Tauno Mustanoja

Tauno Frans Mustanoja (1912–1996) was a professor of English Philology and Literature at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He was a philologist and scholar of Medieval and Middle English. He was also a major influence in initiating what became the widespread study and use of the English language in Finland.

Mustanoja was born in Tampere, Finland, in 1912. He studied modern and classical languages and modern literature at the University of Helsinki. He graduated in 1938 and then studied at the University of Cambridge in 1938–1939, taking post-graduate courses in medieval literature and textual criticism.

Shortly after his return to Finland, Mustanoja's career as a teacher, academic and writer was interrupted by the Russian invasion of Finland. He fought in both the Winter War (1939–40) and the Continuation War (1941–45) and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

After the Continuation War, Mustanoja returned to the University of Helsinki and resumed his teaching, research and studies. His doctoral dissertation, The Good Wife Taught Her Daughter, an edition of three Late Middle English poems, was accepted at the University of Helsinki in 1948 with the highest grade. This led, in the same year, to his also receiving recognition as a docent in English Philology at the university. He became Associate Professor in 1957.

In 1961, he was appointed to the chair of English Philology at the University of Helsinki following the publication of A Middle English Syntax, Volume I. (1960). The Syntax was regarded as a breakthrough work of scholarship in the field of Middle English studies. It was a result of Mustanoja's research concentrating on the history of English and, in particular, in the field of Middle English, wherein he became recognised as an international expert. The Syntax remains a basic reference work for scholars of Middle English and the history of the English language. It combines thorough familiarity with earlier research and profound analysis of the structural features of the language and a sensitivity to the finest nuances of meaning. In this way, the Syntax sets an example, even today, for philologists and historical linguists. A Middle English Syntax, with an introduction by Elly van Gelderen, is available through John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Mustanoja's scholarship brought him international renown. He was an Honorary Member of the Modern Language Association of America, Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, Fellow of the British Academy, Member of the Royal Society of Letters in Lund, Sweden, and a Member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. He received the Honorary Award of the Emil Aaltonen Foundation in 1962.

...
Wikipedia