
|---|---|
| Professor of Celtic Languages, Literatures, History and Antiquities, University of Edinburgh | |
| In office 1950–1979 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson 1 November 1909 Beddington, Surrey, England |
| Died | 20 February 1991 (aged 81) |
| Occupation | Celtic scholar |
| Signature | |
Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson (1 November 1909 – 20 February 1991) was an English linguist and a translator who specialised in the Celtic languages, described by Roland Blenner-Hassett as "one of the ablest and most productive Celticists of our time". He argued that text of the Ulster Cycle of tales, written circa AD 1100, preserved an oral tradition originating some six centuries earlier and reflects Celtic Irish society of the third and fourth century AD. His Celtic Miscellany is a popular standard, while his Language and History in Early Britain became the standard account of the early history of the Brittonic languages.
In retirement, Jackson continued his work on place-names and Goidelic languages. However he suffered a stroke in 1984 that restricted his work.
An obituary was published in The Times on 8 March 1991 and in a number of academic journals.