Robert Wakefield (ca. 1493/5-1537) was an English linguist and scholar.

Life

He studied at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, graduating B.A. in 1513-1514. He was awarded an M.A. at the University of Leuven in 1519; while in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

he taught Hebrew at Jeroen van Busleyden's

Collegium Trilingue The Collegium Trilingue, often also called Collegium trium linguarum, or, after its creator Collegium Buslidianum (, ), is a university that was founded in 1517 under the patronage of the humanist, Hieronymus van Busleyden. The three languages tau ...

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1504 to 1535 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Chu ...

was his patron, and in 1519 he also became Fellow of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. He was at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

in 1522, teaching as the successor of

Johannes Reuchlin Johann Reuchlin (; 29 January 1455 – 30 June 1522), sometimes called Johannes, was a German Catholic humanist and a scholar of Greek and Hebrew, whose work also took him to modern-day Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and France. Most of Reuchlin's c ...

. He taught Hebrew at Cambridge from 1524 and received the B.D. there the following year.

Richard Pace Richard Pace (c. 148228 June 1536) was an English clergyman and diplomat of the Tudor period. Life He was born in Hampshire and educated at Winchester College under Thomas Langton. He attended the universities of Padua and Oxford. In 1509, ...

recommended the subject to the king and he was appointed a royal chaplain. His ''Oratio de utilitate trium linguarum'' (1524), the printed version by

Wynkyn de Worde Wynkyn de Worde (; died , London) was a printer and publisher in London known for his work with William Caxton, and is recognised as the first to popularise the products of the printing press in England. Name Wynkyn de Worde was a German immi ...

of his inaugural lecture, contained the first examples of Hebrew text, and Arabic, published in England. From 1530 he taught in Oxford and is rumored to have stolen the ancient Hebrew lexicon from the abbey library at

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Companies *Ramsey (retailer), Turkish clothing retailer People * Ramsey (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Ramsey (surname), including a list of people with the surname * Baron de Ramsey, a title i ...

. He wrote in favour of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

's divorce, after being persuaded by

to drop his support for

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

; in 1528 he issued a work putting the king’s case, and showing by its dedication that he now had Thomas Boleyn as patron. Maria Dowling, ''Humanism in the Age of Henry VIII'' (1986), p. 46. He became a canon of

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, in 1532.

Works

*''Robert Wakefield: On the Three Languages, 1524'' (1989) edited and translated by G. Lloyd Jones from the ''Oratio de laudibus et utilitate trium linguarum''

References

*''Concise Dictionary of National Biography'' *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wakefield, Robert Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Christian Hebraists Alumni of the University of Cambridge 16th-century English writers 16th-century English male writers 15th-century births 1537 deaths Academics of the University of Oxford English Renaissance humanists Linguists from England 16th-century linguists