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Thomas Linacre or Lynaker ( ; 20 October 1524) was an English humanist scholar and
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
, after whom Linacre College, Oxford, and Linacre House, a boys' boarding house at The King's School, Canterbury, are named. Linacre was more of a scholar than a scientific investigator. It is difficult to judge his practical skill in his profession, but it was highly esteemed in his own day. He took no part in political or theological questions, but his career as a scholar was characteristic of the critical period in the history of learning through which he lived. He was one of the first Englishmen to study
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
in Italy, and brought back to his native country and his own university the lessons of the " New Learning". His teachers were some of the greatest scholars of the day. Among his pupils was one—
Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...
—whose name alone would suffice to preserve the memory of his instructor in Greek, and others of note in letters and politics, such as Sir Thomas More, Prince Arthur and Queen Mary I of England. John Colet, William Grocyn, William Lilye and other eminent scholars were his close friends, and he was esteemed by a still wider circle of literary correspondents in all parts of Europe.


Life

He was born at Brampton, Chesterfield, in
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...
, descended from an ancient family recorded in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
. He received his early education at the Canterbury Cathedral school, under the direction of
William Tilly of Selling William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
, who became prior of Canterbury in 1472. It was from Selling that Linacre must have received his first incentive to the study of Classics. Linacre entered
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...
in about 1480, and in 1484 was elected a fellow of All Souls College. Shortly afterwards he visited
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
in the train of Selling, who was sent by King Henry VII as an envoy to the papal court. Linacre accompanied his patron as far as
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
. There he became the pupil of Angelo Poliziano, and shared the instruction which Poliziano imparted at Florence to the sons of Lorenzo de Medici. The younger of these princes became
Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...
, and later remembered his old companionship with Linacre. Among his other teachers and friends in Italy were
Demetrius Chalcondylas Demetrios Chalkokondyles ( el, Δημήτριος Χαλκοκονδύλης ), Latinized as Demetrius Chalcocondyles and found variously as Demetricocondyles, Chalcocondylas or Chalcondyles (14239 January 1511) was one of the most eminent Gree ...
, Hermolaus Barbarus, Aldus Romanus the printer of
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
(of whose New Academy Linacre was a member), and Nicolaus Leonicenus of Vicenza. Linacre took the degree of doctor of medicine with great distinction at Padua. On his return to Oxford, full of the learning and imbued with the spirit of the
Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the tra ...
, he formed one of the brilliant circle of Oxford scholars, including John Colet, William Grocyn and
William Latimer William W. Latimer is an infectious disease Epidemiology, epidemiologist and academic administrator. He recently served as the 7th President of Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and previously served as the 14th President of t ...
, who are mentioned in the letters of
Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...
. Linacre does not appear to have practised or taught medicine in Oxford. In about 1501, he was called to court as tutor of the young Arthur, Prince of Wales. On the accession of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...
in 1509, he was appointed the king's physician, an office at that time of considerable influence and importance, and practised medicine in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, having among his patients most of the great statesmen and prelates of the time, including Cardinal Wolsey, Archbishop William Warham and Bishop Fox. After some years of professional activity, Linacre devoted himself to the study of theology and the duties of the priesthood. Around 1509, he received priest's orders as the rector of Merstham, Kent. Numerous ecclesiastical positions followed, finalising with him obtaining the rectorship of Wigan in 1520, which he held until his death in 1524. His clerical benefices, included the Precentorship of York Minster. His ordination was connected with his retirement from active life. Literary labours, and the cares of the foundation which owed its existence chiefly to him, the Royal College of Physicians, occupied Linacre's remaining years. The most important service Linacre conferred upon his own profession and science was the foundation by royal charter of the College of Physicians in London, and he was the first president of the new college, which he further aided by bequeathing to it his own house and library. Shortly before his death, Linacre obtained from the king
letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, t ...
for the establishment of readerships in medicine at Oxford and Cambridge, and placed valuable estates in the hands of trustees for their endowment. Two readerships were founded at Merton College, Oxford, and a lecture St John's College, Cambridge. The Oxford foundation was revived by the university commissioners in 1856 in the form of the Linacre professorship of anatomy. At St John's College the funds are still in use today; since 1989 the college has hosted an annual "Linacre Lecture" on a subject in medicine, delivered by a leading research scientist in their field. Linacre is listed on a modern monument in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
as one of the important graves lost in the Great Fire of London in 1666. His epitaph in Old St Paul's Cathedral was recorded by Paul Hentzner and translated by Robert Naunton as reading: Travels in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth by Paul Hentzner AND Fragmenta Regalia by Sir Robert Naunton. 1892 Cassell https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1992/pg1992.html accessed 8.9.2021


Works

Linacre's literary activity was displayed both in pure scholarship and in translation from
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
. In the domain of scholarship he was known by the rudiments of (
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
)
grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...
(), composed in English, a revised version of which was made for the use of the Princess Mary, and afterwards translated into Latin by George Buchanan. He also wrote a work on Latin composition, ("On the Pure and Correct Structure of Latin Prose"), which was published in London in 1524 and many times reprinted on the continent of Europe. Linacre's only medical works were his translations. He desired to make the works of Galen (and indeed those of
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical Greece, Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatet ...
also) accessible to all readers of Latin. What he effected in the case of the first, though not trifling in itself, is inconsiderable as compared with the whole mass of Galen's writings; and of his translations from Aristotle, some of which are known to have been completed, nothing has survived. The following are the works of Galen translated by Linacre: #''De sanitate tuenda'', (Paris, 1517) #''Methodus medendi'' (Paris, 1519) #''De temperamentis et de Inaequali Intemperie'' (Cambridge, 1521) #''De naturalibus facultatibus'' (London, 1523) #''De symptomatum differentiis et causis'' (London, 1524) #''De pulsuum Usu'' (London, without date). He also translated for the use of Prince Arthur an astronomical treatise of Proclus, , which was printed at Venice by Aldus in 1499. The accuracy of these translations and their elegance of style were universally admitted. They were generally accepted as the standard versions of those parts of Galen's writings, and frequently reprinted, either as a part of the collected works or separately. Linacre's intellectual fastidiousness and minute accuracy were, as Erasmus suggested, the chief cause why he left no more permanent literary memorials. It is difficult to justify by any extant work the extremely high reputation which he enjoyed among the scholars of his time. His
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
style was greatly admired by Erasmus, who also praised Linacre's critical judgment (""). According to others it was hard to say whether he was more distinguished as a grammarian or a rhetorician. Of Greek he was regarded as a consummate master; and he was equally eminent as a "philosopher", that is, as learned in the works of the ancient philosophers and naturalists. In this there may have been some exaggeration; but all have acknowledged the elevation of Linacre's character, and the fine moral qualities summed up in the epitaph written by John Caius: "".


Authorities

The materials for Linacre's biography are to a large extent contained in the older biographical collections of
George Lily George Lily (died 1559) was an English Roman Catholic priest, humanist scholar, biographer, topographer and cartographer. Life George Lily was born in London, the son of William Lily the grammarian, and his wife Agnes. He may have attended St Pa ...
(in Paulus Jovius, ''Descriptio Britanniae''),
John Bale John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed ...
, John Leland and Pits, in
Anthony Wood Anthony Wood may refer to: * Anthony Wood (antiquary) (1632–1695), English antiquary * Anthony Wood (businessman) (born 1965), British-born American billionaire businessman * Anthony Wood (historian) (1923–1987), British school teacher and his ...
's ''Athenae Oxonienses'' and in the '' Biographia Britannica''. All are completely collected in the ''Life of Thomas Linacre'', by Noble Johnson (London, 1835). See also William Munk's ''Roll of the Royal College of Physicians'' (2nd ed., London, 1878); and the Introduction, by Joseph Frank Payne, to a facsimile reproduction of Linacre's version of ''Galen de temperamentis'' (Cambridge, 1881).


See also

* List of Erasmus's correspondents *
Linacre Quarterly ''The Linacre Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1932. It is the official journal of the Catholic Medical Association and primarily focuses on the relationship between medicine and spirituality, and in partic ...
* List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics


Notes


References

*


Further reading

* Wikisource:The History of the Church and Manor of Wigan/Thomas Lynacre * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Linacre, Thomas 1460s births 1524 deaths Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford 16th-century English medical doctors English Renaissance humanists People from Chesterfield, Derbyshire Catholic clergy scientists 15th-century English people Greek–Latin translators Burials at St Paul's Cathedral 16th-century Latin-language writers 16th-century English writers 16th-century male writers