author
W. P. (William Paton) Ker
1855–1923
A lively Scottish critic of medieval literature, he helped make old epics, romances, and sagas feel vivid and readable for modern audiences. His essays and books combine deep learning with an easy, conversational style that still appeals to curious readers.
3 Audiobooks
Epic and Romance: Essays on Medieval Literature
by W. P. (William Paton) Ker
Sir Walter Scott: A Lecture at the Sorbonne
by W. P. (William Paton) Ker
Medieval English Literature
by W. P. (William Paton) Ker
About the author
Born in Glasgow on August 30, 1855, William Paton Ker was a Scottish literary scholar and essayist whose work ranged across English, Norse, and Scottish literature. He studied at the University of Glasgow and at Balliol College, Oxford, and later became a fellow of All Souls.
Ker taught English literature and history at Cardiff before moving to University College London, where he held the chair of English literature for many years. In 1920 he was appointed Professor of Poetry at Oxford, a role that reflected the high regard in which his criticism was held.
He is best remembered for books such as Epic and Romance and The Dark Ages, as well as for essays that brought medieval writing to life with clarity and wit. Rather than treating older literature as dusty scholarship, Ker wrote about it as something energetic, human, and full of adventure; he died on July 17, 1923.