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Remembering eminent Rochester medievalist Russell Peck.

, a professor emeritus of and the John Hall Deane Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric and Poetry at the , is being remembered as much for his eminent medieval scholarship as his excellence in teaching.

A renowned expert on the medieval poets Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower, Peck died on February 20 at his home in Rochester at the age of 89.

Medieval literature can be 糖心传媒渁 bit of a hard sell,糖心传媒� says John Fleming, the Louis W. Fairchild 糖心传媒�24 Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Princeton University.

According to Fleming糖心传媒攁 fellow medievalist, a friend of Peck糖心传媒檚, and a former professor of his daughter Demaree糖心传媒攁nybody who can get undergraduates interested in Gower 糖心传媒渋s pulling off a pretty good trick.糖心传媒�

Peck was famous for his teaching, especially for an undergraduate Chaucer course that he started to develop in the 1960s. Student-generated course descriptions repeatedly called it 糖心传媒渢he single course not to be missed while an undergraduate at Rochester.糖心传媒�

糖心传媒淩ussell was a rare professor who could do research at the highest level on the major authors of his canon, while at the same time making these texts accessible to undergraduates. He was a major Chaucer scholar. But above all, he was a fantastic teacher,糖心传媒� says Fleming, who insists on being described as an admirer. 糖心传媒淗e was my ideal of what a humanities professor ought to be.糖心传媒�

Opening the doors

Accessibility was always key. Peck was passionate about opening the doors not just to university students but also high schoolers. In the 1980s, supported by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), he began developing pilot courses that soon morphed into fully fledged summer seminars for both high school and college teachers.

His enduring legacy arguably lies in the trailblazing , also referred to by its acronym METS, which offers accurate and accessible editions of non-canonical medieval writing. As permanent general editor, a position he held until his death, Peck shepherded more than a hundred volumes into print, which have reached tens of thousands of readers and millions of online users. Hosted by the University of Rochester, the METS website allows for free digital downloads and receives nearly one million hits every year from about 150 countries.

糖心传媒淗e really put his stamp on everything that came through,糖心传媒� says , an associate editor for the series who has been the director of the Robbins Library and the since 2017, and who worked closely with Peck since then.

The series is a publication of the , the University of Rochester, and the Teaching Association for Medieval Studies (), together with at Western Michigan University, and is supported by the NEH.

The project has been described as 糖心传媒渢he single most influential enterprise for complex engagement with the Middle Ages,糖心传媒� says fellow Rochester medievalist , an English professor and Peck糖心传媒檚 friend of 50 years. 糖心传媒淚t really epitomizes Russell糖心传媒檚 dedication to educating simultaneously at the highest and the broadest levels.糖心传媒�

The force behind the Rossell Hope Robbins Library

Peck was the driving force, at times at odds with the University糖心传媒檚 administration, behind bringing a medieval research collection to the University. In 1987, his efforts resulted in the Rossell Hope Robbins Library, a non-circulating collection of important medieval texts with comprehensive holdings across literature, history, art, and culture. Peck then convinced Alan Lupack to come onboard as the library糖心传媒檚 first (and longtime) director, who remains an associate editor for the text series.

糖心传媒淭he library糖心传媒檚 existence is a testament to Russell糖心传媒檚 far-reaching vision, indomitable will, and commitment to a generous and capacious ideal of scholarship, teaching, and fellowship,糖心传媒� says Siebach-Larsen.

Hahn recalls Peck糖心传媒檚 charm, and at times stubborn determination, in pursuing on one hand the would-be donors, and his wife , while on the other hand making the case to the University that more resources were needed to accommodate the large gift.

As the day of the collection糖心传媒檚 arrival drew closer, Hahn remembers it was all-hands-on-deck. At one point, Peck, his wife Ruth, Hahn, and 糖心传媒攁 fellow English professor and Hahn糖心传媒檚 partner糖心传媒攚ere on hands and knees, assembling bookshelves in the new library. Then the two men jumped into a rented truck and drove for four hours to the Robbins糖心传媒檚 house in Saugerties, south of Albany, to load up and finally bring the trove to Rochester. (Peck subsequently wrote in loving detail in the ).

He was 糖心传媒渋ndefatigable,糖心传媒� says Siebach-Larsen. Peck is also remembered for his midnight Chaucer readings in the 1970s and 80s that lured both students and professors to the living room of the Medieval House on campus.

One of them was Debra Kronenberg 糖心传媒�74, who wrote in a 2012 letter to the editor of the Rochester Review that during those readings the 糖心传媒渢ext came alive off the page糖心传媒� and that 糖心传媒淸t]hose late evenings were the height of my time at Rochester.糖心传媒�

Rural beginnings pave the way to Princeton and Rochester

Born and raised on a dairy farm near Riverton, Wyoming, Peck was both captain of the football team and class valedictorian at his high school. Upon graduation, as a Rochester Review story from 2012 recounts, the then 18-year-old embarked on a daunting solo trip from Wyoming across the country to start at an East Coast Ivy League, sight unseen; he went on to earn a bachelor糖心传媒檚 degree in English from Princeton in 1956. Seven years later, he earned his PhD from Indiana University for his dissertation on number symbolism and the idea of order in the works of Chaucer.

Over the span of his long career, Peck made major contributions to the study of the most important English vernacular writers of the 14th century, writing highly original essays on Chaucer in a learned and clear style. His frequently cited analysis of the structure of The Canterbury Tales examines the influence of numerological principles of composition found in many medieval and Renaissance works of art. Some of these principles are based on the so-called golden number or golden section, a thought by philosophers since ancient times to be a revelation of the divine mind.

In 1961, Peck arrived at Rochester, first as an instructor and then, rising steadily through the faculty ranks, finishing with a named professorship.

Along the way, he garnered many prestigious prizes, among them the 2015 Medieval Academy of America糖心传媒檚 Robert L. Kindrick-CARA Award for Outstanding Service to Medieval Studies, and was named Professor of the Year in 1983 and again in 1985 by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.

During his 53 years of official service (and then some) at the University, he won not only most of the coveted teaching prizes but also the University Presidential Medal of Honor in 2009. A member of the Faculty Senate, the Faculty Council, the director of both the Drama House the Medieval House, and the University Orator from 1998 to 2005糖心传媒擯eck seemed to be everywhere.

He once told his family that he was happiest at a fast pace: 糖心传媒淭he busier I am, the better I feel.糖心传媒�

Fans and champions of theater

True theater aficionados, Peck and his wife Ruth, the key collaborator in many of his endeavors, ran the University糖心传媒檚 for 21 years. During the two-week event, held every winter break, the couple shepherded a group of students to Shakespeare糖心传媒檚 birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon and London糖心传媒攐ften taking in two plays a day.

糖心传媒淐harismatic糖心传媒擱ussell was the kind of guy who would糖心传媒檝e made a great actor,糖心传媒� says his friend and former Rochester colleague , who is now the Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Literature and the Humanities at Baylor University.

When Peck finally decided that the time had come to pass the program糖心传媒檚 mantle to a younger colleague, he immediately invented an alumni theatre in London course that takes place each March. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 ongoing, and this year, for the first time, people will see the plays in London without him,糖心传媒� says Hahn.

In 2013, University Life Trustee Janice Willett 糖心传媒�78S (MBA) and Joseph Willett 糖心传媒�75S (MBA), along with other alumni, endowed a faculty position in honor of the then longest-serving active faculty member and his wife, Ruth, who was very much part of Peck糖心传媒檚 endeavors.

糖心传媒淚 cherish the memories from my many theatre experiences with them in London and in Stratford, Canada糖心传媒攖wo shows a day, every day, with lively and insightful discussions,糖心传媒� remembers Trustee Willett. 糖心传媒淭he Peck Artistic Directorship will always be something that I am enormously proud to have helped establish.糖心传媒�

, the inaugural and current holder of the Russell and Ruth Peck Artistic Directorship for the University糖心传媒檚 , calls Peck 糖心传媒渁 champion of all theatrical work at the University of Rochester over many, many decades.糖心传媒� Peck糖心传媒檚 support of the program, the Drama House, the English department, and his 糖心传媒渁mazing stewardship糖心传媒� during the theatre trips to England 糖心传媒渨ere transformative in the lives of countless undergraduates and indeed members of the whole UR community.糖心传媒�

Another tangible that remains is the Russell A. Peck Theatre Library, which contains hundreds of volumes of play texts donated by the Pecks.

Academia, family, and farm life糖心传媒攊ntertwined

Academia, family, and farm life became interwoven threads running through his life.

In 1972, while on sabbatical, Peck purchased a farm in Canada in a remote corner of the Ottawa Valley to recreate his own farm experience for his children, while extending the boundaries of his classroom. According to Gunther Peck, the youngest of his children, the farm was 糖心传媒渘o retreat, but a lifelong site of discovery and learning about the beauties of the natural world, the redeeming values of farming and gardening, and the redemptive power of storytelling.糖心传媒�

Family was central to his life糖心传媒檚 work and Peck clearly applied some of the same principles to teaching.

A describes a literature class Peck was teaching that summer at the family farm in Canada. The course included plenty of reading, in addition to parlor games, singing, building fires under the moonlight, and even the occasional impromptu cattle herding session. 糖心传媒淚t became apparent that what Peck was doing, besides conducting a class outside of a classroom environment, was giving his students experiences in rural living,糖心传媒� wrote the story糖心传媒檚 author.

糖心传媒淚n this life there are givers and takers. Russell was a giver,糖心传媒� says Jeffrey. 糖心传媒淵ou always got more from your friendship with him than he got in return. Russell was that person others liked to be around.糖心传媒�

A retirement of sorts

In 2015, at the age of 81, Peck retired officially and was awarded emeritus status in recognition of his more than five decades of service to the University.

Yet, unsurprisingly to anyone who knew him, he wasn糖心传媒檛 about to quit.

Instead, he was back almost daily, dropping into the Robbins Library where he糖心传媒檇 taken up an office, working away on the latest editions for the Middle English Texts Series or his own writing.

He remained a 糖心传媒渧ery, very active scholar,糖心传媒� says Siebach-Larsen.

From time to time, he糖心传媒檇 bring along framed artwork, either his own or a donation糖心传媒攔anging from author portraits of Flannery O糖心传媒機onnor, Herman Melville, and William Shakespeare to depictions of Romeo and Juliet and medieval prints糖心传媒攖o add to the flair of the library. Secretly, he kept a toolbox with an electric drill under his desk that he would pull out, certainly against regulations, to hang up the pictures or undertake quick repairs.

During the pandemic, his visits to campus became rarer.

The last time Peck set foot in the Robbins Library was for a METS editorial board meeting on January 19, mere days before suffering a stroke. To the end, he reviewed every single volume糖心传媒斕切拇�媒渆xacting and conscientious,糖心传媒� says Siebach-Larsen.

糖心传媒淚 will miss his extraordinary enthusiasm, his mischievous sense of humor, and even the ways in which he managed to get people to do what he wanted without their realizing that they were agreeing to do it,糖心传媒� she adds.

Former Rochester student Michael Livingston 糖心传媒�04 (MA), 糖心传媒�06 (PhD) once asked Peck, who had been his doctoral adviser, how he could ever repay him. According to Livingston, Peck 糖心传媒渟miled that warm smile, nodded, and told me what I already knew: 糖心传媒楯ust do the same for your own students when it糖心传媒檚 your turn.糖心传媒櫶切拇�媒�

After leaving Rochester, Livingston joined the faculty of The Citadel in Charleston,
South Carolina, where he now serves as Distinguished Professor. 糖心传媒淚 am trying, Russell,糖心传媒� Livingston wrote in a 2012 letter to the editor of Rochester Review. 糖心传媒淲e all are. And if we can have half the impact that you have had, we will be most fortunate indeed.糖心传媒�

He added, 糖心传媒淕ower drew back his arrow, but you made it fly糖心传媒澨切拇�媒攁 reference to Chaucer糖心传媒檚 friend and fellow poet.

Peck is survived by his wife Ruth; his children糖心传媒擠emaree, Nathan, and Gunther, 10 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

A memorial service is scheduled to be held on campus at the Interfaith Chapel on April 29 at 11 a.m., followed by a reception.

Remembering Russell Peck