Head and shoulders passport photo of Dr. Curt Wittlin, Professor and Head of the Department of French.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Curt Joseph Wittlin was born in 1941 in Reinach, Argòvia, Switzerland. He studied romance philology in Basel with Germà Colon, and later in Paris, Florence and Barcelona. He earned his PhD in 1965 with a thesis about the Catalan translation of Brunetto Latini's Treasure by Guillem de Copons. In 1967 Dr. Wittlin was appointed professor of Romance Philology and Historical Linguistics at the University of Saskatchewan. His wife, Marie-Louise Wittlin, a teacher of Home Economics, later became a custom maker for several Saskatoon theatre groups. Dr. Wittlin became a specialist in the edition of medieval translations in Europe of texts by Cicero, Saint Augustine and John of Wales, among others. Dr. Wittlin also worked on Ramon Llull and on the history of medieval Catalan libraries. The Catalan writer to which he devoted most of his life was Francesc Eiximenis. Dr. Wittlin published most of the modern editions of Francesc Eiximenis' works and wrote many studies and articles about Eiximenis. In 1997 he became a member of the Institute of Catalan Studies. From 1990-1993 he was president of the North American Catalan Society. In 2000 he received the Creu de Sant Jordi (Saint George cross), a high distinction given by the regional Catalan government. Dr. Wittlin died in 2019 in Tortosa, Baix Ebre, Spain.

Bio/Historical Note: Marie-Louise Wittlin, a native of Switzerland, attended the Seminar Bernarda, Menzingen, where she obtained a teaching degree in Home Economics in 1963, specializing in fashion design, art and costume history, and tailoring. For the next three years, she taught courses in dressmaking, tailoring, and textiles at the School of Home Economics, Sissach, Switzerland. In 1967 Wittlin moved to Saskatoon, with her husband, Curt Wittlin, professor of Languages and Linguistics. It was not until 1975 that she combined her skill with fabric and design with her love of the theatre. In that year, she designed the costumes for University of Saskatchewan French Department's production of "Le Tartuffe." That first production opened up a new direction in Wittlin's life. She was to go on to design and create costumes for several amateur and professional theater groups including Gateway Players, 25th Street House, Greystone Theatre, Magnus Theatre, Persephone Theatre, The Riverbank Opera Company, Theatre Rosthern, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, and Unitheatre. In 1979 she enrolled in the Department of Drama at the University of Saskatchewan and graduated in 1984 with great distinction. From 1983-1994Wittlin was head of wardrobe and resident costume designer with Saskatoon's Persephone Theatre. She joined the faculty of the Department of Drama at the U of S in 1994. Marie-Louise Wittlin lives in Tortosa, Baix Ebre, Spain (2021).