David Wilkins (orientalist)
Encyclopedia
David Wilkins originally named Wilke or Wilkius, was a Prussia
n orientalist
, born in Memel
, who settled in England. His 1716 publication of the Coptic New Testament was the editio princeps
.
in 1724, having been created D.D. in October 1717. He was supported by William Wake
, Archbishop of Canterbury
, who gave him employment.
Besides Arabic he was versed in Hebrew, Chaldaic, Coptic, Armenian, and Anglo-Saxon (with a certain want of accuracy). Wilkins was ordained in the church of England, and Wake made him in 1715 librarian at Lambeth Palace
, and rector of Mongeham Parva (30 April 1716) and Great Chart
(12 September 1719). He resigned both rectories on his collation in November 1719 to the rectories of Hadleigh and Monks Eleigh
, Suffolk
, and the place of joint commissary of the archiepiscopal deanery of Bocking
, Essex
.
In the same year he was appointed domestic chaplain to the Archbishop.
In 1720 he was appointed Canon of the 12th prebend at Canterbury Cathedral.
He became archdeacon of Suffolk (19 December 1724). On 13 January 1720 he was elected F.S.A.
Wilkins died at Hadleigh on 6 September 1745. His remains were interred in the chancel of Hadleigh church. He married on 15 November 1725, Margaret, eldest daughter of Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
, of Leeds Castle
, Kent
, by whom he left no issue. She died on 21 May 1750. Her brother Robert (afterwards seventh Lord Fairfax) is supposed to have purchased the greater part of Wilkins's manuscripts. The printed books were dispersed.
's catalogue, and also compiled a separate catalogue of the manuscripts. He contributed the Latin prefaces to John Chamberlayne's polyglot edition of the Lord's Prayer
, and Thomas Tanner
's Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica. He edited the following works:
His sole English publication seems to have been a 'Sermon preached at the Consecration of Thomas [Bowers], Lord Bishop of Chichester,' London, 1722, 4to. He left in manuscript an 'Historical Account of the Church of Hadleigh,' which passed into the possession of his successor in the living, Dr. Tanner, and an 'Historia Ecclesiae Alexandrinae.'
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
, born in Memel
Klaipeda
Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....
, who settled in England. His 1716 publication of the Coptic New Testament was the editio princeps
Editio princeps
In classical scholarship, editio princeps is a term of art. It means, roughly, the first printed edition of a work that previously had existed only in manuscripts, which could be circulated only after being copied by hand....
.
Life
He led for some years the life of a migratory student, visiting Berlin, Rome, Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam, Oxford, and Cambridge. Oxford denied him the M. A. degree (23 May 1712); but he became Lord Almoner's Professor of Arabic at the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1724, having been created D.D. in October 1717. He was supported by William Wake
William Wake
William Wake was a priest in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 until his death in 1737.-Life:...
, Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, who gave him employment.
Besides Arabic he was versed in Hebrew, Chaldaic, Coptic, Armenian, and Anglo-Saxon (with a certain want of accuracy). Wilkins was ordained in the church of England, and Wake made him in 1715 librarian at Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. It is located in Lambeth, on the south bank of the River Thames a short distance upstream of the Palace of Westminster on the opposite shore. It was acquired by the archbishopric around 1200...
, and rector of Mongeham Parva (30 April 1716) and Great Chart
Great Chart
Great Chart is a village in civil parish of Great Chart with Singleton in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The parish is split between the ancient village of Great Chart and the modern Singleton housing development, which is part of the western outskirts of Ashford...
(12 September 1719). He resigned both rectories on his collation in November 1719 to the rectories of Hadleigh and Monks Eleigh
Monks Eleigh
Monks Eleigh is a village and a civil parish in Babergh, Suffolk, United Kingdom, situated on the tributary to the River Brett in a rural area. The parish church, St. Peter, has a 15th century tower which can be seen from the surrounding countryside. Some houses round the village green date back to...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, and the place of joint commissary of the archiepiscopal deanery of Bocking
Bocking
Bocking can refer to:*Bocking, a village near Braintree, Essex*Bocking 14, a cultivated strain of the plant Comfrey*Powerbocking, the use of powered stilts patented by Alexander Böck...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
In the same year he was appointed domestic chaplain to the Archbishop.
In 1720 he was appointed Canon of the 12th prebend at Canterbury Cathedral.
He became archdeacon of Suffolk (19 December 1724). On 13 January 1720 he was elected F.S.A.
Wilkins died at Hadleigh on 6 September 1745. His remains were interred in the chancel of Hadleigh church. He married on 15 November 1725, Margaret, eldest daughter of Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron was the great-grandson of Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron. His father was Henry Fairfax, 4th Lord Fairfax of Cameron and his mother was Francis Barwick...
, of Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle, southeast of Maidstone, Kent, England, dates back to 1119, though a Saxon fort stood on the same site from the 9th century. The castle is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, by whom he left no issue. She died on 21 May 1750. Her brother Robert (afterwards seventh Lord Fairfax) is supposed to have purchased the greater part of Wilkins's manuscripts. The printed books were dispersed.
Works
Wilkins was librarian at Lambeth for little more than three years; but during that time he improved and completed Edmund GibsonEdmund 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...
's catalogue, and also compiled a separate catalogue of the manuscripts. He contributed the Latin prefaces to John Chamberlayne's polyglot edition of the Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
, and Thomas Tanner
Thomas Tanner (bishop)
Thomas Tanner was an English antiquary and prelate.-Life:He was born at Market Lavington in Wiltshire, and was educated at Queen's College, Oxford, taking holy orders in 1694...
's Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica. He edited the following works:
- (1) 'Paraphrasis Chaldaica in Librum Chronicorum,' Amsterdam, 1715; 'Novum Testamentum Aegyptium, vulgo Copticum,' Oxford, 1710; 'Leges Anglo-Saxonicae Ecclesiasticae et Civiles; accedunt Leges Edvardi Latinae, Gulielmi Conquestoris Gallo-Normannicae, et Henrici I Latinae. Subjungitur Domini Henrici Spelmanni Codex Veterum Statutorum Regni Angliae quae ab ingressu Gulielmi I usque ad annum nonum Henrici III edita sunt. Toti operi praemittitur Dissertatio Epistolaris G. Nicoleoni de Jure Feudali Veterum Saxonum,' London, 1721;
- (2) 'Johannis Seldeni Jurisconsulti Opera omnia tam edita quam inedita,' London, 1725, 1726, 3 vols., the works of John SeldenJohn SeldenJohn Selden was an English jurist and a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law...
; - (3) 'Quinque Libri Moysis Prophetae in Lingua Aegyptis,' London, 1731 (Bohairic Pentateuch);
- (4) 'Concilia Magnae Britannia et Hiberniae a Synodo Verolamiensi A.D. 446 ad Londinensem A.D. 1717; accedunt Constitutiones et alia ad Historiam Ecclesiae Anglicanae spectantia,' London, 1737, 4 vols.
His sole English publication seems to have been a 'Sermon preached at the Consecration of Thomas [Bowers], Lord Bishop of Chichester,' London, 1722, 4to. He left in manuscript an 'Historical Account of the Church of Hadleigh,' which passed into the possession of his successor in the living, Dr. Tanner, and an 'Historia Ecclesiae Alexandrinae.'