Lancelot Addison (1632 – 20 April 1703) was an English writer and Church of England clergyman. He was born at Crosby RavensworthJohn Julian: ''Dictionary of Hymnology'', 2nd edition, p. 19. London: John Murray, 1907. in

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

. He was educated at the

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

. Addison worked at

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

for seven years and upon his return he wrote ''"West Barbary, or a Short Narrative of the Revolutions of the Kingdoms of Fez and Morocco",'' (1671). In 1670 he was appointed royal chaplain or Chaplain in Ordinary to the King, shortly thereafter Rector of Milston, Wilts (from 1670 to 1681), and Prebendary in the Cathedral of Salisbury. In 1681 Milston Rectory burnt down.ODNB: Pat Rogers, "Addison, Joseph (1672–1719

Alastair Hamilton, "Addison, Lancelot (1632–1703)
Retrieved 1 May 2014
/ref> In 1683 he became Lichfield Cathedral, Dean of Lichfield, and in 1684 Archdeacon of Coventry. Among his other works was ''"The Present State of the Jews"'' (1675), a detailed study of the Jewish population of the Barbary Coast in the seventeenth century, their customs, and their religious behaviour.Rosenberger Collection, University of Chicago; Early Apologists and Christian Hebraists #1

/ref> Scholars have pointed out that part of Addison's book simply repeats material found in the English translation of

Johannes Buxtorf Johannes Buxtorf () (December 25, 1564September 13, 1629) was a celebrated Hebraist, member of a family of Orientalists; professor of Hebrew for thirty-nine years at Basel and was known by the title, "Master of the Rabbis". His massive tome, '' ...

's work ''Synagoga Judaica: The Jewish Synagogue, or an Historical Narration of the State of the Jewes'' (London, 1657).University of Pennsylvania Library
/ref> He died in 1703 leaving three sons, the essayist

Joseph Addison Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 May 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician. He was the eldest son of Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard Steele, with w ...

(1672–1719, eldest child), Gulston Addison, who became Governor of

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, and the scholar Lancelot Addison (1680–1710), and two daughters: Dorothy Addison (1674–1750) and Anne Addison (1676-Unknown). Addison was buried in Lichfield Cathedral in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Addison, Lancelot 1632 births 1703 deaths Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford People from Crosby Ravensworth Deans of Lichfield Archdeacons of Coventry English Anglicans Burials at Lichfield Cathedral People from English Tangier 17th-century Anglican theologians 18th-century Anglican theologians