George Edmundson
Encyclopedia
George Edmundson was a clergy
man of the Church of England
and academic historian of the University of Oxford
. He took up benefice
s in Northolt
and Chelsea
and in retirement lived in the south of France
.
, Yorkshire
, Edmundson was the eldest son of the Rev. George Edmundson of Redcar and St Leonards-on-Sea
, by his marriage to Elizabeth Anne, daughter of William Whytehead of Thirsk
. His father was lord of the manor
of Agglethorpe
in Coverdale
. He was educated at St Peter's School
, York
, and at Magdalen College, Oxford
, where he was a demy. He took a first class in Mathematical Moderations
in 1869 and another first in Maths in 1870, graduated BA
in 1871, won the Senior Hall Greek Testament Prize in 1873, and proceeded MA
in 1874.
ship at Brasenose
and was Mathematical Lecturer there from 1871 to 1880 and also a college tutor from 1875 to 1880. He was ordained a deacon
of the Church of England
in 1872 and a priest
in 1874. From 1875 to 1881 he was Junior Bursar of his college and in the University was Mathematical Examiner for Final Honour Schools for 1875-76.
In 1880, Edmundson accepted the benefice
of Northolt
, Middlesex
, where he remained until 1906, when he became Vicar
of St Saviour’s, Upper Chelsea, retiring in 1920. He was also Rural Dean
of Chelsea
from 1916 to 1920.
From 1896 to 1899, Edmundson worked for the British Government
in the matter of a Boundary Arbitration between British Guiana
and Venezuela
, and from 1901 to 1904 he worked for the government again on a Boundary Arbitration between British Guiana and Brazil
. His work was research, under the direction of Sir Charles Alexander Harris
, who later wrote "To the staff who worked under my direction in the two Guiana arbitration cases, where extreme accuracy and patience were required, I find it difficult to record my indebtedness. Mr de Villiers, my co-editor of Storm, and Dr Edmundson were with me throughout."
One of Edmundson's major works, The Church of Rome in the First Century, appeared in 1913, having originated as the Bampton Lectures
for that year. Much later, J. A. T. Robinson praised it highly. In his Redating the New Testament (1977), he noted that Edmundson's book had largely been ignored at the time, perhaps because he was not a professional New Testament
scholar and his conclusions were radically different from the consensus of the "higher criticism" of his day.
In 1917–18, Edmundson worked for the Foreign Office's Historical Department.
He married Florence Brooke Turner, the daughter of Joseph Brooke Turner, of Edgerton
, Yorkshire, and they had one son and one daughter.
He retired to a house named the Villa Nicette, at Saint-Raphaël
in the south of France
and died on 3 July 1930.
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
man of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and academic historian of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. He took up benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
s in Northolt
Northolt
Northolt is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, England. The town has London Underground and Network Rail stations and is on the A40 road...
and Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
and in retirement lived in the south of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Early life
Born at Redcar House in RedcarRedcar
Redcar is a seaside resort in the north east of England, and a major town in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. It lies east-northeast of Middlesbrough by the North Sea coast...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, Edmundson was the eldest son of the Rev. George Edmundson of Redcar and St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea is part of Hastings, East Sussex, England, lying immediately to the west of the centre. The original part of the settlement was laid out in the early 19th century as a new town: a place of elegant houses designed for the well-off; it also included a central public garden, a...
, by his marriage to Elizabeth Anne, daughter of William Whytehead of Thirsk
Thirsk
Thirsk is a small market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. The local travel links are located a mile from the town centre to Thirsk railway station and to Durham Tees Valley Airport...
. His father was lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
of Agglethorpe
Agglethorpe
Agglethorpe is a hamlet in the English county of North Yorkshire. It is known as Aculestorp in the Domesday Book....
in Coverdale
Coverdale (dale)
Coverdale is a dale in the far east of the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. It gets its name from the River Cover and the small settlement of Coverham, which is situated on its Northern edge...
. He was educated at St Peter's School
St Peter's School, York
St Peter's School is a co-educational independent boarding and day school located in the English City of York, with extensive grounds on the banks of the River Ouse...
, York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, and at Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
, where he was a demy. He took a first class in Mathematical Moderations
Honour Moderations
Honour Moderations are a first set of examinations at Oxford University in England during the first part of the degree course for some courses ....
in 1869 and another first in Maths in 1870, graduated BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1871, won the Senior Hall Greek Testament Prize in 1873, and proceeded MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1874.
Career
In 1871 Edmundson was elected to an Open FellowFellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
ship at Brasenose
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
and was Mathematical Lecturer there from 1871 to 1880 and also a college tutor from 1875 to 1880. He was ordained a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
in 1872 and a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in 1874. From 1875 to 1881 he was Junior Bursar of his college and in the University was Mathematical Examiner for Final Honour Schools for 1875-76.
In 1880, Edmundson accepted the benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
of Northolt
Northolt
Northolt is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, England. The town has London Underground and Network Rail stations and is on the A40 road...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, where he remained until 1906, when he became Vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of St Saviour’s, Upper Chelsea, retiring in 1920. He was also Rural Dean
Rural Dean
In the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church, a Rural Dean presides over a Rural Deanery .-Origins and usage:...
of Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
from 1916 to 1920.
From 1896 to 1899, Edmundson worked for the British Government
Government of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
in the matter of a Boundary Arbitration between British Guiana
British Guiana
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, and from 1901 to 1904 he worked for the government again on a Boundary Arbitration between British Guiana and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. His work was research, under the direction of Sir Charles Alexander Harris
Charles Alexander Harris
Sir Charles Alexander Harris was a British colonial administrator, Governor of Newfoundland from 1917 to 1922.Harris graduated from Christ's College, Cambridge in 1878...
, who later wrote "To the staff who worked under my direction in the two Guiana arbitration cases, where extreme accuracy and patience were required, I find it difficult to record my indebtedness. Mr de Villiers, my co-editor of Storm, and Dr Edmundson were with me throughout."
One of Edmundson's major works, The Church of Rome in the First Century, appeared in 1913, having originated as the Bampton Lectures
Bampton Lectures
The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton,. They have taken place since 1780.They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have typically been biennial. They continue to concentrate on Christian theological...
for that year. Much later, J. A. T. Robinson praised it highly. In his Redating the New Testament (1977), he noted that Edmundson's book had largely been ignored at the time, perhaps because he was not a professional New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
scholar and his conclusions were radically different from the consensus of the "higher criticism" of his day.
In 1917–18, Edmundson worked for the Foreign Office's Historical Department.
He married Florence Brooke Turner, the daughter of Joseph Brooke Turner, of Edgerton
Edgerton
-Places:United Kingdom*Edgerton, Huddersfield, West YorkshireUnited States*Edgerton , listed on the National Register of Historic Places*Edgerton, Indiana*Edgerton, Kansas*Edgerton, Minnesota*Edgerton, Missouri...
, Yorkshire, and they had one son and one daughter.
He retired to a house named the Villa Nicette, at Saint-Raphaël
Saint-Raphaël, Var
Saint-Raphaël is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Immediately to the west of Saint-Raphaël lies another, older, town called Fréjus, and together they form an urban agglomeration known as Fréjus Saint-Raphaël...
in the south of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and died on 3 July 1930.
Honours
- Foreign Member of the Netherlands Association of Literature, 1886
- Fellow of the Royal Historical SocietyRoyal Historical SocietyThe Royal Historical Society was founded in 1868. The premier society in the United Kingdom which promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past, it is based at University College London...
, 1894 - Honorary Member of the Dutch Historical Society, 1897
- Fellow of the Royal Geographical SocietyRoyal Geographical SocietyThe Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
, 1911 - Ford’s Lecturer in English History (University of Oxford) 1909–1910
- Bampton LecturerBampton LecturesThe Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton,. They have taken place since 1780.They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have typically been biennial. They continue to concentrate on Christian theological...
, 1913
Major publications
- Milton and Vondel, a Curiosity of Literature, 1885
- The Swedish Legend in British Guiana: an historical investigation (1900)
- 'The Revolt of the Netherlands', 'William the Silent' and 'The Dutch Republic' in Cambridge Modern HistoryCambridge Modern HistoryThe Cambridge Modern History is a comprehensive modern history of the world, beginning with the 15th century age of Discovery, published by the Cambridge University Press in the United Kingdom and also in the United States....
, vol. III The Wars of Religion (1904) - Archbishop Laud and his Work, 1905
- 'The Administrations of John de Witt and William of Orange (1651–88)' in Cambridge Modern History, vol. V The Age of Louis XIV (1908)
- Anglo-Dutch Rivalry in the First Half of the 17th Century (The Ford Lectures), 1910
- Intellect and Power, the Pride Sermon, 1912
- The Church in Rome in the First Century: an examination of various controverted questions relating to its history, chronology, literature and traditions: eight lectures preached before the University of Oxford (Longmans, Green, 1913)
- History of Holland (Cambridge History Series), 1922
- The Journal, Travels, and Labours of Father Samuel FritzSamuel FritzSamuel Fritz was a Czech Jesuit missionary, noted for his exploration of the Amazon River and its basin.-Life:Fritz was born at Trautenau, Bohemia. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1673. In 1684 he was sent to Quito as a missionary. For forty-two years Fritz acted in this capacity among the...
, in the River Amazon, 1686–1723, translation from SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, edited for the Hakluyt SocietyHakluyt SocietyFounded in 1846, the Hakluyt Society is a registered charity based in London, England, which seeks to advance knowledge and education by the publication of scholarly editions of primary records of voyages, travels and other geographical material...
, 1922
External links
- George Edmundson at Wikisource
- The Church in Rome in the First Century full text online at ccel.org
- The Administrations of John de Witt and William of Orange (1651-88) full text online at uni-mannheim.de