Joseph Ritson (2 October 1752 - 23 September 1803), was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
antiquary.
He was born at
Stockton-on-TeesStockton-on-Tees is a market town in North East England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority area and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
, of a
WestmorlandWestmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England...
yeomanYeoman refers to a farmer who cultivates his own land, historically a lesser freeholder of England, below the gentry but with political rights. More generally, yeoman can be an indicator of a position or social class, varying over time and place, or a diligent, dependable worker. A yeoman could...
family. He was educated for the law, and settled in London as a conveyancer at the age of twenty-two. He devoted his spare time to literature, and in 1782 published an attack on
Thomas WartonThomas Warton was an English literary historian and critic, as well as a poet. From 1785 through 1790 he was the Poet Laureate of England.-Life:...
's
History of English Poetry. The tone of his
Observations, in which Warton was treated as a pretender, charged with cheating and lying to cover his ignorance, caused a sensation in literary circles.
In nearly all the small points with which he dealt, Ritson was in the right, and his corrections have since been adopted, but the unjustly bitter language of his criticisms roused great anger at the time, much, it would appear, to Ritsons delight.
Joseph Ritson (2 October 1752 - 23 September 1803), was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
antiquary.
He was born at
Stockton-on-TeesStockton-on-Tees is a market town in North East England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority area and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
, of a
WestmorlandWestmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England...
yeomanYeoman refers to a farmer who cultivates his own land, historically a lesser freeholder of England, below the gentry but with political rights. More generally, yeoman can be an indicator of a position or social class, varying over time and place, or a diligent, dependable worker. A yeoman could...
family. He was educated for the law, and settled in London as a conveyancer at the age of twenty-two. He devoted his spare time to literature, and in 1782 published an attack on
Thomas WartonThomas Warton was an English literary historian and critic, as well as a poet. From 1785 through 1790 he was the Poet Laureate of England.-Life:...
's
History of English Poetry. The tone of his
Observations, in which Warton was treated as a pretender, charged with cheating and lying to cover his ignorance, caused a sensation in literary circles.
In nearly all the small points with which he dealt, Ritson was in the right, and his corrections have since been adopted, but the unjustly bitter language of his criticisms roused great anger at the time, much, it would appear, to Ritsons delight. In 1783
Samuel JohnsonSamuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, novelist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. Johnson was a devout Anglican and political conservative, and has been...
and
George SteevensGeorge Steevens , was an English Shakespearean commentator.He was born at Poplar, the son of a captain and later director of the East India Company. He was educated at Eton College and at King's College, Cambridge, where he remained from 1753 to 1756...
were attacked in the same bitter fashion as Warton for their text of
ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. Bishop Percy was next subjected to a furious onslaught in the preface to a collection of
Ancient Songs (printed 1787, dated 1790, published 1792).
Ritson spared no pains himself to ensure accuracy in the texts of old songs,
balladA ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative and set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later North America, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s and metrical romances which he edited. His collection of the
Robin HoodRobin Hood is a hero in English folklore, a highly-skilled archer and outlaw. In particular, he is known for "stealing from the rich and giving to the poor," assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men"...
ballads is perhaps his greatest single achievement. Sir
Walter ScottSir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a prolific Scottish historical novelist and poet, popular throughout Europe during his time....
, who admired his industry and accuracy. in spite of his temper, was almost the only man who could get on with him. On one occasion, when he called in Scott's absence, he spoke so rudely to his wife that he was threatened with being thrown out of the window.
SpellingSpelling is the writing of a word or words with the necessary letters and diacritics present in an accepted standard order. It is one of the elements of orthography and a prescriptive element of alphabetic languages...
was one of his eccentricities, his own name being an example: Ritson is short for Richardson. As early as 1796, Ritson showed signs of mental collapse, and on 10 September 1803 he became completely insane, barricaded himself in his chambers at
Gray's InnThe Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known simply as Gray's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
, made a bonfire of manuscripts, and was finally forcibly removed to
HoxtonHoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. The area of Hoxton is bordered by Regents Canal on the north side, Wharf Road and City Road on the west, Old Street on the south, and Kingsland Road on the east.-Origins:'Hogesdon'...
, where he died.
Other reading
- Burd, Henry A., Joseph Ritson: A Critical Biography, Illinois, 1916, (BiblioBazaar, 2008) ISBN 0554584492
- Morton, Timothy, Marilyn Butler, and James Chandler. Shelley and the Revolution in Taste : The Body and the Natural World. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1995.
- Stuart, Tristram, The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History of Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern Times, W. W. Norton & Co., 2007, ISBN 0393052206
- Williams, Howard, The Ethics of Diet: A Catena of Authorities Deprecatory of the Practice of Flesh-Eating, University of Illinois Press, 2003, ISBN 0252071301