Charles Dowsett

Charles James Frank Dowsett (2 January 1924 – 8 January 1998) was the first Calouste Gulbenkian Professor of Armenian at the University of Oxford from 1965 to 1991.^[1] A teacher and raconteur, he had a large range of interests and culminated in his work on the poet Sayat Nova based on research on the Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium in 1996.

Armenian scholar[]

Born in London, Dowsett came into contact with expert scholar Harold Bailey whilst at Peterhouse, Cambridge, who introduced him to Armenian. After further study (including four years on a substantial British scholarship in Paris), Dowsett was appointed as Lecturer in Armenian at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London - the only post in the subject in Britain at the time. In 1965 when the Chair was established at Oxford University, he was the obvious candidate.^[2]

Bibliography[]

• History of the Caucasian Albanians (1961) (translator)
• Penitential of David of Gandzak (1961) (translator)
• The Inscribed Tiles (1972)
• Kütahya Tiles and Pottery from the Armenian Cathedral of St.James, Jerusalem. 2 Volumes. With John Carswell, Oxford: Clarendon Press (1972)
• Sayat'-Nova: An 18th-century Troubadour: a Biographical and Literary Study (1996) ISBN 978-90-6831-795-4

Children's author[]

Dowsett wrote under the pseudonym "Charles Downing" and published several works for children.

Bibliography[]

• Tales of the Hodja (1964) - illustrated by the Greek cartoonist Papas.
• Russian Tales and Legends (1956)
• Armenian Folktales and Fables (1972)

Notes[]

References[]

• Pembroke College, Oxford University, Fellows joining in the 1960s. Accessed 13 February, 2007.

External links[]

• Record of the donation of Dowsett's library