Peter Le Neve (21 January 1661 – 24 September 1729) was an English herald and antiquary. He was appointed Rouge Dragon Pursuivant 17 January 1690 and created Norroy King at Arms on 25 May 1704. From 1707 to 1721 he was Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary, an

officer of arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state; * to conserve ...

of the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

. He was a Fellow and first President of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

and a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. Among his library's holdings was a volume of fragments that found its way into the collection of

Richard Rawlinson Richard Rawlinson Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (3 January 1690 – 6 April 1755) was an England, English clergyman and antiquarian collector of books and manuscripts, which he bequeathed to the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Oxford. ...

and thence to the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

, Oxford, that contains the so-called " Rawlinson Excidium Troie", a unique testimony to a Latin account of the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

that was used by many medieval writers. Peter Le Neve was the son of Francis Neve, citizen and Draper of London, by Avice, daughter of Peter Wright. He was the brother of Oliver Le Neve.

External links

National Archives: Peter Le Neve papersLe Neve's Pedigrees of the Knights Made by King Charles II, King James II, King William III and Queen Mary, King William Alone and Queen Anne, George W. Marshall (ed.), Printed by Mitchell and Hughes, London, 1873
{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Neve, Peter 1661 births 1729 deaths 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers 18th-century English male writers English antiquarians English genealogists English officers of arms Fellows of the Royal Society Le Neve, Peter Le Neve, Peter Place of birth unknown Place of death unknown