George Lily
Encyclopedia
George Lily was an English Roman Catholic priest, biographer and topographer.
), and he became a commoner of Magdalen College, Oxford
, in 1528. Leaving the university without a degree he travelled to Rome, where he found a patron in Cardinal Pole, and became noted for his erudition. After his return to England he was collated to the prebend of Kentish Town or Cantlers, in St. Paul's Cathedral, on 22 November 1556. Cardinal Pole, to whom he was domestic chaplain, collated him on 13 March 1558 to a canonry in the first prebend of Canterbury Cathedral
. He died in 1559 before 29 July, and it is supposed that he was buried near the body of his father in St. Paul's churchyard.
Lily is also credited with ‘Catalogus sive Series Pontificorum et Cæsarum Romanorum,’ and a ‘Life of John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester’. John Bale
mentions ‘De vitâ, moribus, et fine Thomæ Cranmeri,’ by Lily, in his manuscript notes to the ‘Scriptores Majoris Britanniæ’.
Lily drew the first map of the British Isles
(at a reasonably detailed scale) to be printed. It was engraved on two plates and published in Rome in 1546, and was almost certainly intended as a companion-piece to Jovius's Descriptio Britanniæ. It is recognisably a relation of the 14th-century Gough Map
, although the orientation has been reversed (West is at the top of the sheet), and many minor improvements have been made. The Scottish
coastline, in particular, is considerably more accurate than that on the Gough Map, but Lily's sources for this are not known.
Attribution
Life
Son of William Lily the grammarian, by Agnes his wife, he was a native of London. He may have attended St Paul's School (of which his father was High MasterHigh Master
High Master may refer to:* The Hochmeister or Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights* The heads of St Paul's School and Manchester Grammar School...
), and he became a commoner of Magdalen College, Oxford
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...
, in 1528. Leaving the university without a degree he travelled to Rome, where he found a patron in Cardinal Pole, and became noted for his erudition. After his return to England he was collated to the prebend of Kentish Town or Cantlers, in St. Paul's Cathedral, on 22 November 1556. Cardinal Pole, to whom he was domestic chaplain, collated him on 13 March 1558 to a canonry in the first prebend of Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
. He died in 1559 before 29 July, and it is supposed that he was buried near the body of his father in St. Paul's churchyard.
Works
Lily wrote:- ‘Virorum aliquot in Britannia, qui nostro seculo eruditione, et doctrina clari, memorabilesque fuerunt, Elogia, per Georgium Lilium Britannum, exarata.’ Dedicated to Paul Jovius, bishop of Nocera, and printed in his Descriptio Britanniæ, Scotiæ, Hyberniæ, et Orchadum, Venice, 1548, together with other contributions by Lily, viz.: ‘Nova et Antiqua Locorum Nomina in Anglia et in Scotia’; ‘Anglorum Regum Chronices Epitome,’ down to the year 1547, (reprinted, Frankfort, 1565, with continuation to the accession of Elizabeth in 1558–9; Basle, 1577, &c.; Frankfort, 1614; also in vol. i. of Polydore VergilPolydore VergilPolydore Vergil was an Italian historian, otherwise known as PV Castellensis. He is better known as the contemporary historian during the early Tudor dynasty. He was hired by King Henry VIII of England, who wanted to distance himself from his father Henry VII as much as possible, to document...
's ‘Historia Anglica,’ Douay, 1603); ‘Lancastriæ et Eboracensis de regno contentiones’; ‘Regum Angliæ Genealogia’.
Lily is also credited with ‘Catalogus sive Series Pontificorum et Cæsarum Romanorum,’ and a ‘Life of John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester’. John Bale
John Bale
John Bale was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English , and developed and published a very extensive list of the works of British authors down to his own time, just as the monastic libraries were being...
mentions ‘De vitâ, moribus, et fine Thomæ Cranmeri,’ by Lily, in his manuscript notes to the ‘Scriptores Majoris Britanniæ’.
Lily drew the first map of the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
(at a reasonably detailed scale) to be printed. It was engraved on two plates and published in Rome in 1546, and was almost certainly intended as a companion-piece to Jovius's Descriptio Britanniæ. It is recognisably a relation of the 14th-century Gough Map
Gough Map
The Gough Map or Bodleian Map is a map of the island of Great Britain, dating between 1355 and 1366, and is the oldest surviving route map of Great Britain. Its precise date of production and authorship are unknown. It is named after Richard Gough, who donated the map to the Bodleian Library in 1809...
, although the orientation has been reversed (West is at the top of the sheet), and many minor improvements have been made. The Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
coastline, in particular, is considerably more accurate than that on the Gough Map, but Lily's sources for this are not known.
External links
Attribution