William Nanson Lettsom (1796–1865) was an English

man of letters An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

Life

He was the son of John Miers Lettsom, M.D. (son of John Coakley Lettsom), by Rachel, daughter of William Nanson, born 4 February 1796. He passed from

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 ...

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he graduated B.A. in 1818 and M.A. in 1822, and won prizes for the Latin ode and two epigrams in 1816, and for the ode again in 1817. Having ample private means, he devoted his life to a study of literature. He died on 3 September 1865 at Westbourne Park,

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

Works

He published a translation of the '' Nibelungenlied'', with the title ‘The Fall of the Nebelungers; otherwise the book of Kriemhild’, in 1850. He edited from the author's manuscripts

William Sidney Walker William Sidney Walker (1795–1846) was an English Shakespearean critic. Life Born at Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Pembroke in Wales, on 4 December 1795, he was the eldest child of John Walker, a naval officer, who died at Twickenham in 1811 from the ...

's ‘Shakespeare's Versification’ (1854) and his ‘Critical Examination of the Text of Shakespeare’ (1860). His friend

Alexander Dyce Alexander Dyce (30 June 1798 – 15 May 1869) was a Scottish dramatic editor and literary historian. He was born in Edinburgh and received his early education at the high school there, before becoming a student at Exeter College, Oxford, where ...

was assisted by Lettsom in his preparation of his edition of Shakespeare. Lettsom also interested himself in textual criticism of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

References

;Attribution

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lettsom, William Nanson 1796 births 1865 deaths Shakespearean scholars English translators Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge