William Somner
Encyclopedia
William Somner was an English antiquarian scholar, the author of the first dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon language.
soon advanced him to be registrar of the ecclesiastical courts of the diocese. The archbishop demanded of him a yearly report on the conduct of the clergy in the diocese, but this Somner failed to supply. Somner devoted his leisure to studying law and antiquities, and shooting with the long bow.
A royalist, after the execution of Charles I he wrote an elegy; subsequently he published another such poem, to which was prefixed the portrait of Charles I, from the Eikon Basilike
. He was imprisoned for some time in Deal Castle
for endeavouring to obtain subscriptions to a petition for a free parliament in 1659. At the Restoration
he was preferred to the mastership of St. John's Hospital in the suburbs of Canterbury, and he was appointed auditor of Christ Church, Canterbury, by the dean and chapter. He died on 30 March 1669, and was buried in the church of St. Margaret, Canterbury. He was three times married, and left several children.
Somner acquired great reputation as an antiquary, and he numbered among his friends and correspondents Archbishops Laud and James Ussher
, Robert Cotton, William Dugdale
, Roger Dodsworth
, Symonds D'Ewes, Edward Bysshe
, Thomas Fuller
, and Elias Ashmole
.
, at the suggestion of Archbishop Ussher, bestowed on Somner the annual stipend of the Anglo-Saxon lecture founded by his father, Sir Henry Spelman, at Cambridge. This enabled him to complete his principal work, the Dictionarium. It shortly became a standard work in the teaching at the University of Oxford
.
he acquired a knowledge of Anglo-Saxon, and then wrote Observations on the Laws of King Henry I, published by Roger Twysden in 1644, with a new glossary. He made collections for a history of Kent, but abandoned this undertaking; a portion of the work was published at Oxford in 1693 by the Rev. James Brome
, under the title of A Treatise of the Roman Ports and Forts in Kent, with notes by Edmund Gibson
, and a life of the author by White Kennett
.
Somner completed in 1647 a work on gavelkind
. He also made, but never published, an English translation of The Ancient Saxon Laws, which had been published in Latin by William Lambard in 1568. He composed, in reply to Jean Jacques Chifflet, a dissertation on Portus Iccius, the place where Julius Caesar embarked in his expeditions to Britain, and fixed it at Gessoriacum, now Boulogne-sur-Mer
. Somner also drew up Ad verba vetera Germanica à V. Cl. Justo Lipsio Epist. Cent. iii. ad Belgas Epist. XLIV collecta, Notae, published in the appendix to Meric Casaubon's 'De quatuor Linguis Commentatio,'1650. To the Historiae Anglicanae Scriptores Decem, edited in 1652 by Roger Twysden, he contributed a glossary of obscure and antiquated words.
To William Dugdale
and Roger Dodsworth
's Monasticon Anglicanum he contributed materials relating to Canterbury and the religious houses in Kent, and he translated into Latin all the Anglo-Saxon documents, and many English records for the same work. His last antiquarian production was Chartham News; or a brief relation of some Strange Bones there lately digged up, in some grounds of Mr. John Somner's. This was edited by his brother John, London, 1680, and is reprinted at the end of the first part of the second edition of his Antiquities of Canterbury.
Life
He was baptised in the church of St. Margaret, Canterbury, on 5 November 1598, but according to a statement of his widow and surviving relatives, the date of his birth was 30 March 1606. His father held the office of registrary of the court of Canterbury, under Sir Nathaniel Brent, commissary. After passing through the free school at Canterbury, he became clerk to his father, and Archbishop William LaudWilliam Laud
William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism...
soon advanced him to be registrar of the ecclesiastical courts of the diocese. The archbishop demanded of him a yearly report on the conduct of the clergy in the diocese, but this Somner failed to supply. Somner devoted his leisure to studying law and antiquities, and shooting with the long bow.
A royalist, after the execution of Charles I he wrote an elegy; subsequently he published another such poem, to which was prefixed the portrait of Charles I, from the Eikon Basilike
Eikon Basilike
The Eikon Basilike , The Pourtrature of His Sacred Majestie in His Solitudes and Sufferings, was a purported spiritual autobiography attributed to King Charles I of England...
. He was imprisoned for some time in Deal Castle
Deal Castle
Deal Castle is located in Deal, Kent, England, between Walmer Castle and the now lost Sandown Castle .-Construction:It is one of the most impressive of the Device Forts or Henrician Castles built by Henry VIII between 1539 and 1540 as an artillery fortress to counter the threat of invasion from...
for endeavouring to obtain subscriptions to a petition for a free parliament in 1659. At the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
he was preferred to the mastership of St. John's Hospital in the suburbs of Canterbury, and he was appointed auditor of Christ Church, Canterbury, by the dean and chapter. He died on 30 March 1669, and was buried in the church of St. Margaret, Canterbury. He was three times married, and left several children.
Somner acquired great reputation as an antiquary, and he numbered among his friends and correspondents Archbishops Laud and James Ussher
James Ussher
James Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–56...
, Robert Cotton, William Dugdale
William Dugdale
Sir William Dugdale was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject.-Life:...
, Roger Dodsworth
Roger Dodsworth
Roger Dodsworth was an English antiquary.-Life:He was born at Newton Grange, Oswaldkirk, near Helmsley, Yorkshire, in the house of his maternal grandfather, Ralph Sandwith...
, Symonds D'Ewes, Edward Bysshe
Edward Bysshe
Sir Edward Bysshe FRS was an English barrister, politician and officer of arms. He sat in the House of Commons variously between 1640 and 1679 and was Garter King of Arms during the Commonwealth period.-Life:...
, Thomas Fuller
Thomas Fuller
Thomas Fuller was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his Worthies of England, published after his death...
, and Elias Ashmole
Elias Ashmole
Elias Ashmole was a celebrated English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he was rewarded with several lucrative offices.Ashmole was an antiquary with a...
.
The Dictionarium Saxonico-Latino-Anglicum
In 1657 John SpelmanJohn Spelman
Sir John Spelman was an English historian and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1626. He is known for his biography of Alfred the Great.-Life:...
, at the suggestion of Archbishop Ussher, bestowed on Somner the annual stipend of the Anglo-Saxon lecture founded by his father, Sir Henry Spelman, at Cambridge. This enabled him to complete his principal work, the Dictionarium. It shortly became a standard work in the teaching at 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...
.
Other works
Somner's earliest work was The Antiquities of Canterbury; or a Survey of that ancient Citie, with the Suburbs and Cathedral, London, 1640, dedicated to Archbishop Laud (reissued 1662; 2nd edit, by Nicholas Batteley, London, 1703). At the suggestion of Meric CasaubonMéric Casaubon
Méric Casaubon , son of Isaac Casaubon, was a French-English classical scholar...
he acquired a knowledge of Anglo-Saxon, and then wrote Observations on the Laws of King Henry I, published by Roger Twysden in 1644, with a new glossary. He made collections for a history of Kent, but abandoned this undertaking; a portion of the work was published at Oxford in 1693 by the Rev. James Brome
James Brome
-Life:He was the son of William Brome of Cambridgeshire, and matriculated at Christ's College, Cambridge in 1667; he graduated B.A. in 1771 and M.A. in 1677. He took holy orders, and was vicar of Newington, Kent in 1674, and rector of Cheriton in 1679, both posts he held for life...
, under the title of A Treatise of the Roman Ports and Forts in Kent, with notes by Edmund Gibson
Edmund Gibson
Edmund Gibson was a British divine and jurist.-Early life and career:He was born in Bampton, Westmorland. In 1686 he was entered a scholar at Queen's College, Oxford...
, and a life of the author by White Kennett
White Kennett
White Kennett was an English bishop and antiquarian.-Life:He was born at Dover. He was educated at Westminster School and at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where, while an undergraduate, he published several translations of Latin works, including Erasmus' In Praise of Folly.Kennett was vicar of...
.
Somner completed in 1647 a work on gavelkind
Gavelkind
Gavelkind was a system of land tenure associated chiefly with the county of Kent, but found also in other parts of England. Its inheritance pattern bears resemblance to Salic patrimony and as such might testify in favour of a wider, probably ancient Germanic tradition.It was legally abolished in...
. He also made, but never published, an English translation of The Ancient Saxon Laws, which had been published in Latin by William Lambard in 1568. He composed, in reply to Jean Jacques Chifflet, a dissertation on Portus Iccius, the place where Julius Caesar embarked in his expeditions to Britain, and fixed it at Gessoriacum, now Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
. Somner also drew up Ad verba vetera Germanica à V. Cl. Justo Lipsio Epist. Cent. iii. ad Belgas Epist. XLIV collecta, Notae, published in the appendix to Meric Casaubon's 'De quatuor Linguis Commentatio,'1650. To the Historiae Anglicanae Scriptores Decem, edited in 1652 by Roger Twysden, he contributed a glossary of obscure and antiquated words.
To William Dugdale
William Dugdale
Sir William Dugdale was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject.-Life:...
and Roger Dodsworth
Roger Dodsworth
Roger Dodsworth was an English antiquary.-Life:He was born at Newton Grange, Oswaldkirk, near Helmsley, Yorkshire, in the house of his maternal grandfather, Ralph Sandwith...
's Monasticon Anglicanum he contributed materials relating to Canterbury and the religious houses in Kent, and he translated into Latin all the Anglo-Saxon documents, and many English records for the same work. His last antiquarian production was Chartham News; or a brief relation of some Strange Bones there lately digged up, in some grounds of Mr. John Somner's. This was edited by his brother John, London, 1680, and is reprinted at the end of the first part of the second edition of his Antiquities of Canterbury.