[3] During her time at Oxford, Dean had the opportunity to work alongside eminent medievalists: she was research assistant to the notable palaeographer E. A. Lowe, and moreover studied for her doctorate under Mildred Pope.
[5] After returning to America, Dean joined the faculty of Mount Holyoke College, where she served as a French language and literature professor until her retirement in 1967.
In France, the descendants of its paternity consider it, at its best, an ornament or even a chapter of French literature, and compliment it on contributing joy, light, and color to the gloomy Anglo-Saxon scene; the more it takes on local characteristics the less attention the French pay to it' [10]Dean finished her manifesto with these words: A definitive study of Anglo-Norman language, literature, and ideas in western culture is still some way off.
[1] This work was based on an earlier survey of manuscripts undertaken by Johan Vising, a copy of which was given to Dean by a fellow medievalist during her years of study at Oxford.
[13] Dean herself writes that with this volume in hand, she began to explore manuscripts, library catalogues, and bibliographies with a view to updating Vising's work.
[14] The colossal advance to scholarship represented by the volume was awarded by the Prix Chavée by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres in 2001.