Wentworth Webster (16 June 1828 – 2 April 1907) was an Anglican clergyman, scholar, and collector of folk tales of the Basque Country.
Biography
After studying in a private school in Brighton, he entered
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, t ...
at the age of 21 and graduated in 1852. In 1854, he started as a deacon in the parish of Cloford,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lor ...
. Though his fragile health delayed his ordination, he became a priest in 1861. He was then allowed to exercise his ministry to the English residents in France.
He had previously traveled to
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
Azores
)
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( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem=( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
,
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...
, and
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...
. From 1862 to 1863, he traveled to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
before settling in southwest France. He was a tutor in the commune of Bagneres-de-Bigorre where he met his future wife. Eventually, he served as the first chaplain of the new anglican church established in
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous c ...
. During his stay, he collected traditional Basque tales from the local people. With the help of Basque scholar
Julien Vinson
Julien Vinson (21 January 1843 – 21 November 1926) was a French linguist who specialized in the languages of India, mainly Tamil, and also in the Basque language.
Early years
Julien Vinson was born in 1843 to a French family living in Pondi ...
, he published these stories in the first edition of his ''Basque Legends'' in 1877.
Webster regularly published books including a book on
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
entitled ''Spain''. In 1882, he resigned from his position at the parish of Saint-Jean-de-Luz and settled in Sare in the heart of Labourd. He continued to write religious and erudite articles on the Basque Country for both
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English ...
magazines and regional ones. He often traveled to the neighboring countries where he met many of his friends, including Antoine d'Abbadie. He also received many visitors including
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...
, the British
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
at the time. In 1901, he wrote ''Les Loisirs d'un étranger en Pays basque''.
In March 1907, King
Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
went to Sare to attend a game of
Basque pelota
Basque pelota ( Basque: '' pilota'', Spanish: '' pelota vasca'', French: '' pelote basque'') is the name for a variety of court sports played with a ball using one's hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket, against a wall (''frontis or fronton ...
played in his honor. However, Webster, too weakened by illness, was not able to greet the king. Wentworth Webster died on 2 April 1907 while drafting an article on the Basque Country for the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The ( Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various ...
''.
Works
*''Basque Legends'', London, Griffith and Farran, 1877.
*''Spain'', Foreign Countries and British Colonies collection, Simpson Low, London, 1882.
*''Grammaire cantabrique basque par Pierre d'Urte (1712)'', published by Wentworth Webster, Bagnères-de-Bigorre, 1900.
*''Les Loisirs d'un étranger au Pays basque'', Châlons-sur-Saöne, Imprimerie française et orientale E. Bertrand, 1901.
Sources
*"Wentworth Webster (1828-1907)", by Philippe Veyrin, in Wentworth Webster, ''Légendes Basques'', Anglet, Éditions Aubéron, 2005