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Percy, Thomas
Percy, Thomas (1729–1812). Percy was the son of a grocer from Bridgnorth in Shropshire and educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He took orders, from 1757 to 1782 held the living at Easton Maudit in Northamptonshire, and for the rest of his life was bishop of Dromore in Co. Down. A scholar and antiquarian, he began early in life collecting ancient ballads, having rescued from a friend in Shifnal an old manuscript folio of verse which the maids were using to light the fire. Negotiations with printers were difficult, but he received encouragement from Shenstone and from Samuel Johnson, who wrote the dedication. The Reliques of Ancient English Poetry came out in 1765 and was a leap forward in the preservation and understanding of medieval ballads. Johnson's ridicule and well-known parodies were directed, not at Percy's ballads, but at contemporary imitations. Percy's scholarly interests were increasingly hampered by his episcopal duties and by failing eyesight.
J. A. Cannon |
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JOHN CANNON. "Percy, Thomas." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Percy, Thomas." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-PercyThomas.html JOHN CANNON. "Percy, Thomas." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-PercyThomas.html |
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Percy, Thomas
Percy, Thomas, born Piercy (1729–1811), published in 1761 a translation (from the Portuguese) of the first Chinese novel to appear in English, Hau Kiou Choaan, and in 1763 his Five Pieces of Runic Poetry Translated from the Islandic Language, which considerably influenced the study of ancient Norse in England. Percy also published poetry (including his ballad The Hermit of Warkworth, 1771), translated from the Hebrew and Spanish, and wrote a Memoir of Goldsmith (1801). He is best known for his celebrated collection Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (3 vols, 1765), which contributed greatly to the understanding of the older English poetry. (See also Percy Folio and ballad.)
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Percy, Thomas." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Percy, Thomas." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-PercyThomas.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Percy, Thomas." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-PercyThomas.html |
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Percy, Thomas
Percy, Thomas (1729–1812). Percy was the son of a grocer from Bridgnorth in Shropshire and educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He took orders, from 1757 to 1782 held the living at Easton Maudit in Northamptonshire, and for the rest of his life was bishop of Dromore in Co. Down. A scholar and antiquarian, he began early in life collecting ancient ballads, having rescued from a friend in Shifnal an old manuscript folio of verse which the maids were using to light the fire. The Reliques of Ancient English Poetry came out in 1765 and was a leap forward in the preservation and understanding of medieval ballads.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Percy, Thomas." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Percy, Thomas." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-PercyThomas.html JOHN CANNON. "Percy, Thomas." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-PercyThomas.html |
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Thomas Percy
Thomas Percy 1729–1811, English antiquary and churchman, b. Shropshire. In 1782 he became Protestant bishop of Dromore (Ireland). He achieved literary fame as the editor of the Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (3 vol., 1765), a collection of 176 English and Scottish ballads. Its publication initiated a general interest in earlier literary forms and exercised a great influence on the romantic poets in Germany as well as England.
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"Thomas Percy." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Thomas Percy." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Percy-Th.html "Thomas Percy." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Percy-Th.html |
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