Antiquarian
An
antiquarian or
antiquary is one concerned with
antiquities or things of the past. More narrowly, the term is often used for those who studied
history with special attention to "
antiques"
i.e. ancient objects of art or science as physical traces of the past. Antiquarianism is usually considered to have emerged in the
sixteenth century; by the
nineteenth century it had become transformed and bifurcated into the academic disciplines of
archaeology and
philology.
The
Society of Antiquaries of London was formed in the
18th century to promote the study of antiquities. As early as
1572 a society had been founded by Bishop
Matthew Parker,
Sir Robert Cotton,
William Camden and others for the preservation of national antiquities. This body existed till
1604, when it fell under suspicion of being political in its aims, and was abolished by King
James I. Papers read at their meetings are preserved in the
Cottonian library and were printed by
Thomas Hearne in
1720 under the title
A Collection of Curious Discourses, a second edition appearing in
1771.
In
1707 a number of English antiquaries began to hold regular meetings for the discussion of their hobby and in
1717 the Society of Antiquaries was formally reconstituted, finally receiving a charter from King
George II in
1751. In
1780 King
George III granted the society apartments in
Somerset House in
The Strand. The society was governed by a council of twenty and a president who is
ex officio a trustee of the
British Museum.
The
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland was founded in
1780, and had the management of a large national antiquarian museum in
Edinburgh. In
Ireland a society was founded in
1849 called the
Kilkenny Archaeological Society, holding its meetings at
Kilkenny. In
1869 its name was changed to the
Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland, and in
1890 to the
Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, its office being transferred to
Dublin. In
France La Société Nationale des Antiquaires de France was formed in
1814 by the reconstruction of the
Acadêmie Celtique, which had existed since
1805. The
American Antiquarian Society was founded in
1812, with its headquarters at
Worcester, MA. It had a library of upwards of 100,000 volumes and its transactions were been published bi-annually starting
1849. In
Germany the
Gesamtverein der Deutschen Geschichtsund Altertumsvereine was founded in
1852.
La Société Royale des Antiquaires du Nord at
Copenhagen was among the best known of European antiquarian societies.
*
Patrick Abercromby*
Elias Ashmole *
John Aubrey*
Sir James Balfour*
Thomas Baker*
John Battely*
George Buck*
William Camden*
Abraham de la Pryme*
Rev. Dr. Henry Duncan*
Robert Stephen Hawker*
Montague Rhodes James*
John Leland – to king
Henry VIII. He was appointed Royal Antiquarian in
1533*
Edward Lhuyd*
H.P. Lovecraft*
Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh*
Peregrine O'Duignan*
Ruaidhri O Flaithbheartaigh*
Dorning Rasbotham*
Fred Rosenstock*
William Forbes Skene*
George Vertue*
Olaus Wormius*
Thomas Wright*
John Stow*
Robert Crowley*
John Foxe*
Richard Grafton*
John Bale*
Historian*
The Antiquary by Sir
Walter Scott*
*
American Antiquarian Soceity
