Anthony Wood
Encyclopedia
Anthony Wood or Anthony à Wood (17 December 1632 – 28 November 1695) was an English
antiquary
.
, where Anthony was born. He was sent to New College School
in 1641, and at the age of twelve was removed to the free Lord Williams's School
at Thame
, where his studies were interrupted by Civil War
skirmishes. He was then placed under the tuition of his brother Edward (1627-1655), of Trinity College
, and, as he tells us, 'while he continued in this condition his mother would alwaies be soliciting him to be an apprentice which he could never endure to heare of.' He was entered at Merton College
in 1647, and made postmaster
.
In 1652 he took up ploughing and bell-ringing
. 'Having had from his most tender years an extraordinary ravishing delight in music,' he began to teach himself the violin and took his BA examinations. He engaged a music-master and obtained permission to use the Bodleian
, "which he took to be the happiness of his life." He received the MA degree in 1655, and in the following year published a volume of sermons by his late brother Edward.
registers, "at this time being resolved to set himself to the study of antiquities." Dr John Wallis, the keeper, allowed him free access to the university registers in 1660; "here he layd the foundation of that book which was fourteen years afterwards published, viz. Hist. et Antiq. Univ. Oxon." He also came to know the Oxford collections of Brian Twyne
to which he was greatly indebted. He steadily investigated the muniment
s of all the colleges, and in 1667 made his first journey to London
, where he visited William Dugdale
, who introduced him into the Cottonian Library, and William Prynne
showed him the same civility for the Tower
records.
On 22 October 1669, he was sent for by the delegates of the press, "that whereas he had taken a great deal of paines in writing the Hist. and Antiq. of the Universitie of Oxon, they would for his paines give him an 100 li. for his copie, conditionally, that he would suffer the book to be translated into Latine." He accepted the offer and set to work to prepare his English manuscript for the translators, Richard Peers and Richard Reeve, both appointed by Dr Fell
, Dean of Christ Church, who undertook the expense of printing. In 1674 appeared Historia, et antiquitates Universitatis Oxoniensis, handsomely reprinted "e Theatro Sheldoniano
" in two folio
volumes, the first devoted to the university in general and the second to the colleges. Copies were widely distributed, and university and author received much praise. On the other hand, Bishop Barlow
told a correspondent that "not only the Latine but the history itself is in many things ridiculously false" (Genuine Remains, 1693, p. 183).
In 1678 the university registers which had been in Wood's custody for eighteen years were removed, as it was feared that he would be implicated in the Popish Plot
. To relieve himself from suspicion he took the Oath of Supremacy
. During this time he had been gradually completing his great work, which was produced by a London publisher in 1691-1692, 2 vols. folio, Athenae Oxonienses: an Exact History of all the Writers and Bishops who have had their Education in the University of Oxford from 1500 to 1690, to which are added the Fasti, or Annals for the said time. Wood contemplated publishing a third volume of the Athenae, printed in the Netherlands. The third appeared subsequently as "a new edition, with additions, and a continuation by Philip Bliss" (1813-1820, 4 vols. 4to). The Ecclesiastical History Society proposed to bring out a fourth edition, which stopped at the Life, ed. by Bliss (1848, 8vo; see Cent. Mag., N.S., xxix. 135, 268). Bliss's interleaved copy is in the Bodleian.
On 29 July 1693 Wood was condemned and fined in the vice-chancellor's court for certain libels against the late Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
. He was punished by being banished from the university until recanting, and the offending pages burnt. The proceedings were printed in a volume of Miscellanies published by Edmund Curll
in 1714. Wood was attacked by Bishop Burnet
in A letter to the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry (1693), and defended by his nephew Dr Thomas Wood, in a Vindication of the Historiographer, to which is added the Historiographer's Answer (1693), reproduced in the subsequent editions of the Athenae. The nephew also defended his uncle in An Appendix to the Life of Bishop Seth Ward
, 1697. After a short illness Anthony Wood died, and was buried in the outer chapel of St John Baptist (Merton College), in Oxford, where he had superintended the digging of his own grave only a few days before.
He received no recognition from the university he had worked for his whole life. He never married, and led a life entirely devoted to antiquarian research. He was always suspected of being a Roman Catholic, and invariably treated Jacobite
s and Papists better than Dissenter
s in the Athenae, but he died in communion with the Church of England
.
Wood's original manuscript (purchased by the Bodleian in 1846) was first published by John Gutch
as The History and Antiquities of the Colleges and Halls in the University of Oxford, with a continuation (1786-1790, 2 vols. 4to), and The History and Antiquities of the University of Oxford (1792-1796, 3 vols. 410), with a portrait of Wood. To these can be added The Antient and Present State of the City of Oxford, chiefly collected by A. à Wood, with additions by the Rev. Sir J. Peshall (1773, 4to; the text is garbled and the editing very imperfect). The Survey of the Antiquities of the City of Oxford, composed in 1661-66 by Anthony Wood, edited by Andrew Clark, was issued by the Oxford Historical Society
(1889-1899, 3 vols. 8vo). Modius Salium, a Collection of Pieces of Humour was published at Oxford in 1751, 12mo. Some letters between John Aubrey
and Wood were published in the Gentleman's Magazine (3rd ser., ix. x. xi.).
Wood bequeathed his library (127 manuscripts and 970 printed books) to the Ashmolean Museum
, and the keeper, William Huddesford
, printed a catalogue of the manuscripts in 1761. In 1858 the whole collection was transferred to the Bodleian, where 25 volumes of Wood's manuscripts had been since 1690. Many of the original papers from which the Athenae was written, as well as several large volumes of Wood's correspondence and all his diaries, are in the Bodleian.
' 1998 novel An Instance of the Fingerpost
, which is set in the early 1660s.
Intimate details of Wood's life are recorded in his Diaries (1657-1695) and autobiography; all earlier editions were superseded by
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
antiquary
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...
.
Early life
Anthony Wood was the fourth son of Thomas Wood (1580-1643), BCL of OxfordOxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, where Anthony was born. He was sent to New College School
New College School
New College School is an independent preparatory school for boys in Oxford. It was founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham to provide for the education of 16 choristers for the chapel of New College, Oxford....
in 1641, and at the age of twelve was removed to the free Lord Williams's School
Lord Williams's School
Lord Williams's School is a co-educational secondary school in Thame, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. It is a comprehensive school, which takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18...
at Thame
Thame
Thame is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southwest of the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town....
, where his studies were interrupted by Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
skirmishes. He was then placed under the tuition of his brother Edward (1627-1655), of Trinity College
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, and, as he tells us, 'while he continued in this condition his mother would alwaies be soliciting him to be an apprentice which he could never endure to heare of.' He was entered at Merton College
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
in 1647, and made postmaster
Postmaster (disambiguation)
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office.Postmaster may also refer to:*Postmaster , the administrator of an email server...
.
In 1652 he took up ploughing and bell-ringing
Campanology
Campanology is the study of bells. It encompasses the physical realities of bells — how they are cast, tuned and sounded — as well as the various methods devised to perform bell-ringing....
. 'Having had from his most tender years an extraordinary ravishing delight in music,' he began to teach himself the violin and took his BA examinations. He engaged a music-master and obtained permission to use the Bodleian
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...
, "which he took to be the happiness of his life." He received the MA degree in 1655, and in the following year published a volume of sermons by his late brother Edward.
Career as an Antiquitarian
Wood began systematically to copy monumental inscriptions and to search for antiquities in the city and neighbourhood. He went through the Christ ChurchChrist 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...
registers, "at this time being resolved to set himself to the study of antiquities." Dr John Wallis, the keeper, allowed him free access to the university registers in 1660; "here he layd the foundation of that book which was fourteen years afterwards published, viz. Hist. et Antiq. Univ. Oxon." He also came to know the Oxford collections of Brian Twyne
Brian Twyne
Brian Twyne was an antiquarian and an academic at the University of Oxford. After being educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and becoming a Fellow of the college in 1606, he published his one main work, a history of the university, in 1608...
to which he was greatly indebted. He steadily investigated the muniment
Muniment
A Muniment or Muniment of Title is a legal term for a document, or other evidence, that indicates ownership of an asset. The word is derived from munimentum, the Latin word for a defensive fortification...
s of all the colleges, and in 1667 made his first journey to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he visited 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:...
, who introduced him into the Cottonian Library, and William Prynne
William Prynne
William Prynne was an English lawyer, author, polemicist, and political figure. He was a prominent Puritan opponent of the church policy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. Although his views on church polity were presbyterian, he became known in the 1640s as an Erastian, arguing for...
showed him the same civility for the Tower
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
records.
On 22 October 1669, he was sent for by the delegates of the press, "that whereas he had taken a great deal of paines in writing the Hist. and Antiq. of the Universitie of Oxon, they would for his paines give him an 100 li. for his copie, conditionally, that he would suffer the book to be translated into Latine." He accepted the offer and set to work to prepare his English manuscript for the translators, Richard Peers and Richard Reeve, both appointed by Dr Fell
John Fell (clergyman)
John Fell was an English churchman and influential academic. He served as Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and later concomitantly as Bishop of Oxford.-Education:...
, Dean of Christ Church, who undertook the expense of printing. In 1674 appeared Historia, et antiquitates Universitatis Oxoniensis, handsomely reprinted "e Theatro Sheldoniano
Sheldonian Theatre
The Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1668 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the university at the time and the project's main financial backer...
" in two folio
Foolscap folio
Foolscap folio is paper cut to the size of 8 1/2 × 13 1/2 in...
volumes, the first devoted to the university in general and the second to the colleges. Copies were widely distributed, and university and author received much praise. On the other hand, Bishop Barlow
Thomas Barlow (bishop)
Thomas Barlow was an English academic and clergyman, who became Provost of The Queen's College, Oxford and Bishop of Lincoln. He was considered, in his own times and by Edmund Venables writing in the Dictionary of National Biography, to have been a trimmer, a reputation mixed in with his academic...
told a correspondent that "not only the Latine but the history itself is in many things ridiculously false" (Genuine Remains, 1693, p. 183).
In 1678 the university registers which had been in Wood's custody for eighteen years were removed, as it was feared that he would be implicated in the Popish Plot
Popish Plot
The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...
. To relieve himself from suspicion he took the Oath of Supremacy
Oath of Supremacy
The Oath of Supremacy, originally imposed by King Henry VIII of England through the Act of Supremacy 1534, but repealed by his daughter, Queen Mary I of England and reinstated under Mary's sister, Queen Elizabeth I of England under the Act of Supremacy 1559, provided for any person taking public or...
. During this time he had been gradually completing his great work, which was produced by a London publisher in 1691-1692, 2 vols. folio, Athenae Oxonienses: an Exact History of all the Writers and Bishops who have had their Education in the University of Oxford from 1500 to 1690, to which are added the Fasti, or Annals for the said time. Wood contemplated publishing a third volume of the Athenae, printed in the Netherlands. The third appeared subsequently as "a new edition, with additions, and a continuation by Philip Bliss" (1813-1820, 4 vols. 4to). The Ecclesiastical History Society proposed to bring out a fourth edition, which stopped at the Life, ed. by Bliss (1848, 8vo; see Cent. Mag., N.S., xxix. 135, 268). Bliss's interleaved copy is in the Bodleian.
On 29 July 1693 Wood was condemned and fined in the vice-chancellor's court for certain libels against the late Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
. He was punished by being banished from the university until recanting, and the offending pages burnt. The proceedings were printed in a volume of Miscellanies published by Edmund Curll
Edmund Curll
Edmund Curll was an English bookseller and publisher. His name has become synonymous, through the attacks on him by Alexander Pope, with unscrupulous publication and publicity. Curll rose from poverty to wealth through his publishing, and he did this by approaching book printing in a mercenary...
in 1714. Wood was attacked by Bishop Burnet
Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet was a Scottish theologian and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was respected as a cleric, a preacher, and an academic, as well as a writer and historian...
in A letter to the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry (1693), and defended by his nephew Dr Thomas Wood, in a Vindication of the Historiographer, to which is added the Historiographer's Answer (1693), reproduced in the subsequent editions of the Athenae. The nephew also defended his uncle in An Appendix to the Life of Bishop Seth Ward
Seth Ward
Seth Ward may refer to:* Seth Ward, Texas** Jimmy Dean , entertainer, mistakenly identified with the birth name of Seth Ward, which was actually the above town in Texas where he grew up...
, 1697. After a short illness Anthony Wood died, and was buried in the outer chapel of St John Baptist (Merton College), in Oxford, where he had superintended the digging of his own grave only a few days before.
He received no recognition from the university he had worked for his whole life. He never married, and led a life entirely devoted to antiquarian research. He was always suspected of being a Roman Catholic, and invariably treated Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
s and Papists better than Dissenter
Dissenter
The term dissenter , labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.Originally, the term...
s in the Athenae, but he died in communion with 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...
.
Wood's original manuscript (purchased by the Bodleian in 1846) was first published by John Gutch
John Gutch
John Gutch was an Anglican clergyman and official of the University of Oxford. He was also an antiquarian, with a particular interest in the history of the university.-Life:...
as The History and Antiquities of the Colleges and Halls in the University of Oxford, with a continuation (1786-1790, 2 vols. 4to), and The History and Antiquities of the University of Oxford (1792-1796, 3 vols. 410), with a portrait of Wood. To these can be added The Antient and Present State of the City of Oxford, chiefly collected by A. à Wood, with additions by the Rev. Sir J. Peshall (1773, 4to; the text is garbled and the editing very imperfect). The Survey of the Antiquities of the City of Oxford, composed in 1661-66 by Anthony Wood, edited by Andrew Clark, was issued by the Oxford Historical Society
Oxford Historical Society
The Oxford Historical Society is a local history society concerned with the history of the city of Oxford and the surrounding area in the historical county of Oxfordshire in southern England.- History :...
(1889-1899, 3 vols. 8vo). Modius Salium, a Collection of Pieces of Humour was published at Oxford in 1751, 12mo. Some letters between John Aubrey
John Aubrey
John Aubrey FRS, was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the collection of short biographical pieces usually referred to as Brief Lives...
and Wood were published in the Gentleman's Magazine (3rd ser., ix. x. xi.).
Wood bequeathed his library (127 manuscripts and 970 printed books) to the Ashmolean Museum
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
, and the keeper, William Huddesford
William Huddesford
William Huddesford was Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum from 1755 to 1772. Huddesford is credited with reinventing the Museum's reputation.-Life:...
, printed a catalogue of the manuscripts in 1761. In 1858 the whole collection was transferred to the Bodleian, where 25 volumes of Wood's manuscripts had been since 1690. Many of the original papers from which the Athenae was written, as well as several large volumes of Wood's correspondence and all his diaries, are in the Bodleian.
In fiction
A fictionalised version of Anthony Wood is one of four narrators in Iain PearsIain Pears
Iain Pears is an English art historian, novelist and journalist. He was educated at Warwick School, Warwick, Wadham College and Wolfson College, Oxford. Before writing, he worked as a reporter for the BBC, Channel 4 and ZDF and correspondent for Reuters from 1982 to 1990 in Italy, France, UK and...
' 1998 novel An Instance of the Fingerpost
An Instance of the Fingerpost
An Instance of the Fingerpost is a 1997 historical mystery novel by Iain Pears.-Synopsis:A murder in 17th-century Oxford is related from the contradictory points of view of four of the characters, all of them unreliable narrators...
, which is set in the early 1660s.
Intimate details of Wood's life are recorded in his Diaries (1657-1695) and autobiography; all earlier editions were superseded by
- Andrew Clark, The Life and Times of Anthony Wood, Antiquary, of Oxford, 1632-1695, described by himself (Oxford Historical Society, 1891-1900, 5 vols. 8vo).
See also
- Reliquiae Hearnianae, ed. Philip BlissPhilip BlissPhilip Paul Bliss was an American composer, conductor, bass-baritone writer of hymns and a Gospel singer. He wrote many well-known hymns, including Almost Persuaded, Hallelujah, What a Saviour!, Let the Lower Lights Be Burning, Wonderful Words of Life, and the tune for Horatio Spafford's It Is...
(2nd ed., 1869, 3 vols. 12mo) - HearneThomas HearneThomas Hearne or Hearn , English antiquary, was born at Littlefield Green in the parish of White Waltham, Berkshire.-Life:...
, Remarks and Collections (Oxford Historical Society, 1885-1907), vols. i.-viii. - William Dunn Macray, Annals of the Bodleian Library (2nd ed., 1890)
- John NicholsJohn Nichols (printer)John Nichols was an English printer, author and antiquary.-Early life and apprenticeship:He was born in Islington, London to Edward Nichols and Anne Wilmot. On 22 June 1766 he married Anne Cradock daughter of William Cradock...
, Literary Anecdotes, i. iv. v. viii. - Mark Noble, Biographical History of England, i.