Thomas Leland (1722–1785) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Anglican priest, a historian, translator and academic and the author of the early gothic novel '' Longsword, Earl of Salisbury: An Historical Romance'', published in 1762. ''Longsword'' is set in Gascony and in England, during the reign of

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

Life

He was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and educated at Thomas Sheridan's school A life - Thomas Leland(1722-1785)
/ref> and in 1737 went to

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, where he graduated with a BA in 1742. Leland was made a fellow of Trinity College Dublin in 1746. He was ordained a

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

priest in 1748, and received his Doctor of Divinity in 1757. Leland translated the Orations of

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual pr ...

in three volumes (1756) and wrote a life of

Philip of Macedon Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the a ...

(1758). In 1761 he became professor of History and of Oratory, concentrating on Oratory as of 1762. In 1768 he became chaplain to Lord Lieutenant Viscount Townsend. He wrote an influential ''History of Ireland from the Invasion of Henry II'' in 1773. His portrait, by John Dean, is held by the National Portrait Gallery. He served as vicar in Bray, Co. Wicklow, in 1773 he was appointed Vicar of St. Ann's Church, Dawson Street, in Dublin.''Church of Ireland Notes'', Irish Times, 4 August 2012. His son John was a barrister in Dublin.

Notes

References

* * Norton, Rictor. ''Gothic Readings : the first wave, 1764-1840''. London. Leicester University Press, 2000.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leland, Thomas 18th-century Irish historians Irish Anglicans Irish historical novelists Christian clergy from Dublin (city) 1722 births 1785 deaths Writers of Gothic fiction Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages