Tribute and Dismay: A Coda to the Scholarly Friendship of Eduard Fraenkel and Roger Mynors

Abstract

The article presents and provides context for the address that Roger Mynors gave at the memorial service for Eduard Fraenkel in May 1970. Mynors spoke of Fraenkel’s origins and international connections, his career, especially at Oxford, his teaching and scholarly method, his character and dependence on his wife. He also said that Fraenkel was ‘quite wrong’ to end his own life but adds nuance to that judgement. An introduction and annotations to the address draw on archival testimony to the two scholars’ friendship (including letters) and on contact with people who knew both, some of whom attended the memorial service. A 1967 letter from Fraenkel to Mynors is included. The documents illuminate the role of academic networks and labour and both scholars’ place in the history of classical scholarship. The article concludes with personal recollections from three scholars who were close to the events of the time, in response to the documents discussed here