Mary Beth Winn
Research Professor emerita, French Studies
Degree/Institution: PhD and M Phil from Yale University
Office: HU 229
Fax: 518-442-4111
Email: [email protected]
Academic Focus
French literature; Medieval and Renaissance studies; the history of the book; early French printing; manuscript studies; literature through music; interrelationships of literature and the arts; women in Medieval and Renaissance French literature.
Research
Recipient of three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as numerous other grants for research, including from the Giorgio Cini Foundation, the Herzog August Bibliothek, and the Camargo Foundation, Professor Winn has published widely on 15th and 16th century French literature with articles appearing in Romania, Bibliothèque d’Humanisme et Renaissance, Musica Disciplina, Bulletin du Bibliophile, Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, etc. Her book on Anthoine Vérard, Parisian publisher, 1485-1512: Prologues, Poems, and Presentations appeared in 1997, and a website devoted to Vérard editions is in progress. Professor Winn also edited La Chasse d’Amours (1509) attributed to Octovien de Saint-Gelais (Geneva: Droz, 1984) and a collection of articles, Musique naturelle et musique artificielle (Le Moyen Français, V). In collaboration with musicologists Laura Youens and Barton Hudson, she completed the seven-volume critical edition of the chansons of Thomas Crecquillon, for the American Institute of Musicology. In 2012, the edition was honored with the Claude V. Palisca Award by the American Musicological Society. Having collaborated with musicologist Thomas MacCracken on the chansons of Jean Mouton (2014), she is editing with Laura Youens the chansons of Jean Courtois. Other projects include research on Louise de Savoie, mother of King Francis I, a study of patronage and publishing in early Renaissance France, and critical editions of two works published by Vérard, the Roman de Tristan (1489) and Les Loups ravissans (ca. 1505) by Robert Gobin. In 2003, Professor Winn was honored with a University at Albany Award for Excellence in Research.
Bio
Professor Mary Beth Winn received a PhD and M Phil from Yale University and a B.A. magna cum laude from Vassar College where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Focusing on the late Middle Ages/early Renaissance, with a particular interest in the relations between literature and other arts, her research encompasses the development of printing in Paris from 1470-1530, poetry and patronage, particularly by women, Renaissance chansons, and the texts and illustrations of the medieval “best-seller”, the Book of Hours.
Teaching
Besides enjoying the challenges of language teaching at all levels, Professor Winn developed courses on the Fifteenth Century, Medieval Women, Medievalism, Literature and the Arts, and medieval and Renaissance literature, at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Former Chair of the Department, Professor Winn also directed the D.A. Program in Humanistic Studies.
Service
Member of numerous committees university-wide, she served as both President and Secretary of the campus chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. In recognition of her long-standing commitment to the university, Professor Winn received a 1996 President’s Award for Excellence in Academic Service.
Publications | National Musicology Award
