Miscellaneous Professional Files

The series Miscellaneous Professional Files contain Lewis's selection of such files from his personal archives organized by subject in nine subdivisions, divided into files stored in standard archival folders. The files are: Celebration of Completion of the Middle English Dictionary, Middle English Dictionary Miscellaneous, Publications (Articles, Notes, etc.), Books and Reviews, Unpublished Papers on Medieval Topics, Influential Scholars, Grants and Fellowships, Awards, and Appointment and Retirement.

The Celebration of Completion of the Middle English Dictionary file chronicles the events, activities, and publications celebrating the completion of the Middle English Dictionary (MED) in the late spring of 2001, after 71 years in progress at the University of Michigan. The series contains five files. The first consists of materials leading to, from, or growing out of the biennial meeting of the Dictionary Society of North America (DSNA) held in Ann Arbor from May 6-9, 2001. In the left-hand pocket of the file are the official schedule and a poster for the DSNA meeting; the invitation to and the menu for the celebratory dinner on May 9th; and a copy of remarks by Jay Robinson introducing Lewis before his lecture during the afternoon of the 9th. In the right-hand pocket are announcements of the completion of the MED, of a celebratory lecture series at the University of Michigan in the spring of 2001, and of four celebratory sessions at the annual medieval conference at Western Michigan University just before the DSNA meeting; catalogues of two exhibits held during the dates of the DSNA meeting; and two printed summaries of the DSNA meeting.

The second file contains articles about the completion of the MED written between April 2001 and April 2002 arranged in chronological order. The third file contains congratulatory letters and cards to Lewis (chiefly personal) from 2001 and 2002 arranged in nearly chronological order. The fourth file contains photographs taken during some official events of the celebrations: specifically, (1) the reception at Hatcher Library during the evening of May 7th; (2) the DSNA outing to Greenfield Village during the afternoon of the 8th; (3) Lewis's lecture during the afternoon of the 9th; and (4) the celebratory dinner during the evening of the 9th. The fifth file contains the special issue on the MED of the journal Dictionaries published in 2002, which contains some of the papers presented at the DSNA meeting (and others), along with tributes and congratulations from editors of historical dictionaries around the world collected by John Simpson.

Middle English Dictionary Miscellaneous contains four files. The first consists of articles on the MED written between 1982 and 1995 and from 2005 (for articles about the completion of the MED see the previous series). The second file contains three groups of MED"memory" items: (1) announcements and notes of congratulations on Lewis's appointment as editor of the MED, clipped together; (2) memorabilia from his time as editor and before (poems, announcements, cards, cartoons, etc.); and (3) "Excerpts from the Muddled English Dictionary," a humorous booklet produced for Alfred S. Sussman when he retired as Vice President for Research in 1985 (suggested by the MED, one of the units reporting to him). The third file contains three groups of photographs, each arranged chronologically: (1) staff and events at the MED offices, 555 South Forest, Ann Arbor (mid-1980's-2001); (2) MED staff and events off-site (1982-2001); (3) visiting Japanese scholars (1992-2002): Akio Oizumi, Hiroyuki Matsumoto, Tadao Kubouchi (not pictured), Matsuji Tajima (not pictured). The fourth file contains a compact disc of "Alphabet Odyssey," a program on the MED produced by Cindy Bisaillon on the Canadian Broadcasting Co.'s radio program "Ideas" on October 4, 2004; this disc was based in part on her interviews in Ann Arbor with MED editors and staff in 2001 and 2002.

Publications contains two files of articles written by Lewis arranged in chronological order, 1961-1989 and 1990-2012.

Books and Reviews contains files on three books written by Lewis himself or with others (for other books see list in first file). The first item, Lotario dei Segni (Pope Innocent III) De Miseria Condicionis Humane (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1978; London: Scolar Press, 1980), is an edition of the most popular and influential work (written in Latin in 1194-95) on the subject of contemptus mundi ("contempt of the world"), appearing in over 670 medieval manuscripts; the 14th-century English poet Geoffrey Chaucer was heavily indebted to the work and may even have made a prose translation of it (now lost). The file on the De Miseria contains: (1) a few miscellaneous items on the edition; (2) printed reviews; and (3) Lewis's correspondence with the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library in Collegeville, MN, about depositing his microfilms and photographic reproductions of nearly 450 manuscripts of the work and related texts there.

The second file Index of Printed Middle English Prose, with N.F. Blake and A.S.G. Edwards (New York and London: Garland Publishing Inc., 1985), is divided into: (1) correspondence 1977-91, arranged from earliest to latest, between Lewis and the other editors primarily (Blake and Edwards), as well as other scholars, about the preparation and contents of the Index; (2) reviews of the Index between 1986 and 1989, clipped together; and (3) notes (followed by articles) for a possible revised edition or supplement.

The third file contains the final installment of the printed MED, Middle English Dictionary: Plan and Bibliography, 2nd edition (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2007), which contains a thoroughly revised and expanded Plan (now called "History, Contents, and Guide to the Dictionary") written by Lewis; and a revised Bibliography, combining the original bibliography (1954), the supplement to it (1984), and the books and articles added made between 1984 and 2001, complied by Lewis and Mary Jane Williams, with assistance from Marilyn S. Miller. Three reviews have been added at the end of the file.

Unpublished Papers on Medieval Topics contains, first, a list of papers presented by Lewis on various public occasions and, second, a selection of six of these and others. The first two papers are on the list and are checked. (The papers on the Prick(e) of Conscience (1974-76) are either in Boxes 1 and 2 and/or were incorporated into publications in Box 3 or in the subseries Publications above; the papers on "Word/Linguistic Geography" from 1992-93 are in Box 2; the papers on the MED were incorporated into publications on that subject either in the subseries Publications or in the subseries Books and Reviews above.) The next three papers, unlisted ("Old and Middle English Language and Literature," "Some Brief Remarks on the Fourteenth Century in England," and "Textual Criticism: M[iddle] E[nglish] Texts"), were presented as guest lectures in graduate courses at Indiana University. The final paper, also unlisted, is a brief appreciation of a former editor at the MED, Lister Matheson, presented at his memorial service at Michigan State University in 2012.

Correspondence with Influential Scholars contains files on four scholars who were influential in Lewis's professional career. The influential scholars include: Howard C. Rice, Jr, Robert A. Pratt, Neil R. Ker, and Angus McIntosh. Each of the folders contains a statement written by Lewis on the importance of each scholar to his work. The files typically include correspondence with the scholars, cards, miscellany, obituaries, and correspondence with other colleagues and in some cases the surviving spouses.

Fellowships and Research Grants contains, first, a list of the fellowships and grants received by Lewis during his career and, second, details of a selection of these awards (as Lewis's remaining records warrant), in chronological order.

Awards consists of three files. These contain details of awards received by Lewis in the year and a half following the completion of the MED: (1) a Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, on 2 October 2002 (award letter first, with the other items following, chronologically arranged within the award folder); (2) election as a Fellow of the Dictionary Society of North America at its biennial meeting in Durham, NC, in May of 2003 (the DSNA Newsletter account of the meeting first, with the other two items following, chronologically arranged within the Newsletter); and (3) the Sir Israel Gollancz Memorial Prize for English Studies from the British Academy in London, on 13 October 2003 (award letter first, with the other items following, chronologically arranged).

Appointment and Retirement, contains two files. The first is divided into: (1) letters and memos regarding Lewis's appointment at the University of Michigan in the fall of 1981; (2) his annual reports to the Department of English from his first full year, 1982-83, through his last, 2002-2003; and (3) an up-to-date (2012) copy of his Curriculum Vitae. The second file is about Lewis's retirement on 31 December 2003 (retirement memoir first, with the other two items following, chronologically arranged within the retirement-memoir folder).