Nathaniel Wanley (1634 – 1680) was an English clergyman and writer, known for ''The Wonders of the Little World''.
Life
He was born at
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
in 1634, and baptised on 27 March. His father was a mercer. He was educated at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
, and graduated B.A. in 1653, M.A. in 1657.
His first preferment was as rector of
Beeby
Beeby is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England, with a population of 115 according to the 2011 census. It is situated north-east of Leicester, nearer to the villages of Keyham, Lei ...
,
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
. On the resignation of
John Bryan, the nonconformist vicar of
Trinity Church, Coventry, Wanley was instituted his successor on 28 October 1662.
Wanley kept in touch with the prevailing Puritanism of
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
. With Bryan, who attended his services though ministering also to a nonconformist congregation, he was intimate, and on Bryan's death in 1676 he preached his funeral sermon of warm appreciation. It was published posthumously, with the title ‘Peace and Rest for the Upright,’ 1681.
Wanley died in 1680; he was succeeded by Samuel Barton on 22 December. Wanley gave or bequeathed to the
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
library at Coventry a copy of the ''
Imitatio Christi'', described as ‘Ecclesiastical Music, written on Parchment, about the time of King
Edward IV
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
.’
Works
His first publication, ‘Vox Dei, or the Great Duty of Self-reflection upon a Man's own Wayes,’ 1658, was dedicated to
Dorothy Spencer, Countess of Sunderland
Dorothy Spencer ('' née'' Sidney; later Smythe), Countess of Sunderland (5 October 1617 (baptised) – 5 February 1684), was the wife of Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland, and the daughter of Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, and Lady ...
. He published ‘War and Peace Reconciled … two books,’ 1670 and 1672, a translation from the Latin of
Justus Lipsius
Justus Lipsius (Joest Lips or Joost Lips; 18 October 1547 – 23 March 1606) was a Flemish Catholic philologist, philosopher, and humanist. Lipsius wrote a series of works designed to revive ancient Stoicism in a form that would be compatible w ...
.
Wanley's major work is ‘The Wonders of the Little World; or a General History of Man. In Six Books,’ 1678, dedicated (17 June 1677) to
Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet
Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet (27 January 1603 – 2 January 1685) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1685 and was Speaker in 1660. During the English Civil War he remain ...
. The work, which is meant to illustrate anecdotically the prodigies of human nature, shows wide reading but is credulous; authorities are fully given and referenced. Later editions include that of 1774, with revision, and index; and 1806–7, 2 vols., with additions by William Johnston who worked with
John Aikin
John Aikin (15 January 1747 – 7 December 1822) was an English medical doctor and surgeon. Later in life he devoted himself wholly to biography and writing in periodicals.
Life
He was born at Kibworth Harcourt, Leicestershire, England, son o ...
on the ''General Biography''.
Wanley also compiled a history of the Fielding family, which is printed in
John Nichols's ''Leicestershire''.
Family
He was married on 24 July 1655; by his wife Ellen (b. 30 April 1633, d. 28 June 1719), daughter of Humphrey Burton, coroner and town clerk of Coventry, he had five children, among them
Humfrey Wanley
Humfrey Wanley (21 March 1672 – 6 July 1726) was an English librarian, palaeographer and scholar of Old English, employed by manuscript collectors such as Robert and Edward Harley. He was the first keeper of the Harleian Library, now the Har ...
.
References
*
Notes
Further reading
* L. C. Martin (editor) (1928), ''The Poems of Nathaniel Wanley''
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wanley, Nathaniel
1634 births
1680 deaths
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
17th-century English Anglican priests
17th-century English writers
17th-century English male writers