Thomas Godwyn

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 ra ...

(1587–20 March 1642) was an English headmaster and scholar.

Biography

He was the second son of Anthony Godwyn of

Wookey Wookey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish west of Wells, Somerset, Wells, on the River Axe (Bristol Channel), River Axe in the Mendip District, Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. He entered

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, at the age of fifteen and between 1604 and 1610 was a demy of the college. He graduated BA on 24 January 1607 and proceeded MA on 11 October 1609. Godwyn became the first fellow of the newly founded

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

(1624), became chaplain to the Bishop of Bath and Wells and rector of Brightwell,

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 Berk ...

(1626–43).

Writings

Godwyn was a voluminous writer, and about 1614 he published ''Florilegium Phrasicon'' and ''Romanae Historiae Anthologia'' (an English treatise on Roman antiquities), both for use by

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

. These were the only school text books on the subject for a century. He also wrote a ''Synopsis of Hebrew Antiquities'', and in 1625 ''Moses and Aaron, or Civil and Ecclesiastical Rites Used by the Ancient Hebrews''. In his preface to Roman Antiquities, Godwyn gives a picture of the difficulties of writing his book in the noisy surroundings of the school room. "If it fail to please, put it down to the whispered chatterings of the noisy boys amongst whom the work had its origin; but if approved ascribe it to the continuous questionings of the boys."

Notes

References

* T. Hinde and M. St J. Parker, ''The martlet and the griffen: an illustrated history of Abingdon School'', 1997 * S. Clarke, ''The lives of sundry eminent persons in this later age'', 1683 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Godwyn, Thomas 1587 births 1642 deaths Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Heads of Abingdon School