Edward Meetkerke (1590 – August 1657) was an English clergyman and academic,

Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford The Regius Professorship of Hebrew in the University of Oxford is a professorship at the University of Oxford, founded by Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. ...

from 1620.

Life

He was born in the parish of

St Botolph, Aldersgate St Botolph without Aldersgate (also known as St Botolph's, Aldersgate) is a Church of England church in London dedicated to St Botolph. It was built just outside Aldersgate, one of the gates on London's wall, in the City of London. The churc ...

, London, and baptized in the Dutch Church, Austin Friars, on 29 September 1590. He was the only son of Sir Adolphus van Meetkerke, ambassador to England from the

States-General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States General originated i ...

, by his second wife, Margaret (1549–1594), daughter of John Lichtervelde of

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, was elected to

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 1606, and matriculated on 16 January 1607. He graduated B.A. in 1610, was chosen student, and became a tutor in his college. In 1613 he proceeded M.A., was incorporated M.A. at Cambridge in 1617, and received the B.D. degree at Oxford with a license to preach on 19 June 1620. He became D.D. on 26 May 1625. Meetkerke was elected to the regius professorship of Hebrew at Oxford on 8 November 1620. He resigned it in 1626 on being presented to the rectory of

Easton, Hampshire Easton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Itchen Valley, in the Winchester district, in the county of Hampshire, England, situated on the River Itchen, 2¾ miles north east of Winchester. In 1931 the parish had a popula ...

. On 9 January 1631, he installed the prebendary of

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

. Under the Commonwealth, he was deprived of his prebend and retired to his rectory, where he died in August 1657, and was buried in the middle of the chancel of the church. Having inherited his father's estate and bought a property in Hampshire, he died comparatively rich.

Works

There are some poems by Meetkerke in the Oxford collections of 1619 on the death of

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

, and of 1625 on the death of

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...

on the marriage of Charles I. The first of these poems is in Latin; the two latter are in Hebrew.

Family

By his wife Barbara, daughter of the Rev. Dr. More, who survived him, he had a son, Adolf (1628–1664), M.A. of Christ Church, Oxford, and a daughter, Frances, married to Nathaniel Naper or Napier.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Meetkerke, Edward 1590 births 1657 deaths 17th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford Christian Hebraists Regius Professors of Hebrew (University of Oxford)