Vinaver Trust

The Vinaver Trust

The Vinaver Trust awards grants “to advance the education of the public in the life and times of King Arthur through historical and archaeological research and to disseminate the results of such  research”. 

It was established in 1981, when the British branch (bringing together the British and Irish branches) of the International Arthurian Society was founded, at the urging of Eugène Vinaver, formerly professor of medieval French at Manchester University, and Cedric Pickford, professor of Medieval French at the University of Hull. Largely through Vinaver’s initiative, the British Branch had earned an astonishingly large sum in royalties from endorsing Arthurian plates for a Swiss ceramics firm, Atelier Arts. 

Since then the Trust has disbursed around £125,000 to subsidise the publication of 90 or so Arthurian books, all impeccably scholarly: books like the multi-volume series, Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages (published titles now include The Arthur of the English, The Arthur of the Germans, The Arthur of the Iberians, of the North, of Medieval Latin Literature, of the Italians, of the Low Countries…); editions and translations of Arthurian texts which might otherwise have been uneconomic (so for instance a translation of Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival, or an edition and translation of the Anglo-Norman Prophecies of Merlin); illustrations which bring a topic to life (so Jayne Goodison’s Introducing the Medieval Swan).

Grants extend to any scholarly publication on an Arthurian topic, in any of the languages endorsed by the International Arthurian Society, that is German, French and English; they have covered Arthurian topics of all sorts, literary, historical, artistic, cinematic. The Trust’s grants are not always large, but they can make all the difference between miserly publications and handsome ones, and they act as a spur to publishers who might otherwise be reluctant.

To apply, use the proforma attached here which should be filled in by the publisher, and not by the author. And for further information, contact the Director, Professor Leah Tether (leah.tether@bristol.ac.uk), or the Secretary, Dr Natalie Goodison (iasbbsecretary@gmail.com). A brief blog post about the set of Arthurian plates, the sale of which led to the foundation of the Vinaver Trust, is available from the Centre for Arthurian Studies, Bangor University, UK (where a full set is now preserved, as a result of the direct donation by the family of Roland C. Johnson).

The Trust is also keen to discuss charitable donations. If you would be interested in donating to the fund or leaving a gift in your will, please contact the Director, Professor Leah Tether (leah.tether@bristol.ac.uk).