Clement Mansfield Ingleby
Encyclopedia
Clement Mansfield Ingleby (29 October 1823 – 26 September 1886) was a Shakespearian
scholar, perhaps best remembered as John Payne Collier
's nemesis.
near Birmingham
, the son of a well-known lawyer. Poor health — he was not expected to live long — kept him from attending school, so he was privately educated at home. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge, when twenty years old, and specialized in mathematics. He received his B.A. in 1847 and his M.A. in 1850. Returning to Birmingham he went to work in his father's law office, and then became a partner in the firm of Ingleby, Wragge, and Ingleby. In spite of his poor health he devoted his spare time to metaphysics, mathematics, and English literature.
In 1850 Ingleby married Sarah Oakes (d. 3 January 1906).
was established, an experiment in continuing adult education. Ingleby took on giving a class in logic and metaphysics at the industrial branch. His methods were novel and the class was successful. A disciple of William Hamilton
, Ingleby focused on the most current views, even obtaining from Hamilton his yet-unpublished improvements. Urged by his students, Ingleby issued Outlines of Theoretical Logic in 1856 as a textbook in the subject. It was his first published volume.
bearing on Elizabethan stage history in general and Shakespeare's life in particular fell under suspicion. Re-examination of several documents showed them to be out-and-out forgeries, forgeries so obvious it was difficult to see how Collier could have been deceived by them. One item of particular interest, the Perkins Folio, had never been examined by anybody besides Collier. It contained many corrections in what appeared to be a 16th century hand that Collier suggested might be based on stage tradition. Ingleby, along with Sir Frederick Madden, who put the resources of the British Museum
on the task, were finally able to examine the Perkins Folio in detail. They discovered—as was the case with others of the forgeries—modern pencil-marks under the supposedly ancient writing. The handwriting of these appeared to be Collier's.
The conclusion was inescapable—Collier himself must have forged these documents. In 1859 Ingleby published a small volume entitled The Shakespeare Fabrications, setting these facts forth dispassionately. (An appendix to this volume dealing with the Ireland Shakespeare forgeries
, however, was later repudiated by the author.) Collier denied the allegations, but Ingleby's A Complete View of the Shakespeare Controversy closed the discussion, and Collier did not reply.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
scholar, perhaps best remembered as John Payne Collier
John Payne Collier
John Payne Collier , English Shakespearian critic and forger, was born in London.-Reporter and solicitor:...
's nemesis.
Early life and education
Clement Ingleby was born at EdgbastonEdgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
near Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, the son of a well-known lawyer. Poor health — he was not expected to live long — kept him from attending school, so he was privately educated at home. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge, when twenty years old, and specialized in mathematics. He received his B.A. in 1847 and his M.A. in 1850. Returning to Birmingham he went to work in his father's law office, and then became a partner in the firm of Ingleby, Wragge, and Ingleby. In spite of his poor health he devoted his spare time to metaphysics, mathematics, and English literature.
In 1850 Ingleby married Sarah Oakes (d. 3 January 1906).
Class in logic
In 1855 the Birmingham and Midland InstituteBirmingham and Midland Institute
The Birmingham and Midland Institute , now on Margaret Street in the city centre of Birmingham, England was a pioneer of adult scientific and technical education and today offers Arts and Science lectures, exhibitions and concerts. It is a registered charity...
was established, an experiment in continuing adult education. Ingleby took on giving a class in logic and metaphysics at the industrial branch. His methods were novel and the class was successful. A disciple of William Hamilton
Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet
Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet was a Scottish metaphysician.-Early life:He was born in Glasgow. He was from an academic family, including Robert Hamilton, the economist...
, Ingleby focused on the most current views, even obtaining from Hamilton his yet-unpublished improvements. Urged by his students, Ingleby issued Outlines of Theoretical Logic in 1856 as a textbook in the subject. It was his first published volume.
Collier Shakespeare controversy
In the 1850s documents discovered by John Payne CollierJohn Payne Collier
John Payne Collier , English Shakespearian critic and forger, was born in London.-Reporter and solicitor:...
bearing on Elizabethan stage history in general and Shakespeare's life in particular fell under suspicion. Re-examination of several documents showed them to be out-and-out forgeries, forgeries so obvious it was difficult to see how Collier could have been deceived by them. One item of particular interest, the Perkins Folio, had never been examined by anybody besides Collier. It contained many corrections in what appeared to be a 16th century hand that Collier suggested might be based on stage tradition. Ingleby, along with Sir Frederick Madden, who put the resources of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
on the task, were finally able to examine the Perkins Folio in detail. They discovered—as was the case with others of the forgeries—modern pencil-marks under the supposedly ancient writing. The handwriting of these appeared to be Collier's.
The conclusion was inescapable—Collier himself must have forged these documents. In 1859 Ingleby published a small volume entitled The Shakespeare Fabrications, setting these facts forth dispassionately. (An appendix to this volume dealing with the Ireland Shakespeare forgeries
Ireland Shakespeare Forgeries
The Ireland Shakespeare forgeries were a cause célèbre in 1790s London, when author and engraver Samuel Ireland announced the discovery of a treasure-trove of Shakespearean manuscripts by his son William Henry Ireland. Among them were the manuscripts of four plays, two of them previously unknown...
, however, was later repudiated by the author.) Collier denied the allegations, but Ingleby's A Complete View of the Shakespeare Controversy closed the discussion, and Collier did not reply.
Move to London
Ingleby abandoned law for literature in 1859, and removed from Birmingham to the neighbourhood of London. His early works were of a philosophical nature (his Introduction to Metaphysics in two parts came out in 1864 and 1869), but he is best known as the author of a long series of works on Shakespearian subjects. In 1874 appeared The Still Lion, enlarged in 1875 as Shakespeare Hermeneutics. This warned against needless emendation of Shakespeare's text and explained some alleged problems. In 1875 Shakespeare's Centurie of Prayse came out, a definitive collection of allusions to Shakespeare and his works between 1592 and 1692. Other contributions include Shakespeare: the Man and the Book (a collection of essays in two volumes, 1877 and 1881), Shakespeare's Bones (1882), and Shakespeare and the Enclosure of the Common Fields at Welcombe (1885).Other Interests
Ingleby was also a musician (he sang Shakespearean songs as part of the 1864 tercentenary celebration of Shakespeare's birth in Birmingham), a chess enthusiast who contributed problems to Chess Player's Chronicle and the Illustrated London News, and a member of the Athenæum Club. At various times he was Secretary of the Birmingham and Edgbaston Chess Club and a Vice-President of the Royal Society of Literature.Death
Ill-health had plagued him throughout his life, and in 1886 he became seriously ill. His edition of Cymbeline had just come out when he died on 26 September 1886.Character
Ingleby took a dark view of his own character: "I am morally weak in many respects," he wrote. "In some matters I have been systematically deceptive, and occasionally cowardly and treacherous. I am passionately fond of personal beauty; but on the whole, I dislike my kind, and my natural affections are weak" Horace Howard Furness, however, wrote of him:Some Works
- Outlines of Theoretical Logic: Founded on the New Analytic of Sir William Hamilton, Cambridge, 1856.
- The Shakespeare Fabrications, London, 1859.
- A Complete View of the Shakspere Controversy, London, 1861.
- Was Thomas Lodge an Actor?, London, 1868.
- Reflections Historical and Critical on the Revival of Philosophy at Cambridge, 1870.
- Shakespeare's Centurie of Prayse: Being Materials for a History of Opinion on Shakespeare and His Works, London, 1874; 2nd edition, 1879.
- Shakespeare Hermeneutics; Or, The Still Lion: Being an Essay Towards the Restoration of Shakespeare's Text, London, 1875.
- Shakespeare: The Man and the Book: Being a Collection of Occasional Papers on the Bard and His Writings; Part the First, London, 1877.
- Occasional Papers on Shakespeare, Being the Second Part of Shakespeare: The Man and the Book, London, 1881.
- Shakespeare's Bones: The Proposal to Disinter Them, Considered in Relation to their Possible Bearing on His Portraiture, London, 1883.
External links
- Clement Mansfield Ingleby Material at The National Archives of the United Kingdom
- Books by Clement Mansfield Ingleby at Google