Mr Nicolas Jacobs is an Emeritus Fellow and former Fellow and Tutor in English at Jesus College.
Academic Background
Mr Jacobs studied Classics and then English at Christ Church, Oxford (1960-64). He was a lecturer in English language and mediaeval literature at Balliol and St John’s Colleges (1966-1972) and the University of Bristol (1972-1976). He was Tutor in English at Jesus College from 1977 till 2007, and also taught for Oriel College. He was a member of the English Faculty Board, serving on its Undergraduate Studies Committee.
He was O’Donnell Lecturer in Celtic Studies, University of Oxford (1986-7) and held visiting positions in 1991 at Perm State University, U.S.S.R. and Scoil na Léinn Cheiltigh, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. He was President of the Oxford Medieval Society (1992-3). He was elected to the International Association of University Professors of English (2000), to honorary membership of Sociedad Española de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa Medieval (2003), and was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (2006). He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literature.
Undergraduate Teaching
Subjects formerly taught by Mr Jacobs include Old and Middle English (from the beginnings to 1500).
Research Interests
Theory and practice of textual criticism, Mediaeval Welsh gnomic and nature poetry.
Publications
- Early Welsh Gnomic and Nature Poetry (2012)
- ‘Truthe is the Beste’: A Festschrift in Honour of A. V. C. Schmidt, edited with Gerald Morgan [Jesus, 1962-65] (2014).
- Medieval English Romances (with AVC Schmidt), 1980.
- The Later Versions of Sir Degarre: A Study in Textual Degeneration, 1995.
- Hispano-Gallo-Brittonica: Essays on Continental Celtic and Early Welsh in Honour of D. Ellis Evans on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday (edited with Joseph F. Eska and R. Geraint Gruffydd) 1995.
Hobbies
Mr Jacobs enjoys writing poetry and gardening. Future projects may, it is hoped, include a comparative study of praise-poetry in Ancient Greek, Middle Irish and Middle Welsh.
Links
Subject notes for courses at Jesus College:
- English Language and Literature
- Classics and English
- English and Modern Languages
- History and English
See also Faculty of English website.