John Jamieson (3 March 1759 – 12 July 1838) was a Scottish
minister of religion
In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidanc ...
,
lexicographer
Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries.
* Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries.
* Theoreti ...
,
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
and
antiquary
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
. His most important work is the ''Dictionary of the Scottish Language''.
Life
He was born in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
in March 1759 the son of Rev John Jamieson, minister of the
Associate Congregation on Duke Street. He was educated at
Glasgow Grammar School
The High School of Glasgow is an independent, co-educational day school in Glasgow, Scotland. The original High School of Glasgow was founded as the choir school of Glasgow Cathedral in around 1124, and is the oldest school in Scotland, and t ...
.
He was educated at the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
1768 to 1771, and subsequently attended classes at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, 1775–6.
After six years' theological study, Jamieson was licensed to preach in 1781 and became
pastor
A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
of an
Anti-burgher
The Anti-Burghers were opponents of the Burgher Oath on theological grounds.
History First Secession
In 1733 the First Secession from the Church of Scotland resulted in the creation of the "Associate Presbytery". This church split in 1747 ove ...
congregation in
Forfar
Forfar ( sco, Farfar, gd, Baile Fharfair) is the county town of Angus, Scotland and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town has a p ...
,
Angus
Angus may refer to:
Media
* ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film
* ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record''
Places Australia
* Angus, New South Wales
Canada
* Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario
* East Angus, Quebec
Scotland
* An ...
. He was 23 years old at the time and was ordained on 23 August 1780 and the following August being involved in a "romantic, moonlit marriage". In 1797 he was called to the
Anti-burgher church in Nicolson Street,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, being inducted on 30 May 1797. The union of the
Burgher
Burgher may refer to:
* Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn
** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain
** Grand Bu ...
and
Anti-Burgher
The Anti-Burghers were opponents of the Burgher Oath on theological grounds.
History First Secession
In 1733 the First Secession from the Church of Scotland resulted in the creation of the "Associate Presbytery". This church split in 1747 ove ...
"New Licht" churches to form the
United Secession Church
The United Secession Church (or properly the United Associate Synod of the Secession Church) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination.
The First Secession from the established Church of Scotland had been in 1732, and the resultant "Associate Pre ...
in 1820 was largely due to his exertions.
He retired from the ministry in 1830, spending the rest of his life in Edinburgh. In the 1830s he is listed as living at 4 George Square on the south side of the city.
Jamieson was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
in 1803. His proposers were
James Bonar,
Alexander Fraser Tytler, and
William Moodie
William Moodie or Mudie FRSE (1759–1812) was a Scottish Minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1799. He was also a philologist, and Professor of Hebrew (and Oriental Languages) at Edinburgh Unive ...
.
He was also a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland.
The usua ...
. He was elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
in 1816.
He died at home, 4 George Square in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
on 12 July 1838 and is buried in
St Cuthbert's churchyard. He was buried with his son Robert (who pre-deceased him) in a large and elaborate grave in the southern section. His inscription is on the rear of the monument.
Works
Jamieson's major work, the ''Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language'' appeared in 2 vols. in 1808. A meeting the Danish scholar
Grim Thorkelin had suggested this work, and, working with
Thomas Ruddiman
Thomas Ruddiman (October 167419 January 1757) was a Scottish classical scholar.
Life
He was born on a farm near Boyndie, three miles from Banff in Banffshire, where his father was a farmer.
He was educated locally, then studied at the Univer ...
's glossary to
Gavin Douglas
Gavin Douglas (c. 1474 – September 1522) was a Scottish bishop, makar and translator. Although he had an important political career, he is chiefly remembered for his poetry. His main pioneering achievement was the ''Eneados'', a full and fai ...
's version of the ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
'', Jamieson completed the work almost alone. He prepared an abridgment in 1818 (reissued in 1846 with a memoir by John Johnstone), and aided by numerous others, he added two supplementary volumes in 1825. The work drew on folklore and provincialisms. The introductory antiquarian dissertation supported a theory on the
Pictish
Pictish is the extinct language, extinct Brittonic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited num ...
influence on the
Scots language
Scots ( endonym: ''Scots''; gd, Albais, ) is an Anglic language variety in the West Germanic language family, spoken in Scotland and parts of Ulster in the north of Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots). Most commonly ...
. A revised edition by
John Longmuir and David Donaldson was issued in 1879–87. These volumes remained the standard reference work for the Scots language until the publication of the ''
Scottish National Dictionary
The ''Scottish National Dictionary'' (''SND'') was published by the Scottish National Dictionary Association (SNDA) from 1931 to 1976 and documents the Modern (Lowland) Scots language. The original editor, William Grant, was the driving force b ...
'' in 1931.
Jamieson's other works included:
* ''Socinianism Unmasked'', 1786.
* ''The Sorrows of Slavery'', 1789.
* ''Sermons on the Heart'', 2 vols., 1791. Around the same time he authored a pamphlet on the
African slave trade
Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the Ancient history, ancient world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade ...
entitled, ''The Sorrows of Slavery''.
* ''Congal and Fenella, a Metrical Tale'', 1791.
* ''Vindication of the Doctrine of Scripture'', in reply to
Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...
's ''History of Early Opinions'', 2 vols., 1795.
* ''A Poem on Eternity'', 1798.
* ''Remarks on Rowland Hill's Journal'', 1799.
* ''The Use of Sacred History'', 1802.
* ''Important Trial in the Court of Conscience'', 1806.
''Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language'' 2 vols 1808.
''A Treatise on the Ancient Culdees of Iona''also retitled ''A History of the Culdees'', 1811, published, through
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
's support, by Ballantyne.
''Hermes Scythicus'' 1814, expounding affinities between the Gothic and the classical tongues.
* ''Supplement to the Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language'', 2 vols 1825.
* ''Views of the Royal Palaces of Scotland'' (1828) published posthumously
Jamieson wrote on other themes: rhetoric, cremation, and the royal palaces of Scotland, besides publishing occasional sermons. In 1820 he issued edited versions of
John Barbour John Barbour may refer to:
* John Barbour (poet) (1316–1395), Scottish poet
* John Barbour (MP for New Shoreham), MP for New Shoreham 1368-1382
* John Barbour (footballer) (1890–1916), Scottish footballer
* John S. Barbour (1790–1855), U. ...
's ''Bruce'' and
Blind Harry
Blind Harry ( 1440 – 1492), also known as Harry, Hary or Henry the Minstrel, is renowned as the author of ''The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace'', more commonly known as '' The Wallace''. This wa ...
's ''Wallace''. Posthumous was ''Dissertations on the Reality of the Spirit's Influence'' (1844).
Family
In 1781, Jamieson married Charlotte Watson (died 1837), daughter of Robert Watson, Esq., of
Easter Rhind,
Perthshire
Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...
, and had seventeen children, of whom only two daughters and one son survived. His son, Robert Jameson (died 1834) advocate, became a distinguished member of the
Faculty of Advocates
The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constitu ...
. His daughter Margaret Robina married Donald Mackenzie of the
21st Fusiliers and was mother of
Donald Mackenzie, Lord Mackenzie
The Hon. Donald Mackenzie, Lord Mackenzie FRSE (22 June 1818 – 19 May 1875) was a Scottish lawyer who served as a Senator of the College of Justice in Edinburgh.
Early life
Donald Mackenzie was born 22 June 1818, the only son of Margare ...
.
References
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External links
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Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language OnlineJamieson's Dictionary of ScotsJohn Jamieson at Boswell's Scottish Dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jamieson, John
1759 births
1838 deaths
18th-century Presbyterian ministers
19th-century Presbyterian ministers
19th-century philologists
Writers from Glasgow
People educated at the High School of Glasgow
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Princeton University alumni
Doctors of Divinity
Etymologists
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
British historians of religion
Scottish antiquarians
19th-century Scottish historians
Scots language
Scottish lexicographers
Scottish philologists
Members of the American Antiquarian Society
18th-century Scottish historians
Clergy from Glasgow
Ministers of Secession Churches in Scotland