Thomas Wilson (1563–1622) was an English Anglican priest, known as the compiler of an early biblical reference work. Thomas Wilson Cross

Life

Born in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, Wilson matriculated at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, 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 pred ...

on 17 November 1581, aged 18. He graduated B.A. on 7 February 1584, and was licensed M.A. on 7 July 1586. He was elected chaplain of the college, apparently before he was ordained, on 24 April 1585. In July 1586 Wilson was appointed rector of St. George the Martyr,

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

through the influence of Henry Robinson, to whom he had owed his college education. He remained at Canterbury for the rest of his life, preaching three or four sermons every week, and popular with

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

s, but complained of by others to Archbishop George Abbot for nonconformity. He was acting as chaplain to Thomas Wotton in 1611. Wilson died at Canterbury in January 1622, and was buried in his own churchyard, outside the chancel, on the 25th. A funeral sermon was preached by William Swift of St. Andrew's, Canterbury. He was married and left a large family.

Works

Wilson's major work was his ''Christian Dictionarie'' (London, 1612), one of the earliest attempts made at a

concordance Concordance may refer to: * Agreement (linguistics), a form of cross-reference between different parts of a sentence or phrase * Bible concordance, an alphabetical listing of terms in the Bible * Concordant coastline, in geology, where beds, or la ...

of the Bible in English. It ran through many editions. The fourth was enlarged by John Bagwell (n.d., London); the fifth appeared in 1647; the sixth (1655) was further expanded by Andrew Symson. His ''Commentarie'' on the

Epistle to the Romans The Epistle to the Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament, and the longest of the thirteen Pauline epistles. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by Paul the Apostle to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of J ...

, written in the form of a dialogue between Timotheus and Silas, took Wilson seven years to write. It was reprinted in 1627, and reached a third edition in 1653. In 1611 he published a volume containing ''Jacob's Ladder; or, a short Treatise laying forth the severall Degrees of Gods Eternall Purpose'', ''A Dialogue about Jvstification by Faith'', ''A Receit against Heresie'', and two sermons. With other sermons, and works apparently lost, he wrote ''Saints by Calling; or, Called to be Saints'', London, 1620.

Notes

Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Thomas 1563 births 1622 deaths 16th-century English Anglican priests 17th-century English Anglican priests English lexicographers People from County Durham Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford