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John Selden
A Life in Scholarship
G. J. Toomer
Oxford-Warburg Studies
The first study to cover all of John Selden's works and examine his scholarship
Professor Toomer's two-volume set is not only an indispensable reference work but also provides the first thorough treatment of the scholarship of John Selden, acknowledged as the most learned man of 17th-century England. All of his numerous published works, especially in the fields of history, law, and Hebraica, are critically examined and described in detail. The narrative also relates his writings to contemporary events, in the Civil War and the parliaments (including the Long Parliament) in which he played a prominent part, and to the work of other scholars in Europe (notably Scaliger and Grotius) and in Britain (including Camden and Ussher). Selden's involvement with the Universities, the support of libraries, and the promotion of scholarship is discussed. The work will be an essential resource, not only for the life of a major figure of his time, but also for the intellectual history of 17th-century England in general.
1. Early Years: Education
2. The Inner Temple and Literary London
3. The Resources for Scholarship in the Early 17th Century
Classical and Medieval Texts
Ancient inscriptions
Legal texts and treatises
Hebrew and other non-European texts
Acquisition of books and manuscripts
Forgeries and Romances
The Bible as a historical authority
4. Early Works
Analecta Anglobritannica
Janus Anglorum
England's Epinomis
Illustrations to Poly-Olbion
Critique to the early works
5. 'Antiquarian' Writings
Titles of Honor 1614
Of the Iewes sometimes living in England
Letter to Vincent
6. Writings on English Legal History
Fortescue
Hengham
Original of Testaments and Intestates Goods
Dissertatio ad Fletam
7. De Diis Syris
DS 1617
The reception of De Diis Syris
Critiques of De Diis Syris
8. The Historie of Tithes
Tithes and 'divine right'
Why did Selden write Historie of Tithes?
Composition of Historie of Tithes
Significance of the title
Publication of the book
The Preface
Tithes in the Old Testament
Tithes among the Gentiles
History of tithes among Christians generally
History of tithes in England
Critique of Historie of Tithes
9. The Social and Political Background to Selden's Later Work
Patrons, friends and acquaintances
The Virginia Company
Imprisonment and bail
10. Works on English Medieval History
Matthew Paris (1640)
Historiae Anglicanae Scriptores
11. Marmora Arundelliana
The inscriptions
The edition
Critique of Marmora Arundelliana
12. Mare Clausum
Origin and publication of the book
Critiques and reception of Mare Clausum
13. Earlier Works on Jewish Law
Selden's approach to Jewish Law
De Successionibus in Bona Defuncti
Features of the 1636 edition
De Successione in Pontificatum
14. De Iure Naturali
Origin of the book
Title and Preface
Books II-VII
Critiques of De Iure Naturali
15. The Long Parliament and the Promotion of Scholarship
Selden in the Long Parliament
Religion and the Westminster Assembly
The Universities
Aid to scholars and promotion of scholarship
16. Arabic Studies
Helpers and aids to study
Biblical and Christian religious works
Eutychius
Other Arabic works
Printing in Arabic
Selden's contribution to Arabic studies
17. Karaite Influences: De Anno Civili & Uxor Ebraica
De Anno Civili
Uxor Abraica
18. De Synedriis
De Synedriis I
De Synedriis II
De Synedriis III
Critiques of De Synedriis
19. Death and Legacy
Deathbed scenes
Funeral and Tomb
Selden's Will
The fate of Selden's library
20. Selden in the History of Scholarship
Paradigms of scholarship: Selden and Ussher
Purpose of scholarship
Relations with other scholars
Selden's influence
A. Selden's "autobiography"
B. Legal Texts
C. Trinoda Necessitas
D. The 'third edition' of De Diis Syris
E. Selden's letter to Taylor on oriental studies
F. Capistrum Iudaeorum
G. The "Selden" emendations of Dio Chrysostom
G.J. Toomer was educated in England and the United States, and taught as a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and Professor of the History of Mathematics at Brown University. For many years his scholarly efforts were concentrated on the history of mathematics and astronomy. In these fields, he published what has become the standard translation of the most important ancient astromnomical treatise ( Ptolemy's Almagest, 1984), and the first edition of the Arabic version of the standard work on Conics in antiquity (lost in the original Greek: Apollonius Conics Books V to Vii, 1990). Since retiring he has devoted himself to the intellectual history of early modern Europe, especially 17-th century England, in which he has published an account of the study of Arabic (Eastern Wisedome and Learning, OUP 1996).
"Toomer's survey of Selden's extraordinary scholarly vocation is one of the most important books on seventeenth-century England to come along in years...Its thorough and deeply learned synopses of Selden's works are invaluable treasures for future scholars working on early modern Europe."--Milton Quarterly
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