Egypt of the Pharaohs, and Egyptian
Grammar which is considered to be among the top novels in the field of
Ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphs.
Sir Alan H. Gardiner was one of the premier Egyptologists of the early
twentieth century. He is probably best remembered for two of his novels, Egypt of the Pharaohs, and Egyptian
Grammar which is considered to be among the top novels in the field of
Ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphs.
Gardiner was born in Eltham on March 29, 1879. His interest in Egypt started at an early age. He began his education at Charterhouse and was sent to Paris for a year to study under Gaston Maspero, whom he had come to admire after reading a book he had written. Unfortunately, Maspero’s lectures did not live up to Gardiner’s expectations. From Paris, he traveled to England and attended The Queen’s College at Oxford. There he earned a second in Classical Moderations in 1899, and a first in Hebrew and Arabic in 1901. Gardiner was married that year to Hedwig von Rosen, with whom he had two sons and a daughter.
Gardiner could be considered a self made man because he learned what he could about Egypt on his own. He was able to do this with the financial help of his father, Henry John Gardiner. Alan Gardiner never had to earn a living. The only post he held was a Readership at Manchester University from 1912-14. Once Gardiner graduated from Oxford, he spent three months at his father’s office and then left for Berlin for ten years. During this time he helped prepare an Egyptian dictionary, which was sponsored by four German academies, under the direction of Professor Erman. Gardiner specialized in the study of hieratic writing, making trips to Paris and Turin to copy hieratic manuscripts.
The first of his many articles was published in 1904 on an inscription describing the installment of a vizier in Pharaonic Egypt. It was his first large-scale article. He made sure that his texts always gave the largest amount of information at the lowest possible price, so others could afford and enjoy his work. Gardiner published what would become his most famous book, Egyptian Grammar, in 1927. This novel contains translation exercises, a list of hieroglyphic signs, and an English-Egyptian and Egyptian-English dictionary in addition to grammar.
In 1915, Gardiner achieved what he considered his most important discovery. He discovered what he believed to be the ancestor of the Phoenician alphabet. This was considered important because it helped answer questions about the origins of the English language. Working with the hieroglyphs of Egypt, and the pictographs that eventually formed the Phoenician alphabet, sparked an interest in linguistics for Gardiner. This interest led to the writing of both Egyptian Grammar, and The Theory of Speech and Language. The latter did not receive such high praise as its predecessor, to the dismay of Gardiner.
Gardiner was very passionate about his work. He only took vacations for two weeks out of the year, while working seven-day weeks the rest of the time. His physical status kept him active up until the 1960’s when he began to fall ill. The last of his books was published shortly before his death. Egypt of the Pharaohs was published in 1961, just two years before his death.
Throughout his life, Sir Alan Gardiner achieved great success as an Egyptologist and Linguist. His many books and articles helped inform us of the Egyptian language. He held honorary degrees from Cambridge University, Durham, and Oxford, to mention a few, and was knighted in 1948. On December 19, 1963, Sir Alan Gardiner passed away at his home in Court Place, Iffley, Oxford.
Gardiner, Alan H. The Concise Dictionary of National Biography: From Earliest Times to 1985. Volume II, G-M. Oxford University Press, 1992. pp 1101-2.
Sir Alan H. Gardiner. Dictionary of National Biography, 1961-1970. Edited by E.T. Williams and C.S. Nicholls. Oxford University Press, 1981. pp 418-20.
Former Link, http://www.ccer.ggl.ruu.nl/texts/ael/gardiner/index.htm (October 2006) Who’s Who 1963 v 115. St. Martin’s Press, NY. pg 1111.
Written by: Students in an Introduction to Anthropology Class, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minnesota 2002