Arnold Boate
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Arnold Boate, originally called de Boot (1606–1653) was a
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
, writer and
Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...
who spent much of his life abroad, and lived for several years in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. There he married Margaret Dongan, a judge's daughter, whom he portrayed lovingly in his book ''The Character of a Truly Virtuous and Pious Woman''.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.1 p.340 He was the brother of Gerard Boate, author of '' The Natural History of Ireland'', for which Arnold supplied much of the material. Both Gerard and Arnold were members of the Hartlib circle.


Background

Born Arnold de Boot in
Gorinchem Gorinchem ( ), pronunciation respelling, also spelled Gorkum, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. It had a population of in . The munici ...
in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, he was a younger son of the Dutch
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
Godfried de Boot (c.1570-1625) and his wife Christine van Loon. Like his brother, he attended the
University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...
and qualified as a
doctor of medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...
. He also developed a deep interest in
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
studies and in particular the correct reading of the
Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
. His first book, co-written with Francis Taylor and entitled ''Examen Praefationis Morini in Biblia Graeca de Textus Ebraici et Graeci authoritate'' was published in
Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...
in 1630.


Career

He and his brother Gerard moved to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
about 1630 to practice medicine. It was said that they became involved in a dispute with the
Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...
, but Arnold was lucky enough to become personal physician to
Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1 December 1595 – 2 November 1677) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1625 and then succeeded to the peerage as Earl of Leicester. Life Sidney was born ...
. Leicester was later appointed
Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...
and, though he never actually went to
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, he may have recommended Arnold to his Irish friends. Arnold's writings had already brought him to the attention of
James Ussher James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific Irish scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ...
,
Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...
, and it was Ussher who invited Arnold to Ireland in 1636. He became Ussher's personal physician, and was later appointed
Surgeon-General Surgeon general (: surgeons general) is a title used in several Commonwealth countries and most NATO nations to refer either to a senior military medical officer or to a senior uniformed physician commissioned by the government and entrusted with p ...
to the
Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...
.Mendyk, S. ''Gerard Boate and "Ireland's Natural History"'' (1985) The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Vol. 115 pp.5-8 He also built up a flourishing private practice among the Dutch community in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. In 1641 Gerard and Arnold co-wrote ''Philosophia Naturalis Reformata'', an attack upon
Aristotelianism Aristotelianism ( ) is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by Prior Analytics, deductive logic and an Posterior Analytics, analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics ...
. Arnold's experience as an army doctor also led him to write ''Diverse remarkable passages .. of our Army in Ireland (1642) ''and'' Observationes medicae de affectibus a veteribus omissis (1649). His marriage, which was a love match, to Margaret Dongan, daughter of
Thomas Dongan Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick (1634 – 14 December 1715) was an Irish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New York from 1683 to 1688. He called the first representative legislature in the Province o ...
, judge of the
Court of King's Bench (Ireland) The Court of King's Bench (of Queen's Bench when the sovereign was female, and formerly of Chief Place or Chief Pleas) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The King's Ben ...
and his first wife Grace Palmer, strengthened his ties with the Irish Protestant ruling class, although his father-in-law, according to Elrington Ball, was not much respected, partly because he was known to be a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
who conformed to the
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
faith only for the purpose of his career. Arnold, however, wrote of Dongan in his memoir of Margaret with affection and respect. Dongan was a wealthy man, but suffered heavy losses during the
Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...
. Arnold's sympathies were with the Cromwellian cause and he is said to have acted as a spy for
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
. In 1644 Arnold decided to quit Ireland. He moved briefly to stay with his brother in London but then settled permanently in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. He is said to have spied for Cromwell on English Royalists while in Paris.Armstrong Much of his later career was spent in scholarly dispute with Louis Capel, who had questioned his
Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...
readings and the result was a lengthy
pamphlet war Pamphlet wars refer to any protracted argument or discussion through printed medium, especially between the time the printing press became common, and when state intervention like copyright laws made such public discourse more difficult. The purpose ...
, involving several scholars on both sides, including Ussher. Like his brother, he was a member of the Hartlib Circle, the circle of scholars who corresponded with
Samuel Hartlib Samuel Hartlib or Hartlieb (c. 1600 – 10 March 1662)
M. Greengrass, "Hartlib, Samuel (c. 1600–1662)", ''Oxford D ...
on scientific, religious and political issues, and he is credited with having established the Irish branch of the circle; even after he left Ireland he acted as a conduit between Hartlib and Ussher. Gerard's most famous work ''The Natural History of Ireland'' was written, at Hartlib's suggestion, from material collected by Arnold. After Gerard's death in 1650 Hartlib suggested that Arnold continue the work, but Arnold himself died in Paris in 1653.


Family

On
Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...
1642 Arnold married Margaret Dongan (1626-1651). Of their three children two died young. Mariana, their only surviving daughter, married Marcus Beyerman. Margaret died in April 1651 from complications during
pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...
. Arnold was devoted to his wife, and shortly after her death he published a remarkable tribute, ''The Character of a Truly Virtuous and Pious Woman as it has been acted by Mistress Margaret Dongan'', which was dedicated to Thomas Sydserf,
Bishop of Galloway The Bishop of Galloway, also called the Bishop of Whithorn, is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Galloway, said to have been founded by Saint Ninian in the mid-5th century. The subsequent Anglo-Saxon bishopric was founded in the late 7 ...
. It paints a picture of a young woman who was notable for beauty, religious fervour, kindness, peaceful nature, charity and family loyalty


Works

*
Examen Praefationis Morini in Biblia Graeca de Textus Ebraici Corruptione et Graeca Authoritate
' (co-authored with Francis Taylor) (1630) * ''Philosophia Naturalis Reformata'' (co-author) (1641) * ''A Remonstrance on Diverse Remarkable Passages by our Army'' (1642) * '' Animadversiones sacrae ad textum Hebraicum veteris testemetnti'' (1644) * ''Observationes medicae de affectibus a veteribus omissis'' (1649) *
De textus Hebraici veteris tetementi certitudine
' (1650) * ''The Character of a Truly Virtuous and Pious Woman...'' (1651) * ''Arnoldi Booti vindiciae...'' (1653)


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boate, Arnold Dutch male writers 1606 births 1653 deaths People from Gorinchem Dutch Hebraists Leiden University alumni Natural philosophers 17th-century Dutch physicians 17th-century Dutch philosophers Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians