John Morris (1595–1648) was an academic,

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

and the Regius Professor of Hebrew at 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 ...

from 1626. Born in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, Morris took his B.A. at

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 uniq ...

in 1613, gaining his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1615, a B.D. in 1626 before being awarded a

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

in 1634. He was chaplain of

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of ...

in Oxford,

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of Christ Church, Oxford from 1634 to 1648, and Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford in 1626. Morris was Rector of

Sarsden Sarsden is a village and civil parish about south of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The 2001 Census recorded the parish population as 83. Since 2012 Sarsden has been part of the Churchill and Sarsden joint parish council area, sharing a pari ...

in Oxfordshire 1628, and vicar of St Mary's Church in Pyrton in Oxfordshire 1635. In his will Morris left investments sufficient to allow for £5 to be paid annually in perpetuity to

and to

with instructions that oriental books should be purchased for their respective libraries, stating that if either establishment failed to spend the money in time it was to be given to the other. Morris’s own collection of books are located in numerous libraries, including the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

Lambeth Palace Library Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the oppos ...

and the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

. The exact size of his library and how it came to be dispersed after his death is not known. His will contained no specific mention of his books, while all his personal estate was endowed to his wife Mary with smaller bequests to his sisters, nephews, nieces and goddaughter. In 1635 he married Mary ''née'' Dayrell (1614-1681) at

Sunningwell Sunningwell is a village and civil parish about south of Oxford, England. The parish includes the village of Bayworth and the eastern part of Boars Hill. The parish was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxf ...

, which at that time was in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

. With her he had three sons: John Morris (1635-1682); Guy Morris (1635-), and Richard Morris (1640-). After his death he was mentioned in a letter of 1648 written by John Donne the Younger, who was petitioning for Morris's place as Canon of Christ Church, Oxford.Transcript of Folger V.b.201, petition of John Donne Junior, 1648

Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, John 1595 births 1648 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Doctors of Divinity 17th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford Christian Hebraists Regius Professors of Hebrew (University of Oxford)