Mark Ridley (physician)
Encyclopedia
Dr. Mark Ridley was an English physician, born in Stretham
, Cambridgeshire
, to Lancelot Ridley. He became physician to the English merchant in Russia
, and then personal physician to the Tsar of Russia
. While there, ca. 1594-1599, he compiled a Russian-English, English
-Russian
dictionary, which is now to be found in the Bodleian Library
in Oxford
. He also wrote on magnetism
.
Whilst Ridley's dictionary is more original, he is best known as an innovative follower of Dr William Gilbert (1544–1603) and the magnetic science which Gilbert published in his De Magnete
of 1600. Until Gilbert's death in 1603 Ridley had lodged with him in Wingfield House, London. In 1613 Ridley published his Magneticall Bodies and Motions, the first printed work in English to promote Gilbert's ideas. Ridley was attacked by the conservative Revd William Barlow, for advancing Gilbert's Copernican astronomy and also, in Barlow's opinion, for plagiarizing his own version in English of Gilbert's magnetic science.
This thesis was realized in the works of Prof. B. A. Larin (1937, 1948, 1959) and others. The manuscript of the Ridley dictionary was originally reviewed by Simmons and Unbegaun (1951, 1962), Unbegaun (1963) from Oxford University, and later studied by a team of scholars from Kazan State University in Russia (Galiullin & Zagidullin, 1996, 1997). The manuscript was published in 1996 under the title A Dictionarie of the Vulgar Russe Tonge: attributed to Mark Ridley / edited from the late-sixteenth-century manuscripts and with an introduction by Gerald Stone by Bohlau Verlag thanks to the editorial work of Gerald Stone.
The Kazan research team in the period of 1994-2000 conducted an extensive comparative analysis of the dictionary materials in relation to the existing dictionaries of Russian language of the 16th century (to be published). These studies have confirmed the historical value of the dictionary in several aspects. The correspondence of the majority of material to the already existing records indicated the reliability of Ridley's linguistic observations. This correspondence permitted significant chronological corrections and expansion of the semantics of particular words when there were discrepancies with the major Russian historical dictionaries. Mark Ridley's dictionary also included a significant number of words or phrases never recorded before (2249 entries out of total 6975).
Other studies of the Ridley dictionary were conducted by Konnova (2000), who examined its medical terminology.
Stretham
Stretham is a small village and civil parish south-south-west of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, about by road from London. Its main attraction is Stretham Old Engine, a steam-powered pump used to drain the fens. The pump is still in use today although converted to electric power. It has open...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, to Lancelot Ridley. He became physician to the English merchant in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and then personal physician to the Tsar of Russia
Feodor I of Russia
Fyodor I Ivanovich 1598) was the last Rurikid Tsar of Russia , son of Ivan IV and Anastasia Romanovna. In English he is sometimes called Feodor the Bellringer in consequence of his strong faith and inclination to travel the land and ring the bells at churches. However, in Russian the name...
. While there, ca. 1594-1599, he compiled a Russian-English, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
dictionary, which is now to be found in the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
in 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 also wrote on magnetism
Magnetism
Magnetism is a property of materials that respond at an atomic or subatomic level to an applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetism is the strongest and most familiar type of magnetism. It is responsible for the behavior of permanent magnets, which produce their own persistent magnetic fields, as well...
.
Whilst Ridley's dictionary is more original, he is best known as an innovative follower of Dr William Gilbert (1544–1603) and the magnetic science which Gilbert published in his De Magnete
De Magnete
De Magnete, Magneticisque Corporibus, et de Magno Magnete Tellure is a scientific work published in 1600 by the English physician and scientist William Gilbert and his partner Aaron Dowling...
of 1600. Until Gilbert's death in 1603 Ridley had lodged with him in Wingfield House, London. In 1613 Ridley published his Magneticall Bodies and Motions, the first printed work in English to promote Gilbert's ideas. Ridley was attacked by the conservative Revd William Barlow, for advancing Gilbert's Copernican astronomy and also, in Barlow's opinion, for plagiarizing his own version in English of Gilbert's magnetic science.
Ridley's dictionary
The dictionary's primary significance is in recording spoken Russian language of that era: the written language differed considerably in its vocabulary and grammar under the strong influence literary tradition of the Orthodox church texts. Thus dictionaries compiled by foreign visitors who came to Russia for business reflected the actual Russian language use that they learned through daily interaction. Whereas the written tradition can be studied using a multitude of preserved texts, the contribution of the spoken language can be studied through the records of foreign visitors who were not influenced by local stylistic and other constraints and recorded the language as it was spoken.This thesis was realized in the works of Prof. B. A. Larin (1937, 1948, 1959) and others. The manuscript of the Ridley dictionary was originally reviewed by Simmons and Unbegaun (1951, 1962), Unbegaun (1963) from Oxford University, and later studied by a team of scholars from Kazan State University in Russia (Galiullin & Zagidullin, 1996, 1997). The manuscript was published in 1996 under the title A Dictionarie of the Vulgar Russe Tonge: attributed to Mark Ridley / edited from the late-sixteenth-century manuscripts and with an introduction by Gerald Stone by Bohlau Verlag thanks to the editorial work of Gerald Stone.
The Kazan research team in the period of 1994-2000 conducted an extensive comparative analysis of the dictionary materials in relation to the existing dictionaries of Russian language of the 16th century (to be published). These studies have confirmed the historical value of the dictionary in several aspects. The correspondence of the majority of material to the already existing records indicated the reliability of Ridley's linguistic observations. This correspondence permitted significant chronological corrections and expansion of the semantics of particular words when there were discrepancies with the major Russian historical dictionaries. Mark Ridley's dictionary also included a significant number of words or phrases never recorded before (2249 entries out of total 6975).
Other studies of the Ridley dictionary were conducted by Konnova (2000), who examined its medical terminology.
External links
- Royal College of Physicians page
- Stephen Pumfrey, Latitude and the Magnetic Earth (Icon Books, 2002).