William Camden
Encyclopedia
William Camden was an English antiquarian
, historian, topographer
, and officer of arms
. He wrote the first chorographical
survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England
.
. He attended Christ's Hospital
and St Paul's School, and in 1566 entered Oxford (Magdalen College
, Broadgates Hall
, and finally Christ Church
). At Christ Church, he became acquainted with Philip Sidney
, who encouraged Camden's antiquarian interests. He returned to London in 1571 without a degree. In 1575, he became Usher of Westminster School
, a position that gave him the freedom to travel and pursue his antiquarian researches during school vacations.
, Camden began his great work Britannia, a topographical and historical survey of all of Great Britain and Ireland. His stated intention was "to restore antiquity to Britaine, and Britaine to its antiquity." The first edition was published in 1586. The work, which was written in Latin
, was very popular, going into seven editions by 1607, each considerably enlarged from its predecessor. The 1607 edition included for the first time a full set of English county maps, based on the surveys of Christopher Saxton
and John Norden
, and engraved by William Kip and William Hole
(who also engraved the fine title page). The first English language
edition, again expanded, translated by Philemon Holland
(probably in collaboration with Camden), appeared in 1610.
Britannia is a county-by-county description of Great Britain and Ireland. It is a work of chorography
: a study that relates landscape, geography, antiquarianism, and history. Rather than write a history, Camden wanted to describe in detail the Great Britain of the present, and to show how the traces of the past could be discerned in the existing landscape. By this method, he produced the first coherent picture of Roman Britain
.
He continued to collect materials and to revise and expand Britannia throughout his life. He drew on the published and unpublished work of John Leland and William Lambarde
, among others, and received the assistance of a large network of correspondents with similar interests. He also travelled throughout Great Britain to view documents, sites, and artefacts for himself: he is known to have visited East Anglia in 1578, Yorkshire and Lancashire in 1582, Devon in 1589, Wales in 1590, Salisbury, Wells and Oxford in 1596, and Carlisle and Hadrian's Wall in 1599. His fieldwork and firsthand research set new standards for the time. He even learned Welsh
and Old English for the task. (Camden's tutor in Old English was Laurence Nowell
.) The resulting work is one of the great achievements of sixteenth century scholarship.
In 1593, Camden became Headmaster of Westminster School
. He held the post for four years, but left when he was appointed Clarenceux King of Arms
. By this time, he was a well-known and revered figure, and the appointment was meant to free him from the labour of teaching and to facilitate his research. The College of Arms
at that time was not only a centre of genealogical and heraldic
study, but a centre of antiquarian study as well. The appointment, however, roused the jealousy of the herald
Ralph Brooke
, who, in retaliation, published an attack on Britannia, charging Camden with inaccuracy and plagiarism. Camden successfully defended himself against the charges in subsequent editions of the work.
suggested that Camden write a history of Queen Elizabeth's reign. The degree of Burghley's influence on the work is unclear, though; Camden only specifically mentions Sir John Fortescue
, Elizabeth's last Chancellor of the Exchequer
, and Henry Cuffe
, the Earl of Essex
's secretary, as sources. Camden began his work in 1607. The first part of the Annales Rerum Gestarum Angliae et Hiberniae Regnate Elizabetha, covering the reign up to 1597, appeared in 1615. The second part was completed in 1617, but was not published until 1625 (Leiden), and 1627 (London), following Camden's death. The first translation into English appeared in 1625.
The Annales were not written in a continuous narrative, but in the style of earlier annals, giving the events of each year in a separate entry. Sometimes criticised as being too favourably disposed towards Elizabeth and James I
, the Annales are one of the great works of English historiography
and had a great impact on the later image of the Elizabethan age. Hugh Trevor-Roper said about them: "It is thanks to Camden that we ascribe to Queen Elizabeth a consistent policy of via media rather than an inconsequent series of unresolved conflicts and paralysed indecisions."
in Kent. Though often in ill health, he continued to work diligently. In 1622, he founded an endowed lectureship in History at Oxford - the first in the world - which continues to this day as the Camden Chair in Ancient History. That same year, he was struck with paralysis
. He died in Chislehurst on 9 November 1623, and was buried at Westminster Abbey
.
Camden left his library to his closest friend, Sir Robert Bruce Cotton
. His circle of friends and acquaintances included Lord Burghley, Fulke Greville
, Philip Sidney
, Edmund Spenser
, John Stow
, John Dee
, Jacques de Thou and Ben Jonson
, who was Camden's student at Westminster and who dedicated an early edition of Every Man in His Humour to him.
Among Camden's other works are a Greek grammar
, which remained a standard school textbook for many years; Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine (1605), a more popular English-language companion to Britannia, comprising a collection of themed historical essays; the official account of the trial of the Gunpowder Plot
ters; and a catalogue of the epitaph
s at Westminster Abbey.
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
, historian, topographer
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
, and officer of arms
Officer of arms
An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate armorial matters*to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state...
. He wrote the first chorographical
Chorography
Chorography is a term deriving from the writings of the ancient geographer Ptolemy, meaning the geographical description of regions...
survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
.
Early years
Camden was born in London. His father, Sampson Camden, was a member of The Worshipful Company of Painter-StainersWorshipful Company of Painter-Stainers
The Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. An organisation of stainers, or painters of metals and wood, is known to have existed as early as 1268. A similar organisation of painters, who generally worked on cloth, existed as early as 1283...
. He attended Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
and St Paul's School, and in 1566 entered Oxford (Magdalen College
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...
, Broadgates Hall
Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2009, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £44.9 million.-History:...
, and finally Christ Church
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
). At Christ Church, he became acquainted with Philip Sidney
Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age...
, who encouraged Camden's antiquarian interests. He returned to London in 1571 without a degree. In 1575, he became Usher of Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, a position that gave him the freedom to travel and pursue his antiquarian researches during school vacations.
Britannia
In 1577, with the encouragement of Abraham OrteliusAbraham Ortelius
thumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius thumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius (Abraham Ortels) thumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius (Abraham Ortels) (April 14, 1527 – June 28,exile in England to take...
, Camden began his great work Britannia, a topographical and historical survey of all of Great Britain and Ireland. His stated intention was "to restore antiquity to Britaine, and Britaine to its antiquity." The first edition was published in 1586. The work, which was written in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, was very popular, going into seven editions by 1607, each considerably enlarged from its predecessor. The 1607 edition included for the first time a full set of English county maps, based on the surveys of Christopher Saxton
Christopher Saxton
Christopher Saxton was an English cartographer, probably born in the parish of Dewsbury, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England around 1540....
and John Norden
John Norden
John Norden was an English cartographer, chorographer and antiquary. He planned a series of county maps and accompanying county histories of England, the Speculum Britanniae...
, and engraved by William Kip and William Hole
William Hole (engraver)
William Hole was a skilled English engraver who died in 1624 though the date of his birth is uncertain. In 1607 he engraved the title page for a London edition of the Breeches Bible. Hole’s work suggests French influence, he engraved for music by composers, Dr John Bull, William Byrd and Orlando...
(who also engraved the fine title page). The first English language
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...
edition, again expanded, translated by Philemon Holland
Philemon Holland
Philemon Holland was an English translator.His father, John Holland, was a clergyman who fled the Kingdom of England during the persecutions of Mary I of England...
(probably in collaboration with Camden), appeared in 1610.
Britannia is a county-by-county description of Great Britain and Ireland. It is a work of chorography
Chorography
Chorography is a term deriving from the writings of the ancient geographer Ptolemy, meaning the geographical description of regions...
: a study that relates landscape, geography, antiquarianism, and history. Rather than write a history, Camden wanted to describe in detail the Great Britain of the present, and to show how the traces of the past could be discerned in the existing landscape. By this method, he produced the first coherent picture of Roman Britain
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
.
He continued to collect materials and to revise and expand Britannia throughout his life. He drew on the published and unpublished work of John Leland and William Lambarde
William Lambarde
William Lambarde was an antiquarian and writer on legal subjects.-Life:Lambarde was born in London. His father was a draper , an alderman and a sheriff of London. In 1556, he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn...
, among others, and received the assistance of a large network of correspondents with similar interests. He also travelled throughout Great Britain to view documents, sites, and artefacts for himself: he is known to have visited East Anglia in 1578, Yorkshire and Lancashire in 1582, Devon in 1589, Wales in 1590, Salisbury, Wells and Oxford in 1596, and Carlisle and Hadrian's Wall in 1599. His fieldwork and firsthand research set new standards for the time. He even learned Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
and Old English for the task. (Camden's tutor in Old English was Laurence Nowell
Laurence Nowell
Two sixteenth-century English cousins, one an antiquarian and the other a churchman, were named Laurence Nowell. Their biographies have been confused since the seventeenth century.-Antiquarian:Laurence Nowell Two sixteenth-century English cousins, one an antiquarian and the other a churchman, were...
.) The resulting work is one of the great achievements of sixteenth century scholarship.
In 1593, Camden became Headmaster of Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
. He held the post for four years, but left when he was appointed Clarenceux King of Arms
Clarenceux King of Arms
Clarenceux King of Arms is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Clarenceux is the senior of the two provincial kings of arms and his jurisdiction is that part of England south of the River Trent. The office almost certainly existed in 1420, and there is a fair degree of...
. By this time, he was a well-known and revered figure, and the appointment was meant to free him from the labour of teaching and to facilitate his research. The College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
at that time was not only a centre of genealogical and heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
study, but a centre of antiquarian study as well. The appointment, however, roused the jealousy of the herald
Herald
A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....
Ralph Brooke
Ralph Brooke
Ralph Brooke was an English Officer of Arms in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. He is known for his critiques of the work of other members of the College of Arms, most particularly in A Discoverie of Certaine Errours Published in Print in the Much Commended 'Britannia' 1594, which touched...
, who, in retaliation, published an attack on Britannia, charging Camden with inaccuracy and plagiarism. Camden successfully defended himself against the charges in subsequent editions of the work.
Annales
In 1597, Lord BurghleyWilliam Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
suggested that Camden write a history of Queen Elizabeth's reign. The degree of Burghley's influence on the work is unclear, though; Camden only specifically mentions Sir John Fortescue
John Fortescue of Salden
Sir John Fortescue of Salden was the seventh Chancellor of the Exchequer of England, serving from 1589 until 1603....
, Elizabeth's last Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, and Henry Cuffe
Henry Cuffe
Sir Henry Cuffe was an English author and politician, executed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, for treason.-Family connections:...
, the Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
's secretary, as sources. Camden began his work in 1607. The first part of the Annales Rerum Gestarum Angliae et Hiberniae Regnate Elizabetha, covering the reign up to 1597, appeared in 1615. The second part was completed in 1617, but was not published until 1625 (Leiden), and 1627 (London), following Camden's death. The first translation into English appeared in 1625.
The Annales were not written in a continuous narrative, but in the style of earlier annals, giving the events of each year in a separate entry. Sometimes criticised as being too favourably disposed towards Elizabeth and James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, the Annales are one of the great works of English historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
and had a great impact on the later image of the Elizabethan age. Hugh Trevor-Roper said about them: "It is thanks to Camden that we ascribe to Queen Elizabeth a consistent policy of via media rather than an inconsequent series of unresolved conflicts and paralysed indecisions."
Final years
In 1609, Camden moved to ChislehurstChislehurst
Chislehurst is a suburban district in south-east London, England, and an electoral ward of the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
in Kent. Though often in ill health, he continued to work diligently. In 1622, he founded an endowed lectureship in History at Oxford - the first in the world - which continues to this day as the Camden Chair in Ancient History. That same year, he was struck with paralysis
Paralysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
. He died in Chislehurst on 9 November 1623, and was buried at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
Camden left his library to his closest friend, Sir Robert Bruce Cotton
Robert Bruce Cotton
Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, 1st Baronet was an English antiquarian and Member of Parliament, founder of the important Cotton library....
. His circle of friends and acquaintances included Lord Burghley, Fulke Greville
Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke
Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, de jure 13th Baron Latimer and 5th Baron Willoughby de Broke , known before 1621 as Sir Fulke Greville, was an Elizabethan poet, dramatist, and statesman....
, Philip Sidney
Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age...
, Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
, John Stow
John Stow
John Stow was an English historian and antiquarian.-Early life:The son of Thomas Stow, a tallow-chandler, he was born about 1525 in London, in the parish of St Michael, Cornhill. His father's whole rent for his house and garden was only 6s. 6d. a year, and Stow in his youth fetched milk every...
, John Dee
John Dee (mathematician)
John Dee was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy....
, Jacques de Thou and Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
, who was Camden's student at Westminster and who dedicated an early edition of Every Man in His Humour to him.
Among Camden's other works are a Greek grammar
Greek grammar
The grammar of Standard Modern Greek, as spoken in present-day Greece and Cyprus, is basically that of Demotic Greek, but it has also assimilated certain elements of Katharevousa, the archaic, learned variety of Greek imitating Classical Greek forms, which used to be the official language of Greece...
, which remained a standard school textbook for many years; Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine (1605), a more popular English-language companion to Britannia, comprising a collection of themed historical essays; the official account of the trial of the Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
ters; and a catalogue of the epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
s at Westminster Abbey.
External links
- Jokinen, Anniina (2001): "William Camden."
- Britannia (1607) with English translation by Philemon Holland.
- The full text of Holland's translation of Britannia, on A Vision of Britain through Time, with links to places mentioned—use the site's main home page to search for places mentioned by Camden)
- Annales (1615 and 1625) with introduction and English translation.
- Thomas Smith's Life of Camden (1691) in Latin and English.