What we can learn from the Narnia books and other Lewis writings about the importance of a beautiful story in sharing our faith

The Oxford Dictionary defines philology as the scientific study of the development of language or of a particular language. A philologist’s passion for words and language and stories and all things medieval characterized the life of C.S. Lewis, and that same passion runs through the life and work of Dr. Simon Horobin. His best-selling book How English Became English, which Kirkus Reviews praised as “a happy mixture of scholarship, clear writing, and humour” was a Catholic Herald Book of the Year in 2016 and was featured in articles and interviews in the major U.K newspapers and the BBC—one of the few books on philology to ever achieve such acclaim. Serving as Professor of English Language and Literature and Tutorial Fellow at Magdalen College at the University of Oxford, he specializes in the history of the English language, especially in the Medieval period, as did Lewis when he occupied a similar post at Magdalen. Having served as Honorary Secretary for the Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literature, he is one of the world’s leading academics in the field of medieval literature and has published numerous scholarly articles on many of the works that were near and dear to Lewis’s heart. In addition to posts as visiting professor at Harvard University and Charles University in Prague, he is actively involved in the world of Lewis studies, speaking regularly at the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society and along with Alister McGrath serving as a faculty member for the Developing a Christian Mind ministry at Oxford University, where he most recently lectured on Lewis and Paradise Lost. Last year he was guest lecturer at Malvern College, Lewis’s old school, tracing the origins of the Narnia stories, and is currently engaged in writing a new study of the Narnia books. Besides all this, who could resist hearing the scholar chosen by the Oxford English Dictionary to write an article explaining the addition to the dictionary of these important words and phrases: Heffalump, Eeyore, and “bear of little brain”? Please join me in welcoming our next speaker, Dr. Simon Horobin.