• In MemoriamClifford O. Davidson: 1932–2024

In Memoriam

Clifford O. Davidson

(1932–2024)

When Clifford Davidson retired from Western Michigan University in 2003, the Medieval Institute, where he held a joint appointment with English for nearly 40 years, printed a short volume of essays in his honor. If you read the introduction penned by Barbara Palmer, you learn about a person who was a prolific scholar, a persuasive editor, an intellectual trailblazer, and an energetic cheerleader. In retirement, Davidson remained close to the many institutions at the University that he played a leadership role in founding and nurturing, including this journal, still housed within the Department of English. Moreover, he left a global network of scholars who form, in part, his generous legacy of editorial and field leadership.

Born October 29, 1932, Clifford Davidson attended one-room rural elementary schools near Faribault, Minnesota and later Brainerd (Minnesota) High School. He received his bachelor’s degree from St. Cloud State University and pursued graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, with interruptions during which he taught at the secondary [End Page 280] level and served in the U.S. Army, the latter as a post newspaper editor at the Granite City (Illinois) Engineer Depot. He moved to Michigan in 1959 to complete his graduate studies at Wayne State University, from which he received his Ph.D. and where he also was employed as an Instructor in English.

Davidson received an appointment as Assistant Professor of English at Western Michigan University in 1965, and two years later helped to establish this journal, which he served as a co-editor for 32 years. As an active participant in the development of the Medieval Institute at the University, he saw it grow into an internationally recognized unit which would in time sponsor the largest annual medieval conference in the world. In 1976 he founded the Early Drama, Art, and Music research project and book series within the Medieval Institute and served as its director for a quarter of a century. He also assisted his wife, the musicologist and gifted soprano Audrey Ekdahl Davidson, as dramatic director of numerous medieval music-dramas presented by the Society for Old Music (now Early Music Michigan), of which she was the founder and director.

His research, conducted in American and European libraries and archives, led to voluminous publications and an international reputation with his articles and reviews published on four continents. He was the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of more than forty books and monographs, among them such titles as From Creation to Doom: The York Cycle of Mystery Plays (AMS, 1984), History, Religion, and Violence (Ashgate, 2002), Illustrations of the Stage and Acting in England to 1580 (Medieval Institute Publications, 1991), Deliver Us from Evil (AMS, 2004) and a complete edition of The York Corpus Christi Plays (Medieval Institute Publications, 2011), the latter prepared as a contribution to a project supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 1985, Western Michigan University bestowed its highest academic honor on Davidson, naming him a Distinguished Faculty Scholar.

While Davidson was a prolific writer and thinker, he was also a tireless recruiter. Whether suggesting article topics or book chapters or even ideas for monographs, he was continually working to invite more scholars into the conversation. For its first 33 volumes, Comparative Drama was the primary recipient of this energy. For the two decades following retirement, [End Page 281] his enthusiasm for recruiting new voices did not wane. For example, he was active as a board member and networker for Early Music Michigan, wrote book reviews for this journal, and solicited scholarly contributions to the “Medieval Studies” section of Oxford Bibliographies Online. He remained an avid reader of Comparative Drama to the very end, often discussing articles with colleagues new and old. In addition to his scholarly leadership, he championed live performances of medieval material, not only through Early Music Michigan, but also the Mostly Medieval Theatre Festival, established in 2017 in coordination with the Congress on Medieval Studies, as well as WMU’s Irving S. Gilmore School of Music, where he and his wife endowed a scholarship...

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  纪念克利福德·O·戴维森：1932–2024

 悼念

 克利福德·戴维森

 （1932年–2024年）

克利福德·戴维森 (Clifford Davidson) 2003 年从西密歇根大学退休时，他与英语联合任职近 40 年的中世纪研究所印制了一本短文集以纪念他。如果您阅读芭芭拉·帕尔默（Barbara Palmer）撰写的介绍，您会了解到她是一位多产的学者、一位有说服力的编辑、一位知识分子的开拓者和一位充满活力的啦啦队长。退休后，戴维森仍然与大学的许多机构保持密切关系，他在创立和培育这些机构时发挥了领导作用，其中包括仍然位于英语系的这本期刊。此外，他留下了一个全球学者网络，这些人在一定程度上构成了他在编辑和领域领导方面的慷慨遗产。

克利福德·戴维森 (Clifford Davidson) 出生于 1932 年 10 月 29 日，曾就读于明尼苏达州法里博附近的一室乡村小学，后来又就读于布雷纳德（明尼苏达）高中。他在圣克劳德州立大学获得学士学位，并在明尼苏达大学攻读研究生，期间他在中学任教[完第 280 页] ，并在美国陆军服役，后者担任邮报编辑在花岗岩城（伊利诺伊州）工程师站。 1959 年，他搬到密歇根州，在韦恩州立大学完成研究生学业，并获得了博士学位。他还被聘为英语讲师。

1965 年，戴维森被任命为西密歇根大学英语系助理教授，两年后帮助创办了该期刊，并担任联合编辑达 32 年。作为大学中世纪研究所发展的积极参与者，他看到该研究所成长为一个国际公认的单位，并及时赞助了世界上最大的年度中世纪会议。 1976 年，他在中世纪研究所内创立了早期戏剧、艺术和音乐研究项目和丛书，并担任该研究所所长长达四分之一个世纪。他还协助他的妻子、音乐学家和天才女高音奥黛丽·埃克达尔·戴维森 (Audrey Ekdahl Davidson) 担任古老音乐协会（现为密歇根州早期音乐协会）举办的众多中世纪音乐剧的戏剧导演，她是该协会的创始人和导演。

他在美国和欧洲的图书馆和档案馆进行的研究产生了大量出版物，并因其在四大洲发表的文章和评论而享有国际声誉。他是四十多本书籍和专着的作者、合著者、编辑或联合编辑，其中包括《从创世到末日：约克神秘剧循环》 （AMS，1984）、 《历史》、《宗教》和《从创世到末日》等书。 《暴力》 （阿什盖特，2002 年）、 《1580 年英国舞台和表演插图》 （中世纪研究所出版物，1991 年）、 《拯救我们脱离邪恶》 （AMS，2004 年）和完整版《约克科珀斯克里斯蒂戏剧》 （中世纪研究所出版物，2011 年） ），后者是作为对国家人文基金会支持的项目的贡献而编写的。 1985年，西密歇根大学授予戴维森最高学术荣誉，授予他杰出学者奖。

戴维森是一位多产的作家和思想家，同时他也是一位不知疲倦的招聘人员。无论是建议文章主题、书籍章节，甚至是专着的想法，他都在不断努力邀请更多学者参与对话。在其前 33 卷中，比较戏剧是这种能量的主要接受者。退休后的二十年里， [完第281页]他招募新声音的热情并没有减弱。例如，他是《密歇根早期音乐》的董事会成员和网络工作者，为该杂志撰写书评，并为牛津书目在线的“中世纪研究”部分征求学术贡献。直到最后，他仍然是比较戏剧的狂热读者，经常与新老同事讨论文章。除了学术领导力之外，他还倡导中世纪材料的现场表演，不仅通过密歇根早期音乐，还通过与中世纪研究大会以及西密歇根大学的欧文·吉尔摩 (Irving S. Gilmore) 于 2017 年合作设立的“中世纪戏剧节”(Mostly Medieval Theater Festival)他和他的妻子向音乐学院提供了奖学金......