Lost and Found in Translation
Lost and Found in Translation

Summary/Abstract: As the main author of the Declaration of Independence and foremost among the Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson is one of the easiest recognizable iconic figures in American history. His carved image looms over the monumental Mount Rushmore in the august company of Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln. His picture appears on the two-dollar bill (still in circulation but becoming exceedingly rare in what is perhaps another historical irony – Jefferson died at the age of 83 in dire poverty, from a boil in the buttocks). His ubiquitous name still resonates on the façades of numerous high-schools and street signs throughout the entire nation. What is less known though is Jefferson’s keen interest in the Anglo-Saxon roots of the country whose third President he became in 1801. He was an accomplished Anglo-Saxonist, planning to finalize an Old English grammar and to adjust the contemporary language accordingly (mercifully, he never completed the project). He also insisted that Old English be taught in public schools, to replace Greek or Latin that were part of the traditional scholastic curriculum, such as it was at the time. The University of Virginia, an institution that Jefferson patronized and felt particularly connected with, introduced Anglo-Saxon studies following Jefferson’s 1818 Report to its commission.

• Details
• Contents