Samuel Roffey Maitland (1792–1866) was an English historian and miscellaneous writer on religious topics. He was qualified as an Anglican priest, and worked also as a librarian, barrister and editor.

Early life

Maitland was born in London at King's Road (now Theobald's Road), Bedford Row, on 7 January 1792. His father, who was of Scottish extraction, was Alexander Maitland, a London merchant; his mother was Caroline Busby, a descendant of

Richard Busby Richard Busby (; 22 September 1606 – 6 April 1695) was an English Anglican priest who served as head master of Westminster School for more than fifty-five years. Among the more illustrious of his pupils were Christopher Wren, Robert Hooke, Rob ...

. She brought her husband an estate in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. Alexander Maitland was a

presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

attached to congregationalists in London, and it was only gradually that Samuel Maitland moved towards the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. Samuel Maitland left school in 1807, and was then placed under the tuition of the Rev. Launcelot Sharpe, one of the masters in Merchant Taylors' School; and on 7 October 1809 Maitland was admitted to St John's College, Cambridge, and about the same time he entered at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

with the intention of going to the bar. Next year he migrated to Trinity College where his friend William Hodge Mill was. He left Cambridge in 1811, without a degree, unwilling to sign the

Thirty-nine Articles The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...

. In 1812 Maxwell Garthshorne died, leaving Maitland's father and uncle his executors. His estate included a large library behind him, and Maitland undertook to catalogue it, on condition of receiving the duplicates as his reward. From 1811 to 1815 he was living with his father, reading omnivorously, while preparing for the bar. When he applied to be called, he found there were difficulties, as he had not kept his terms at Cambridge. So on 10 October 1815 he returned to the university, entering again St John's. He kept three more terms, and at this time made the acquaintance of Samuel Lee, who had recently been made professor of Arabic. During the first half of 1816, Maitland occupied chambers in the Temple, and studied. On 19 November 1816 he married. He had been called to the bar in Easter term, 1816, but his literary tastes had got an increasing hold of him.

In holy orders

About 1817, Maitland left London and settled at

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

, and during the next three or four years his religious views shifted. On 27 June 1821 he was admitted to

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

's orders at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

by Bishop Henry Bathurst, and licensed to the curacy of St. Edmund in the city; the rector of the parish, the Rev. Charles David Brereton, was non-resident. Maitland did not stay long at Norwich, and was admitted to priest's orders by

Henry Ryder Henry Dudley Ryder (21 July 1777 – 31 March 1836) was a prominent English evangelical Anglican bishop in the early years of the nineteenth century. He was the first evangelical to be raised to the Anglican episcopate. Life Ryder was the ...

Bishop of Gloucester The Bishop of Gloucester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Gloucester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the County of Gloucestershire and part of the County of Worcestershire. The see's centre of governan ...

. His father had recently retired to

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, and on 22 May 1823 Maitland became

perpetual curate Perpetual curate was a class of resident parish priest or incumbent curate within the United Church of England and Ireland (name of the combined Anglican churches of England and Ireland from 1800 to 1871). The term is found in common use mainly du ...

of the recently built Christ Church, at Gloucester. Maitland stayed at Gloucester until the end of 1827, and then set off on a journey to the continent. He had been for some time interested in the

conversion of the Jews Many Christians believe in a widespread conversion of the Jews to Christianity, which they often consider as an end-time event. Some Christian denominations consider the conversion of the Jews imperative and pressing, and as a result they make i ...

, and he wished to see Jewish society in Germany and Poland. He started in April 1828, travelling through France, Germany and Prussia as far as

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. He sent home a series of thirty-six letters and studied German and Polish. In 1838 Archbishop

William Howley William Howley (12 February 1766 – 11 February 1848) was a clergyman in the Church of England. He served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1828 to 1848. Early life, education, and interests Howley was born in 1766 at Ropley, Hampshire, w ...

appointed Maitland librarian and keeper of the manuscripts at Lambeth Palace. The stipend attaching to the office was nominal; no preferment followed though the archbishop also conferred the degree of D.D. In 1848 Archbishop John Sumner succeeded, and Maitland returned to Gloucester an unbeneficed clergyman.

Later life

Maitland was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1839, and when Hugh James Rose died in this same year, Maitland became editor of the ''

British Magazine British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

'', and carried it on till 1849, when it was discontinued. The magazine after Rose's death became more and more literary and historical in its tone. Maitland had incurred the dislike of the

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

party by attacks on their leaders, and merciless criticism of Joseph Milner, John Foxe, and others. He had also become an object of suspicion to the

Tractarians The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

, by his ''Letter to a Friend on Tract No. 89'', which he issued in 1841 (republished in ''Eight Essays'', 1852). After his return to Gloucester, and until his death, Maitland lived in retirement. He was an active supporter of

William Thoms William John Thoms (16 November 1803 – 15 August 1885) was a British writer credited with coining the term "folklore" in 1846. Thoms's investigation of folklore and myth led to a later career of debunking longevity myths, and he was a pione ...

, when ''

Notes and Queries ''Notes and Queries'', also styled ''Notes & Queries'', is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to " English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism".From the inne ...

'' was first started, and a frequent contributor to the earlier volumes, sometimes under the signature of "Rufus". He was a man of many accomplishments: musician; a draughtsman; he kept a small printing-press in his house, and tried his hand at bookbinding. Charles Hardwick, John Goulter Dowling,

James Craigie Robertson James Craigie Robertson (1813 – 9 July 1882) was a Scottish Anglican churchman, canon of Canterbury Cathedral, and author of a ''History of the Christian Church''. Life Robertson was born at Aberdeen, where his father was a merchant; his mothe ...

Henry Richards Luard Henry Richards Luard (25 August 1825 – 1 May 1891) was a British medieval historian and antiquary. Biography Luard was born on 25 August 1825 in London, the son of Henry Luard. He received his early education at Cheam School, Surrey. He gradua ...

, and John Eyton Bickersteth Mayor were among the historians he influenced. Maitland died at Gloucester on 19 January 1866, in his seventy-fifth year.

Works

In 1817 Maitland published his first pamphlet, ''A Dissertation on the Primary Objects of Idolatrous Worship'', unfashionably against Jacob Bryant's writings. During his absence abroad he published ''A Letter to the Rev. Charles Simeon'', in which he advocated the establishment of an institution which might serve as a place of refuge for Jewish converts. In 1826 Maitland put forth a pamphlet which he called ''An Enquiry into the Grounds on which the Prophetic Period of Daniel and St. John has been supposed to consist of 1260 Years''. This work argued against the Irvingite reading of the theory of

Joachim of Fiore Joachim of Fiore, also known as Joachim of Flora and in Italian Gioacchino da Fiore (c. 1135 – 30 March 1202), was an Italian Christian theologian, Catholic abbot, and the founder of the monastic order of San Giovanni in Fiore. According to th ...

. The pamphlet attracted a controversy which continued for some years. One of the side issues in the controversy turned on the question of the Catholic orthodoxy, or alleged

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, of the

Albigenses Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follo ...

and the Waldenses; Joseph Milner, in his ''Church History'', had claimed them as among the "Heavenly Witnesses" during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Maitland in 1832 published, in a volume of 546 pages, his most elaborate work entitled ''Facts and Documents illustrative of the History, Doctrine, and Rites of the ancient Albigenses and Waldenses''. Maitland allowed himself to speak with something like contempt of Milner's ''Church History'', and was attacked in print. In 1835 Maitland began to contribute to the ''British Magazine'', of which Hugh James Rose was then editor. Between him and Maitland a friendship had grown up, and at Rose's suggestion the articles collected in two volumes, as ''The Dark Ages: a Series of Essays intended to illustrate the State of Religion and Literature in the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth Centuries'' (1844), and ''Essays on Subjects connected with the Reformation in England'' (1849). Maitland's other works include: * ''A Dissertation on the Primary Objects of Idolatrous Worship'', 1817. * ''An Enquiry into the Grounds on which the Prophetic Period of Daniel and St. John has been supposed to consist of 1,260 Years'', 1826; 2nd edit., pp. 72, 1837. * ''Saint Bernard's Holy War Translated'' (by Maitland, with title-page etched by the translator), 1827. * ''A Letter to the Rev. Charles Simeon'' (Warsaw), 21 July 1828; 2nd edit. 1828. * ''A Second Enquiry'', pp. 175, 1829. * ''The 1,260 Days, in Reply to a Review in the "Morning Watch", No. 3, p. 509'', 1830. * ''An Attempt to elucidate the Prophecies concerning Antichrist'', 1830; 2nd edit. 1853. * ''A Letter to the Rev. W. Digby, A.M., occasioned by his Treatise on the 1,260 Days'' (Gloucester, 25 Oct.), 1831. * ''Eruvin, or Miscellaneous Essays on Subjects connected with the Nature, History, and Destiny of Man'', 1831; 2nd edit. 1850. * ''The Voluntary System''. Forty-two Letters reprinted from the ''Gloucestershire Chronicle'', 1834; 2nd edit. 1837. * ''The 1,260 Days, in Reply to the Strictures of William Cuninghame, Esq.'', 1834. Against

William Cuninghame of Lainshaw William Cuninghame of Lainshaw (c.1775–1849) was a Scottish landowner, known as a writer on biblical prophecy. He dated the beginning of the reign of Antichrist to 533 A.D., to coincide with a claimed date at which Justinian I gave universal ...

. * ''The Translation of Bishops'', pp. 24, 1834. * ''A Letter to the Rev. Hugh James Rose, B.D., Chaplain to his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, with Strictures on Milner's "Church History"'', pp. 53, 1834. * ''A second Letter to the same, containing Notes on Milner's "History of the Church in the Fourth Century"'', pp. 87, 1835. * ''A Letter to the Rev. John King, M.A., Incumbent of Christ Church, Hull'', occasioned by his pamphlet, ''Maitland not entitled to censure Milner'', pp. 91, 1835. * ''Remarks on that part of Rev. J. King's pamphlet ... which relates to the Waldenses'', pp. 80, 1836. * ''A Review of Fox the Martyrologist's "History of the Waldenses"'', 1837. * ''Six Letters on Fox's "Acts and Monuments", reprinted from the "British Magazine", with Notes and Additions'', 1837. * ''Remarks on the Constitution of the Committee of the Gloucester and Bristol Diocesan Church Building Association'', 1837. * ''A Letter to the Rev. W. H. Mill, D.D., containing some Strictures on Mr. Faber's recent work, entitled "The Ancient Waldenses and Albigenses"'', 1839. * ''A Letter to a Friend on the "Tract for the Times No. 89"''; reprinted in ''Eight Essays'', 1841. * ''Notes on the Contributions of the Rev. George Townsend to the new edit. of Fox's "Martyrology"'', 3 pts. 1841–2. * ''An Index of such English Books printed before the year MDC as are now in the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth'', pp. xii, 120, 1845. * ''Remarks on the first vol. of Strype's "Life of Archbishop Cranmer", reprinted from the ''British Magazine'', vols. i. and ii. 1848. * ''Ecclesiastical History Society. A Statement'', reprinted from ''British Magazine'', 1849. * ''Essays on Subjects connected with the Reformation in England'', reprinted, with additions from ''British Magazine'', 1849. * ''Illustrations and Enquiries relating to Mesmerism'', pt. i. pp. 82, 1849. * ''A Plan for a Church History Society'', pp. 16 (Gloucester, 15 October 1850), 1850. * ''Eight Essays on various Subjects'', pp. 254, 1852. * ''Convocation. Remarks on the Charge recently delivered by the Right Rev. Lord Bishop of Oxford'' ilberforce pp. 35, 1855. * ''Superstition and Science: an Essay'', 1855. * ''False Worship: an Essay'', 1856. * ''Chatterton: an Essay'', 1857. * ''Notes on Strype'' (Gloucester), 1858. * ''A Supplication for Toleration addressed to King James I by some of the late silenced Ministers, now reprinted with the King's notes by Rev. S. R. M.'', 1859. Written for sale at a bazaar was ''The Owl: a Didactic Poem. Carefully reprinted from the original edition by Thomas Savill, dwelling in St. Martin's Lane, Westminster'', 1842, 16 pp.

Family

Maitland survived his wife Selina, daughter of Christopher Stephenson, vicar of Olney, and his son, John Gorham Maitland. His grandson was

Frederic William Maitland Frederic William Maitland (28 May 1850 – ) was an English historian and lawyer who is regarded as the modern father of English legal history. Early life and education, 1850–72 Frederic William Maitland was born at 53 Guilford Street, L ...

(1850–1906), the historian of English Law. who was greatly influenced by his grandfather.Schuyler, Robert L "The Historical Spirit Incarnate: Frederic William Maitland" American Historical Association 1951

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Maitland, Samuel Roffey 1792 births 1866 deaths English people of Scottish descent Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 19th-century English Anglican priests English Anglicans 19th-century English historians English editors Fellows of the Royal Society