William Bellenden

William Bellenden also Gulielmus Bellendinus (* approx. 1550 in Scotland , † approx. 1633 in Paris , France ?) Was a Scottish scholar and historian .

Life

The first King of England from the House of Stuart , James I as James VI. already King of Scotland, appointed him Magister suplicum libellorum , the kingdom official responsible for processing petitions and submissions. The income allowed Bellenden to live an independent life in Paris, where he worked as a university professor and lawyer at Parliament.

plant

Bellenden published his first work in 1608 with the title Ciceronis Princeps , a compilation of Cicero's remarks on the origin and principles of royal rule in a systematic and summarized form. In 1612 a work was published entitled Ciceronis consul, senator, senatusque romanus , which deals with the power of the Roman consuls and the senate. His historical overview, published in 1615, is entitled De statu prisci orbis . A summary of these three books followed in the same year with the title De statu libri tres .

Bellenden's book De tribus luminibus romanorum (About three famous Romans) was published posthumously in 1633 . Bellenden could only finish the part that deals with Cicero. The other two celebrities were said to be Seneca and Pliny the Elder . Bellenden describes the history of Rome based on the writings of Cicero and thus created a wealth of knowledge for further work on Cicero.

Almost all printed copies of the book are said to have been lost on the way to England, but one copy ended up in Cambridge University Library . There the librarian Conyers Middleton wrote his book History of the Life of Cicero a hundred years later . English scholars of the day such as Samuel Parr and Joseph Warton accused Middleton of plagiarism .

In 1788, Samuel Parr published a second edition of the summary De statu libri tres with a foreword in Latin and an English translation of the same.

Book in reprint

• Gulielmi Bellendeni magistri supplicum libellorum augusti regis Magnæ Britanniæ & c. De statu libri tres. Editio secunda longe emendiator , Gale Ecco, England 2010 ISBN 978-1-140-85718-1 .

Second edition from the 18th century

• Foreword by Samuel Parr: Praefationes ad tres Gulielmi Bellendeni libros, de statu, editio secunda . Londini, typis excudebant W. Browne & J. Warren 1788.
  • English foreword by Samuel Parr: A Free Translation of the Preface to Bellendenus , Printed by Stafford and Davenport for T. Payne and Son (etc.), London 1788. Also as an electronic resource via Hathi Trust.