Call Number:

M46

Repository:

Bryn Mawr College

Extent:

42 linear ft.

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Cite as: Phyllis Walter Goodhart Gordan Papers, Special Collections Department, Bryn Mawr College Library.

Date:

1913-1994 (inclusive)

Creator:

Gordon, Phyllis Goodhart

Abstract:

Phyllis Walter Goodhart (1913-1994) was a graduate of Bryn Mawr College (BA 1935) and a Latin and Greek scholar. While at Bryn Mawr, she developed a life-long interest in the works of the Italian humanists, especially Poggio Bracciolini. Mrs. Gordan's extensive scholarly papers reflect her many years of careful study of Italian humanism. Over the years she had acquired a notable collection of published and unpublished research materials from which she generated her meticulous notes on literally hundreds of medieval and Renaissance scholars and events. A majority of the collection is bibliographic and biographic notes on Renaissance leaders, scholars, and ecclesiastics. Additionally the collection contains a catalog of humanist manuscripts in European libraries, notes on Ernst Walser's archive of research materials, and a concordance for the numeration of Poggio' letters to Nicolaus de Niccolis in the editions of Gordan, Tonelli, Wilmanns, and Rüegg (unpublished). Furthermore, the extensive collection of microfilms contains excerpts from more than five-hundred manuscripts, as well as a film of Rüegg's critical text of Poggio' letters to Nicolaus.

Born in New York City in 1913 of a distinguished New York family, Phyllis Walter Goodhart attended the Brearley School. She then entered Bryn Mawr College, graduating in 1935 with a major in Latin, and continued her studies at Radcliffe from 1935-38, receiving a M.A. in Latin, Greek, and paleography. While at Bryn Mawr, she developed a life-long interest in the works of the Italian humanists, especially that of Poggius Bracciolini. She was to spend some forty years editing, translating, and annotating the letters of Poggius to Nicolaus de Niccolis, an effort which culminated in the 1974 publication by Columbia University Press of her book Two Renaissance Book Hunters. In addition to her scholarly work, Mrs. Gordan served on numerous boards of mostly learned institutions: she served as a Trustee of the American Academy of Rome, the American Philological Association, the Brearley School, Bryn Mawr College, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Medieval Academy of America, the New York Public Library, the New York Society Library, and the Renaissance Society of America. Mrs. Gordan died in 1994.

The Phyllis Walter Goodhart Gordan papers consist of the scholarly papers of Phyllis Walter Goodhart, graduate of Bryn Mawr College (BA 1935) and a Latin and Greek scholar. The collection, which ranges from 1913-1994, consists of bibliographic and biographic notes on Renaissance leaders, scholars, and ecclesiastics. It also contains a catalog of humanist manuscripts in European libraries, notes on Ernst Walser's archive of research materials, and a concordance for the numeration of Poggio' letters to Nicolaus de Niccolis in the editions of Gordan, Tonelli, Wilmanns, and Ruegg (unpublished). Furthermore, the extensive collection of microfilms contains excerpts from more than five-hundred manuscripts, as well as a film of Ruegg's critical text of Poggio' letters to Nicolaus.

The collection is divided into two series: "Series I: Papers," and "Series II: Microfilm."

Mrs. Gordan's extensive scholarly papers reflect her many years of careful study of Italian humanism. These notes, for the most part, are contained in many dozens of black loose-leaf binders, many written in her own hand and then subsequently typed. The researcher should note that considerable duplication occurs because of this. The bulk of this collection is made up of bibliographic and biographic notes on Renaissance leaders, scholars, and ecclesiastics (Boxes 1-5, 12-13). In addition to this core of information, the collection contains several items of special interest to the scholar: a catalogue of humanist manuscripts in European libraries, notes on Ernst Walser's archive of research materials, and a concordance for the numeration of Poggius' letters to Nicolaus de Niccolis in the editions of Gordan, Tonelli, Wilmanns, and Ruegg (unpublished). All of these items are found in Box 6 (handwritten) and Box 12 (typed).

The extensive collection of microfilms contains excerpts from more than five-hundred manuscripts, as well as a film of Ruegg's critical text of Poggius' letters to Nicolaus.Several challenges to the scholar attempting to use this collection should be noted. First and foremost, researchers should be aware of the extensive duplication mentioned above; this often results in two, three, or more copies of any individual page of notes or translation, which are almost never precisely identical. Second, this catalogue includes the names of individual personalities on which Mrs. Gordan took notes in the form given on the first page of notes pertaining to that individual, whether in the Italian (or other vernacular) form, in Latin, or by another title. Third, although Mrs. Gordan's notes are generally arranged alphabetically, her system of alphabetizing is sometimes based on the individual's first name, sometimes on his family name, or occasionally even on his title (e.g. John Kemp under "C" for "Archbishop of Canterbury"); it also sometimes appears to be based on the individual's name in Latin even when the name is given in the vernacular form in the notes (e.g. "Giovanni" filed under "I" for "Ioannes"). Fourth and finally, although the catalogue lists all the individuals included in the notebooks, the quantity of notes for each may vary widely, from a single line to several hundred pages; this has been indicated in the catalogue where possible.

Gordan's research of Italian humanists culminated in her 1974 monograph of the translated and annotated letters of Poggius Braccolini to Nicolaus de Niccolis. This collection contains Gordan's research for this book, as well as her extensive and invaluable notes on other Renaissance leaders. Gordan's collection would be of use to the those interested in Italian humanists, especially Poggius Bracciolini.