John Bowle (1725–1788) was an English clergyman and scholar, known today primarily for his ground-breaking, annotated edition of the early 1600s

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...

novel ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

''.

Life

Bowle, called by his friends Don Bowle, was descended from Dr. John Bowle, bishop of Rochester. He was born on 26 October 1725 at

Idmiston Idmiston is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about southeast of Amesbury and northeast of Salisbury. The parish includes the villages of Porton and Gomeldon; all three villages are on the River Bourne and are l ...

in Wiltshire, was educated at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

, and became M.A. in 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 educatio ...

in 1776. Having entered holy orders, he obtained the vicarage of

(spelt Idemeston in his ''

''), north of Salisbury in Wiltshire, where he died on 26 October 1788, his 63rd birthday. He had married Elizabeth, who had died at a younger age in 1759. An erudite scholar who was often in London, Bowle was acquainted with French, Spanish, and Italian literature, and accumulated a large and valuable library, sold in 1790. He was a member of

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

's Essex Head Club, and preceded John Douglas in detecting William Lauder's forgeries.

Works

''Don Quixote'' edition

In a form of advertising of the day, Bowle published in 1777 a lengthy letter to his friend, the medievalist Thomas Percy, concerning a planned new edition of the

novel ''

'', to be illustrated by annotations and extracts from the historians, poets, and romances of Spain and Italy, and other writers, ancient and modern, with a glossary and indexes. He gave also an outline of the life of Cervantes in the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine' ...

'', 1781, and circulated proposals to print the work by subscription. In fact the ''Don Quixote'' project had originated with Percy, and the letter tacitly assigned it to Bowle. Bowle was the first to consider Cervantes in the novel ''Don Quixote'' as a classic author, comparable with ancient Greek and Latin writers. He gave the work a critical apparatus. Ahead of his time, he found his efforts largely unappreciated. Today, Bowle's edition is considered the first scholarly edition of the work, and it was reproduced in facsimile in 2006. The edition appeared in 1781, in six volumes, the first four containing the text, the fifth the notes, and the sixth the indexes. (These six volumes as found in libraries today are bound into 2, 3, 4, or 6 volumes.) The whole work is written in Spanish, a language which Bowle did not master. Its reception was unfavourable, except in Spain, where it was praised by :es:Juan Antonio Pellicer, among others. In 1784 Bowle complained in ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine' ...

'', in four pseudonymously-signed letters, and in 1785 he published ''Remarks on the Extraordinary Conduct of the Knight of the Ten Stars and his Italian Squire, to the editor of Don Quixote. In a letter to J. S., D.D.'' Here the "Knight" was Captain John Crookshanks or Cruickshank R.N., and the "Squire" intended

Joseph Baretti Giuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti (24 April 1719, Turin, Piedmont – 5 May 1789, London) was an Italian literary critic, poet, writer, translator, linguist and author of two influential language-translation dictionaries. During his years in England ...

. Baretti retorted in a scathing, bitter book, entitled ''Tolondron, Speeches to John Bowle about his Edition of Don Quixote'', 1786. The criticisms were reprisals for perceived slights: Bowle had made derogatory comments about Baretti in his letter to Percy, and Crookshanks, having helped Bowle, was annoyed not to receive acknowledgement in the work. "J. S., D.D" has been tentatively identified as Joseph Simpson. One of Baretti's points was that

John Talbot Dillon Sir John Talbot Dillon, 1st Baronet, Baron Dillon (1739 – 17 July 1805) was an Irish politician and baronet. Career Dillon was the son of Arthur Dillon and Elizabeth Lambert, daughter of Ralph Lambert; and grandson of Sir John Dillon of Lismu ...

, a Spanish-speaker also associated with the ''Don Quixote'' project, needed recognition, while Bowle treated the language solely as written. Volume 23, No. 2 of the journal ''Cervantes'', published by the Cervantes Society of America (Fall, 2003) is dedicated to John Bowle. On its cover is the only known portrait of Bowle.

Other works

Bowle published in 1765 ''Miscellaneous Pieces of Antient English Poesie'', containing Shakespeare's '' King John'', and some of the satires of John Marston. He contributed to

James Granger James Granger (1723–1776) was an English clergyman, biographer, and print collector. He is now known as the author of the ''Biographical History of England from Egbert the Great to the Revolution'' (1769). Granger was an early advocate of an ...

's ''History'',

George Steevens George Steevens (10 May 1736 – 22 January 1800) was an English Shakespearean commentator. Biography Early life He was born at Poplar, the son of a captain and later director of the East India Company. He was educated at Eton College and ...

's edition of Shakespeare, 1778, and

Thomas Warton Thomas Warton (9 January 172821 May 1790) was an English literary historian, critic, and poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1785, following the death of William Whitehead. He is sometimes called ''Thomas Warton the younger'' to disti ...

's '' History of English Poetry''. In '' Archaeologia'' are remarks on the old pronunciation of the French language, musical instruments mentioned in '' Le Roman de la Rose'',

parish register A parish register in an ecclesiastical parish is a handwritten volume, normally kept in the parish church in which certain details of religious ceremonies marking major events such as baptisms (together with the dates and names of the parents), ma ...

s, and

playing cards A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a f ...

Memorials

Bowle, his wife and certain members of his family are commemorated by wall tablets in his church, All Saints at Idmiston.

Life

Works

''Don Quixote'' edition

Other works

Memorials

References

Further reading