Edmund Castell (1606–1686) 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 ...

orientalist. He was born at

Tadlow Tadlow is a small village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England on the River Cam (or Rhee). It is south-west of Cambridge and north-east of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. In 2001 the population was 181 and the area of the village is . ...

, in

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. At the age of fifteen he entered

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican m ...

, gaining his BA in 1624-5 and his MA in 1628. Appointed Professor of Arabic in 1666, with the full title '

Sir Thomas Adams Professor of Arabic Sir Thomas Adams's Professor of Arabic is a title used at Cambridge University for the holder of a professorship of Arabic; Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet (1586–1668), Lord Mayor of London in 1645, gave to Cambridge University the money needed t ...

'. He moved to St John's in 1671, because of the valuable library there. His great work, the ''Lexicon Heptaglotton Hebraicum, Chaldaicum, Syriacum, Samaritanum, Aethiopicum, Arabicum, et Persicum'' (1669), took him eighteen years to complete, working (according to his own account) from sixteen to eighteen hours a day. He employed fourteen assistants on the project, and spent £12,000, ruining himself in the process as there was little demand for his finished

lexicon A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Greek word (), neuter of () meaning 'of or fo ...

. By 1667, he found himself in prison because he was unable to discharge his brother's debts, for which he had made himself liable. However, a volume of poems dedicated to the king brought him preferment. He was made

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and professor of

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

at Cambridge. Before undertaking the ''Lexicon Heptaglotton'', Castell had helped Dr Brian Walton in the preparation of his '' Polyglott Bible''. He died at

Higham Gobion Higham Gobion is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Shillington, in the Central Bedfordshire district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is located between the villages of Shillington and Barton-le-Clay. ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

, where he was rector, and is buried there. He bequeathed his manuscripts to the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. The

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

section of the ''Lexicon'' was issued separately at

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in 1788 by J.D. Michaelis, who made a tribute to Castell's learning and industry. Johann Friedrich Ludolf Trier published the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

section in 1790–1792.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castell, Edmund British lexicographers 1606 births 1686 deaths Christian Hebraists English orientalists Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Sir Thomas Adams's Professors of Arabic People from Tadlow