Edward Lye (1694–1767) was an 18th-century scholar of

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

and

Germanic philology Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary tex ...

. His ''Dictionarium Saxonico et Gothico-Latinum'', published posthumously in 1772, was a milestone in the development of Old English lexicography, surpassed only by, and substantially contributing to

Joseph Bosworth Joseph Bosworth (1788 – 27 May 1876) was an English scholar of the Anglo-Saxon language and compiler of the first major Anglo-Saxon dictionary. Biography Born in Derbyshire in 1788, Bosworth was educated at Repton School as a 'Poor Scholar' ...

's ''Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon language'' of 1838.

Life

He was born at

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and abo ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, the son of Thomas Lye, vicar of Broadhempston and a schoolmaster at Totnes, by his wife Catherine (née Johnson). He was educated at his father's school and at

Crewkerne Crewkerne ( ) is a town and electoral ward in Somerset, England, southwest of Yeovil and east of Chard all in the South Somerset district. The civil parish of West Crewkerne includes the hamlets of Coombe, Woolminstone and Henley – and b ...

school,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. He went to

Hart Hall, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colleg ...

, where he entered 28 March 1713, and graduated B.A. 19 October 1716, M.A. 6 July 1722. He was ordained in 1717, and in 1721 was admitted vicar of Houghton Parva,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. On 4 January 1750, he was elected

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

. He resigned Houghton Parva about 1750, on being presented by

James Compton, 5th Earl of Northampton James Compton, 5th Earl of Northampton (2 May 1687 – 3 October 1754), known as Lord Compton from 1687 to 1727, was a British peer and politician. Northampton was the eldest son of George Compton, 4th Earl of Northampton, and his wife Jane (né ...

to the rectory of

Yardley Hastings Yardley Hastings is a village and civil parish in the English county of Northamptonshire. It is located south-east of the county town of Northampton and is skirted on its south side by the main A428 road to Bedford. History The village's name ...

, Northamptonshire. He at this time was supporting his mother and his two sisters. Lye died, aged 73, on 19 August 1767 of

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intens ...

, from which he had long suffered, at Yardley Hastings, where he was buried with a prominent wall monument. His library was sold in 1773.

Works

He began the study of Anglo-Saxon and related languages. In 1743 he published, with additions, the ''Etymologicum Anglicanum'' of

Francis Junius Franciscus Junius may refer to: * Franciscus Junius (the elder) (1545–1602), theologian and Hebrew scholar * Franciscus Junius (the younger) Franciscus Junius (29 January 1591 – 1677), also known as François du Jon, was a pioneer of Germanic ...

from manuscripts in the Bodleian Library. To this work he prefixed an Anglo-Saxon grammar. In 1750, he edited the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

version of the gospels, ''Sacrorum Evangeliorum Versio Gothica'' (Oxford) with a Latin translation, notes, and a Gothic grammar. About 1737 Lye began to work on an Anglo-Saxon and Gothic dictionary, which he despaired of publishing; in 1765 he was encouraged by a subscription from Archbishop

Thomas Secker Thomas Secker (21 September 16933 August 1768) was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England. Early life and studies Secker was born in Sibthorpe, Nottinghamshire. In 1699, he went to Richard Brown's free school in Chesterfield ...

, and other subscriptions. About thirty sheets were printed just before Lye's death, and the work was posthumously published in 1772 with additions by his friend Owen Manning as ''Dictionarium Saxonico et Gothico-Latinum'' (London). The title pages goes on to say "Accedunt fragmenta Versionis Ulphilanæ, necnon Opuscula quædam Anglo-Saxonica."

References

Margaret Clunies Ross Margaret Beryl Clunies Ross (born 24 April 1942) is a medievalist who was until her retirement in 2009 the McCaughey Professor of English Language and Early English Literature and Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Syd ...

and Amanda J. Collins, ‘Lye, Edward (bap. 1694, d. 1767)’ in

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, first published Sept 2004, *''The Correspondence of Edward Lye'' eds. Margaret Clunies Ross and Amanda J. Collins. Publications of the Dictionary of Old English, 6. Toronto: The Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2004.

Notes

;Attribution 1694 births 1767 deaths Writers from Totnes Linguists of Germanic languages 18th-century English Anglican priests Anglo-Saxon studies scholars People educated at Totnes Grammar School {{England-academic-bio-stub