We are sorry to inform you that Mary-Jo Arn, a long-time staff member at the Medieval Academy office in Boston, passed away on December 14 from injuries sustained after she was struck by a car. No one who knew her will be surprised to learn that she was on her way home from her local library when the accident occurred. Mary-Jo spent more than a decade in the early 2000s working in the MAA office, primarily as the book review manager for Speculum and editor of the monthly “Medieval Academy News.” She was the host of many collegial gatherings of manuscript scholars in her Dorchester home and a regular presence in scholarly gatherings around the Boston area. To the broader community of medievalists, she was well-known as a leading expert on the poetry and works of Charles d’Orléans, having published a 2008 volume in the Early Book Society’s series, Texts & translation: The Poet’s Notebook: The Personal Manuscripts of Charles d’ Orléans (Paris, BnF, MS fr. 25458). After suffering a major stroke several years ago, Mary-Jo worked tirelessly on her recovery and successfully resumed her scholarship in the final years of her life. Just before she was injured, she took delivery of her final project, having served as an editor on the newly-published Cannon & Simpson Oxford Chaucer.
A celebration of Mary-Jo’s life will take place on 18 January at All Saints Episcopal Parish in Dorchester, Massachusetts. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Derek Pearsall Travel and Research Fund, a fund operated by the International Piers Plowman Society in order to “provide financial aid to students and scholars traveling to conferences on, or conducting archival research related to, Piers Plowman.” More information may be found here.
The MAA staff remembers Mary-Jo’s humor and dedication, and we will all miss her.
