Nicolas Tindal
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Nicolas Tindal (1687 – 27 June 1774) was the translator and continuer of the ''History of England'' by
Paul de Rapin Paul de Rapin (25 March 1661 – 25 April 1725), sieur of Thoyras (and therefore styled de Rapin de Thoyras), was a Huguenot historian writing under English patronage. His ''History of England'', written and first published in French in 1724–2 ...
. Very few comprehensive histories existed at the time and Tindal wrote a three-volum
'Continuation'
a history of the Kingdom from the reigns of James II to George II. Tindal was Rector of
Alverstoke Alverstoke is a village in the borough of Gosport, on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It stretches east–west from Fort Blockhouse, Haslar to Browndown Battery, and is centred east of the shore of Stokes Bay and near the head of a cree ...
in
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
, Vicar of Great Waltham, Essex, Chaplain of Greenwich Hospital and a Fellow of
Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...
.


Background

Tindal's father, John Tindal, the Rector of Cornwood,
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
and Vicar of
St Ives, Cornwall St Ives (, meaning "Ia of Cornwall, St Ia's cove") is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times, it was comm ...
, was the brother of Matthew Tindal, the eminent
deist Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin term '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...
and author of 'Christianity as Old as the Creation'. A near relation of Thomas, 1st Lord Clifford,
Lord High Treasurer The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord H ...
of Charles II, the Tindal family were derived from Baron Adam de Tindale, a tenant in chief of
Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
. Nichols, John (1812) ''Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century'', Vol IX: ''Genealogy of the Family of Tindal of Northumberland, Devon & Essex''. Tindal went up to
Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...
, where he took an MA degree in 1713. From Oxford, he took up his rectory in Hampshire and was later appointed a Fellow of Trinity. When Tindal mastered the
French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...
is unclear, although he was the first member of his family to bear the French spelling of his name - a very popular one amongst his descendants. However, he first engaged in his life's work of historical translation with the publication, in monthly numbers, of his translation (from the French of
Antoine Augustin Calmet Antoine Augustin Calmet, (; 26 February 167225 October 1757), a French Benedictine abbot, was born at Ménil-la-Horgne, then in the Duchy of Bar, part of the Holy Roman Empire (now the French department of Meuse, located in the region of Lor ...
) of the "Dissertation of the Excellency of the History of the Hebrews above that of any other Nation, wherein are examined the Antiquities and History of the Assyrians, Chaldans, Egyptians, Phoeninicans, Chinese &c. with the Peopling of America... Written in French by R. P. D'Augustin Calmet", which appears to have been a considerable undertaking. Tindal went on to write a ''History of
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
'', having become Vicar of Great Waltham, although this project never came to fruition.'' New Dictionary of National Biography'' ('DNB') (Oxford, 2004)


'History of England' & the 'Continuation'

Tindal's great work was his thirteen volume translation of Rapin's History, which was first published in 1727. We learn that he had been appointed Chaplain to the Fleet from his dedication of the earlier volumes, one of which was written in
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
. Tindal enlarged the volumes in their second edition (1732) to contain notes, genealogical tables and maps of his own composition. The work was a great contribution to the development of British
historiography Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...
of the eighteenth century as so few well written histories existed at the time; and none of them so comprehensive. While the works are principally of narrative form, the discursive analysis of many of the sources and contentions of a number of periods was very advanced for its time. Tindal was rewarded by the presentation of a gold medal by
Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...
, to whom he had dedicated the second volume Rapin had finished his work at the death of James II, giving Tindal the opportunity of demonstrating his own historical abilities. His ''Continuation'' brought forward the works to the reign of George II. Tindal's work was much valued at the time, although not without controversy. Some had questioned the authorship of the ''Continuation''; although there is no evidence to support those contentions and his many other works and literary style point to his pen.


Other works and life

Tindal continued his translations with that of Prince Cantemir's ''History of the Othman Empire''' (''sic'') in 1734. The 'Guide to Classical Learning, or Polymetis abridged, for Schools', of which he was editor, was a rare classical text-book which remained of importance throughout the century. Tindal appears to have attracted some controversy during his life. Aside from that relating to his 'Continuation', he was engaged in a bitter dispute with one
Eustace Budgell Eustace Budgell (19 August 1686 – 4 May 1737) was an English writer and politician. Life and career Born in St Thomas near Exeter, he was the son of Gilbert Budgell, D.D. by his first wife Mary, only daughter of Bishop William Gulston of Bri ...
about his apparent disinheritance by his uncle, Matthew Tindal. Budgell had adopted some of Tindal's freethinking views and assisted him in publishing his 'Christianity as Old as the Creation'. However, he had fallen on hard times, losing up to £20,000 in the
South Sea Bubble South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
. It was therefore of some surprise that Matthew Tindal had apparently left the greater part of his fortune to this man, to the exclusion of Tindal, who had been named in a previously published will. Budgell was prosecuted for forgery but committed suicide by drowning himself in the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
before the case came to trial. Whether Tindal was ever repaid the 2000 guineas of which he had been defrauded is unclear, though
Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...
declaimed: :''Let Budgell charge low Grub-street on my quill,'' :''And write whate-er he please, except my Will.'' Tindal himself was recorded as saying of Garrick that 'The ''deaf'' hear him in his ''action'', and the ''blind'' see him in his ''voice''.'. Tindal's long association with Greenwich Hospital and the Naval Office is commemorated by a portrait by
George Knapton George Knapton (1698–1778) was an English portrait painter and the first portraitist for the Society of Dilettanti in the 1740s. He became Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, Surveyor and Keeper of the King's Pictures from 1765 to 1778. Life a ...
, now in the collection of the
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...
Website of the National Maritime Museum
/ref> From this was taken the engraving that illustrates this article.


Family

Tindal's son, Capt George Tindal, RN, purchased Coval Hall,
Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...
, during Tindal's lifetime, where the family were based for some generations. His great grandson, Sir Nicolas Conyngham Tindal, was
Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the common pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the other two common la ...
from 1829 - 1843.


Legacy

The authors of the ninth volume of the ''Cambridge History of English and American Literature'' conclude that


Notes


Sources

*Noggle, James (2004) "Literary Taste as Counter-Enlightenment in Hume's History of England" in ''SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900'' - Volume 44, Number 3, summer 2004, pp. 617–638 *Nichols, John (1812) ''Literary Anecdotes'
Article on Nicolas Tindal
*''Gentlemen's Magazine'' (1733) Vol III p 356 *'' New Dictionary of National Biography'' ('DNB') (Oxford, 2004) *Tindal, Nicola
''The Continuation of Mr Rapin's History of England'
*'Encyclopædia Britannica (1823)
Article on Budgell, p 778
*Byron, George Gordon; Moore, Thomas (ed) (1859) 'The Poetical Works of Lord Byron
p 452 (note)
* Nichols, John (1812) ''Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century'', Vol IX: "Genealogy of the Family of Tindal of Northumberland, Devon & Essex". *''Burke's Landed Gentry'' (1863)
'Tindal of Chelmsford'Website of the National Maritime Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tindal, Nicholas 1687 births 1774 deaths French–English translators Historians of the British Isles Historians of Europe Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Fellows of Trinity College, Oxford 18th-century British translators