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Henry Aldrich (15 January 1648 – 14 December 1710) was an English theologian, philosopher, and composer.
Henry Aldrich was a man of unusually varied gifts. A
Life
Aldrich was educated atWestminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
under Dr Richard Busby. In 1662, he entered Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
, and in 1689 was made Dean
Dean may refer to:
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* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
in succession to the Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
John Massey, who had fled to the Continent
A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...
. In 1692, he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
until 1695. In 1702, he was appointed Rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of Wem in Shropshire, but continued to reside at Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, where he died on 14 December 1710. He was buried in Christ Church Cathedral without any memorial, at his own request.
Works
Henry Aldrich was a man of unusually varied gifts. A classical scholar
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
of fair merits, he is best known as the author of a little book on logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...
(''Artis Logicæ Compendium''). Although not innovative in the field of Logic itself (it closely follows Peter of Spain
__NOTOC__
Peter of Hispania ( la, Petrus Hispanus; Portuguese and es, Pedro Hispano; century) was the author of the ', later known as the ', an important medieval university textbook on Aristotelian logic. As the Latin ''Hispania'' was consider ...
's ''Summulae Logicales''), its insistent use by generations of Oxford students has shown it to be of great synthetic and didactic value: the Compendium continued to be read at Oxford (in Mansel's revised edition) till long past the middle of the 19th century.
Aldrich also composed a number of anthems and church services of high merit, and adapted much of the music of Palestrina
Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pren ...
and Carissimi
(Gian) Giacomo Carissimi (; baptized 18 April 160512 January 1674) was an Italian composer and music teacher. He is one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque or, more accurately, the Roman School of music. Carissimi established the c ...
to English words with great skill and judgment. To him we owe the well-known catch, "Hark, the bonny Christ Church bells."
Evidence of his skill as an architect may be seen in the church and campanile
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
of All Saints Church, Oxford
All Saints Church is a former church on the north side of the High Street in central Oxford, England, on the corner of Turl Street. It is now the library of Lincoln College. This former church is Grade I listed.
History
The original All Saints ...
, and in three sides of the so-called Peckwater Quadrangle
The Peckwater Quadrangle (known as "Peck" to students) is one of the quadrangles of Christ Church, Oxford, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
Christ Church Library is on the south side of the quad. To the southeast is Canterbury Quad ...
of Christ Church, which were erected after his designs. He bore a great reputation for conviviality', and wrote a humorous Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
version of the popular ballad ''A soldier and a sailor, A tinker and a tailor'', etc.
Another specimen of his wit is furnished by the following epigram of the five reasons for drinking:
:If on my theme I rightly think,
:There are five reasons why men drink:—
:Good wine; a friend; because I'm dry;
:Or lest I should be by and by;
:Or — any other reason why.
This epigram is a translation of the following Latin dictum attributed by the Menagiana to Jacques Sirmond
Jacques Sirmond (12 or 22 October 1559 – 7 October 1651) was a French scholar and Jesuit.
Simond was born at Riom, Auvergne. He was educated at the Jesuit College of Billom; having been a novice at Verdun and then at Pont-Mousson, he ent ...
:
:''Si bene quid memini, causae sunt quinque bibendi;''
:''Hospitis adventus, praesens sitis atque futura,''
:''Aut vini bonitas, aut quaelibet altera causa.''
Aldrich had a large personal library of ca. 3000 books, 8000 pieces of music, and 2000 engravings which he bequeathed to Christ Church upon his death. His engravings constitute one of the earliest surviving English collections in this field.
References
Sources
*External links
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldrich, Henry 1647 births 1710 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English Christian theologians English composers English logicians 17th-century English architects Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford Deans of Christ Church, Oxford Vice-Chancellors of the University of Oxford Burials at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford English philosophers English male poets