John Leland (Librarian)

Presumably depicting a bust of John Leland from All Souls College, Oxford. Source: William Huddesford, ed. (1772). The Lives of those Eminent Antiquaries John Leland, Thomas Hearne, and Anthony à Wood

John Leland (born September 13 , around 1506 , in London ; † April 18, 1552 ; also written Leyland ; lat.Johannes Lelandus ) was an English archaeologist and historian and librarian to King Henry VIII.

Life

Leland graduated from St Paul's School and Christ's College , Cambridge . He then studied at All Souls College in Oxford and later in Paris . Then around 1530 he became the king's librarian. In 1533 he received a decree from Henry VIII, which allowed him to examine the archives of the religious institutions of England. He traveled across England collecting a great deal of historical and geographic data for a book called History and Antiquities .

He was unable to finish work on this book, however, as he was struck by a mental illness in 1550 and died two years later, in 1552.

literature

The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 . Edited by Lucy Toulmin Smith. London: G. Bell, 1907.

Web links

Frank Woodman: John Leland (c.1506-1552) , website of Christ's College, University of Cambridge

personal data
SURNAME	Leland, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Leyland, John; Lelandus, Johannes (Latin)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	British clergyman and librarian
DATE OF BIRTH	September 13, 1506
PLACE OF BIRTH	London
DATE OF DEATH	April 18, 1552