NicholasMonck AndTheRawlinsonFamily ByJosephNutting NPGLondon

Christopher Rawlinson (1677–1733) of Carke Hall in Cartmell, Lancashire, was an English antiquary.

Origins

He was born on 13 June 1677 at Springfield in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, the second son of Curwen Rawlinson of Carke Hall in Cartmell, Lancashire, a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Lancaster in 1688, by his wife Elizabeth Monck, a daughter and co-heiress of Nicholas Monck, Bishop of Hereford, a younger brother of George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (1608–1670) KG.

Career

He matriculated at

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

, on 14 June 1695. He inherited his father's estates. In 1723 he erected to the memory of his grandfather Nicholas Monck, Bishop of Hereford, a pyramidical monument in black and white marble in St. Edmund's Chapel, Westminster Abbey.

Works

He devoted himself to

Anglo-Saxon studies Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom of ...

and in 1698 published (with assistance from

Edward Thwaites Edward Thwaites (Thwaytes) (baptised 1661–1711) was an English scholar of the Anglo-Saxon language. According to David C. Douglas he was "one of the most inspiring teachers which Oxford has ever produced". Life Thwaites was the son of William ...

), the Saxon text of the ''

Consolation of Philosophy ''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' ('' la, De consolatione philosophiae'')'','' often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation,'' is a philosophical work by the Roman statesman Boethius. Written in 523 while he ...

'' by

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...

, from a transcript at Oxford made by

Francis Junius Franciscus Junius may refer to: * Franciscus Junius (the elder) (1545–1602), theologian and Hebrew scholar * Franciscus Junius (the younger) Franciscus Junius (29 January 1591 – 1677), also known as François du Jon, was a pioneer of Germanic ...

. It was printed with the Junian font. Rawlinson had made valuable collections for the history of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, Westmoreland, and Cumberland, all of which have probably perished. The antiquary Sir Daniel Fleming had, however, copied extracts from the part relating to Westmoreland, which were deposited in the collection of manuscripts at Rydal Hall, and were used in about 1777 by

Richard Burn Richard Burn (1709 – 12 November 1785) was an English legal writer. Education and career Burn was born in Winton, Kirkby Stephen, Westmorland. He matriculated at The Queen's College, Oxford in 1729. He was not awarded his B.A. until 1735, t ...

and Joseph Nicolson for their work ''Westmoreland and Cumberland''.

Death, burial & legacy

He died unmarried and intestate on 8 January 1733 in Holborn Row, London and was buried in the abbey church of St Albans, Hertfordshire. His portrait, engraved by

Joseph Nutting Joseph Nutting (1660–1722) was an English engraver, working in London. He is known for his portraits, often used as book frontispiece A frontispiece in books is a decorative or informative illustration facing a book's title page—on the left ...

, with those of other members of his family, is in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. His estates passed to his cousins, the issue of his father's sisters Anne and Katherine. Following his death the furniture of Carke Hall was sold by auction and his manuscripts were at the same time sold for a few pennies in bundles to the villagers.

References

* * ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Rawlinson, Christopher 1677 births 1733 deaths English antiquarians Burials at St Albans Cathedral People from Cartmel People from the City of Chelmsford