Thomas Tyrwhitt (; 27 March 173015 August 1786) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

Life

He was born in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he also died. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

. He was elected a fellow of

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

in 1755. In 1756 he was appointed under-secretary at war, in 1762 clerk of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. In 1768 he resigned his post, and spent the remainder of his life in learned retirement. In February 1771 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. In 1784 he was elected a trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, to which he bequeathed a portion of his valuable library.

Works

His principal classical works are: *''Fragmenta Plutarchi II. inedita'' (1773), from a

Harleian The Harleian Library, Harley Collection, Harleian Collection and other variants ( la, Bibliotheca Harleiana) is one of the main "closed" collections (namely, historic collections to which new material is no longer added) of the British Library in ...

manuscript *''Dissertatio de Babrio'' (1776), containing some fables of

Aesop Aesop ( or ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE) was a Greek fabulist and storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence remains unclear and no writings by him survive, numerous tales cre ...

, hitherto unedited, from a

Bodleian 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 second- ...

manuscript *the pseudo-Orphic ''De lapidibus'' (1781), which he assigned to the age of Constantius *''Conjecturae in Strabonem'' (1783) *''Isaeus De Meneclis hereditate'' (1785) *

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

's ''Poetica'', his most important work, published after his death under the superintendence of Thomas Burgess,

bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...

, in 1794. Special mention is due of his editions of

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

's ''

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''magnum opus' ...

'' (1775–1778); and of ''Poems'', supposed to have been written at

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

by "Thomas Rowley" and others in the 15th century (1777–1778), with an appendix to prove that the poems were all the work of

Thomas Chatterton Thomas Chatterton (20 November 1752 – 24 August 1770) was an English poet whose precocious talents ended in suicide at age 17. He was an influence on Romantic artists of the period such as Shelley, Keats, Wordsworth and Coleridge. Althoug ...

. Tyrwhitt's bibliophile friend

Thomas Crofts The Reverend and Learned Thomas Crofts FRS FSA (1722 – 8 November 1781) was a British bibliophile, Anglican priest, Fellow of the Royal Society and European traveller. Early life Crofts was born in Monmouth, Wales and was the son of John Cr ...

is credited with introducing Tyrwhitt in 1776 to George Catcott, the owner of the "manuscripts" of the poems. Initially Tyrwhitt was convinced that they were authentic, and pressed for publication in 1777. It was only when the third edition was published that Tyrwhitt changed his mind and pronounced the poems forgeries.See L. F. Powell, ''Thomas Chatterton and the Rowley Poems''. ''Review of English Studies''. Vol. 7. July 1931. In 1782 he published a ''Vindication'' of the Appendix in reply to the arguments that they were authentic. While

clerk of the House of Commons The Clerk of the House of Commons is the chief executive of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 of the House of Commons of England. The formal name for the position held by the Clerk of the House of Comm ...

he edited ''Proceedings and Debates of the House of Commons, 1620–1621'' from the original manuscript in the library of Queen's College, Oxford, and

Henry Elsynge Henry Elsynge (c.1606 – 30 September 1656) was an English administrator, who acted as clerk of the House of Commons, and wrote on parliamentary procedure. Life Elsynge was the eldest son of Henry Elsynge and his wife Blanche Hyett; and was ...

's '' The Manner of Holding Parliaments in England'' (1768).

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrwhitt, Thomas 1730 births 1786 deaths Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford English classical scholars Fellows of Merton College, Oxford People educated at Eton College Fellows of the Royal Society Chaucer scholars Clerks of the House of Commons