Humfrey Wanley

Peter Anthony Stokes (Paris Science et Lettres)

Ed. by Hugh Magennis, Queen's University Belfast
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

Born 21 Mar 1672
Died 6 Jul 1726
Activity 1694-1726

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Antiquarian/ Collector
Librarian
Scholar

Resources

Wanley's Works

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Humfrey Wanley, palaeographer, scholar, and librarian, was instrumental in the study of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts and in building up the largest private library in the country. He was born on 21 March 1672 in Coventry. He went to the Coventry Free School and was then apprenticed as a draper, but by the time he was nineteen he was actively transcribing local records. After visiting Oxford in 1692, he became interested in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts and the Old English language, and he copied out for his own reference a catalogue of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts at the Bodleian and a grammar of Old English. By 1694 he had moved beyond copying and was compiling material himself, including part of a catalogue of English and Irish manuscripts which was published in 1697. In 1695 Wanley was formally…

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750 words

Citation: Stokes, Peter Anthony. "Humfrey Wanley". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11742, accessed 24 November 2024.]