John Lingard
John Lingard [1]
a Roman Catholic priest, and one of the most eminent. of modern historians, was born at Winchester, England, February 5, 1771. He studied at the Roman Catholic College of Douai, France, and remained there until obliged by the horrors of the French Revolution to return to England. The college was finally settled at Ushaw, near the city of Durham. and Mr. Lingard there performed the duties of some of its offices. He revisited France for a short time during the dangerous period of the Revolution, and on one occasion barely escaped being mobbed as a priest. In 1805 he wrote for the Newcastle Courant a series of letters, which were collected and published under the title of Catholic Loyalty vindicated (12mo). He afterwards wrote several controversial pamphlets, which in 1813 were published in a volume having the title of Tracts on several Subjects connected with the Civil and Religious Principles of the Catholics (reprinted by F. Lucas, Jr., at Baltimore, 1823, 12mo, and often). Dr. Lingard's great work, however, is hi is History of England from the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of William and Mary in 1688 (Londaon, 181925, 6 volumes, 4to; 2d edit. 1823-31, 14 volumes, 8vo; 4th edit. 1837, 13 volumes, 12mo; 5th ed. 1849-50, 10 volumes, 8vo; 6th ed. 1854-55, 10 volumes, 8vo; American editions, published by Dunigan, N.Y., 13 volumes, 12mo; by Sampson & Co., of Boston, 1853-54, 13 volumes, 12mo, of which the last is the best).
It is a work of great research, founded on ancient writers and original documents, displaying much erudition and acuteness, and opening fields of inquiry previously unexplored. The narrative is clear, the dates are accurately given, and the authorities referred to distinctly. The style is perspicuous, terse, and unostentatious. The work, perhaps, exhibits too exclusively the great facts and circumstances, military, civil, and ecclesiastical, and enters less than might be desirable into the manners, customs, arts, and condition of the people. In all matters connected with the Romish Church the work is, as might have been expected, colored by the very decided religious opinions of the author, but these are not offensively set forth. Dr. Lingard, after the completion of his "History of England," paid a visit to Rome, where pope Leo XII offered to make him cardinal, but he refused the dignity, partly because he did not feel qualified for the office, and partly because it would have interfered with his favorite studies. He spent the last forty years of his life in the small preferment belonging to the Roman Catholic church at the village of Hornby, near Lancaster, enjoying the esteem and friendship of all, both Protestants and Roman Catholics. He died July 13, 1851, and was buried in the cemetery of St. Cuthbert's College, at Ushaw, to which institution he bequeathed his library. Lingard was also the author of Catechetical Instructions on the Doctrines and Worship of the Catholic Church (2d edit. Lond. 1840, 12mo; 3d edit. 1844, 18mo): — A Review of certain Anti-Catholic Publications (Lond. 1813, 8vo): — Examination of certain Opinions advanced by Bishop Burgess (anon.) (Manchester, 1813, 8vo): — Scriptures on Dr. Marsh's Comparative View of the Churches of England and Rome (Lond. 1815, 8vo): — Observations on the Laws and Ordinances which exist in Foreign States relative to the Religious Concerns of their Roman Catholic Subjects (anon.) (Lond. 1817. 8vo): — Documents to ascertain the Sentinments of British Catholics in former Ages respecting the Power of the Popes (Lond. 1819, 8vo): — The History and Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church (Lond. 1806; 1845, 2 volumes, 8vo; Philippians 1841, 12mo). In 1836 he published anonymously an English translation of the N.T., which is said to be accurate and faithful in several passages where the Douai translation is faulty. See Engl. Cycl. . 5; the London Times (July 25, 1851); Gentleman's Magazine (September 1851, page 323 sq.); Herzog, Real-Encyklop. volume 8, s.v.; Lowndes, Brit. Lib. page 1096 sq.; Brit. and For. Rev. 1844, page 374 sq.; and the excellent article in Allibone, Dict. Brit. and Amer. Authors, 2:1102-1105. (J.H.W.)
