Alexandra Anne Talbot Barratt (née Carr) is a New Zealand academic, and is professor emerita at the University of Waikato. Barratt is a specialist in medieval manuscripts.

Academic career

Barratt completed master's at Carleton University in 1969 followed by a PhD titled Two Middle English translations of Aelred of Rievaulx's 'De Institutione Inclusaram' at the University of Toronto in 1973, supervised by A. G. Rigg.^[1][2] Barratt then joined the faculty of the University of Waikato, rising to full professor in 1997.^[3] During her time at Waikato, Barratt had been Chairperson of the English department, Chairperson of Humanities, and had served on the University Council as Academic Representative.^[3][4] She retired in 2010, and was appointed professor emerita in 2011, in recognition of more than thirty years of service and her "outstanding contribution to the university".^[3]

Barratt studied medieval manuscripts, and has written nine books.^[3] Barratt was responsible for identifying a 13th century psalter in the Alexander Turnbull library that had been misclassified as a probably fifteenth century Book of Hours. The Flemish psalter MSR-26, dated 1275–1300, was gifted to the Diocese of Wellington by William Burgoyne Hudson, brother of entomologist George Hudson.^[5] After her retirement, Barratt has been studying the 'manuscript waste' found in manuscripts and early printed books in New Zealand.^[6] For instance, Barratt was called on by Auckland Libraries to examine parchment strips that were found in the binding of a late 15th century printed German bible in their collection. Barratt identified the strips as 1200-year old bible fragments.^[7]

Personal life

Barratt's parents were Frederick and Joan Carr. Barratt's godmother was Dame Margot Fonteyn.^[8][9] Barratt donated a Len Castle pot to the University in memory of her husband, scientist Robert Welch ONZM, who died in 2020.^[10]

Selected works

Scholia has a profile for Alexandra Barratt (Q116486871).

• Alexandra Barratt (2013). "What shall we pack? New Zealand Immigrants and their Manuscripts". Parergon. 30 (1): 73–90. doi:10.1353/PGN.2013.0061. ISSN 0313-6221. Wikidata Q124625494.
• Alexandra Barratt (31 December 2012), 11. Keeping Body and Soul Together: The Charge to the Barking Cellaress, pp. 235–244, doi:10.1515/9781782040507-015, Wikidata Q124625495
• Alexandra Barratt (1979). "The textual tradition of the De institutis inclusarum of Aelred of Rievaulx". Revue d'histoire des Textes. 8 (1978): 195–211. doi:10.3406/RHT.1979.1175. ISSN 0373-6075. Wikidata Q57482245.
• Alexandra Barratt (21 August 2008). ‘No Such Sitting’: Julian Tropes the Trinity. pp. 42–52. doi:10.1017/9781846156229.004. ISBN 978-1-84615-622-9. Wikidata Q124625539.
• Alexandra Barratt (January 2001), Small Latin? The Post-Conquest Learning of English Religious Women, pp. 51–65, doi:10.1484/M.PJML-EB.3.877, Wikidata Q124625529
• Alexandra Barratt (1982). "A Reconstruction of an Old French Anthology of religious Prose". Romania. 103 (410): 371–373. doi:10.3406/ROMA.1982.2118. ISSN 0035-8029. Wikidata Q57489271.