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Thomas Urquhart

January 01, 1970

This article is about the 17th-century Scottish aristocrat. For the former mayor of Toronto, see Thomas Urquhart (politician). For the Florida politician, see Thomas Urquhart (Florida).

Sir Thomas Urquhart (1611–1660) was a Scottish aristocrat, writer, and translator. He is best known for his translation of the works of French Renaissance writer François Rabelais to English.

Sir
Thomas Urquhart
Urquhart in a 1641 engraving by George Glover
Born1611
Cromarty, Scotland
Died1660 (aged 48–49)
Cromarty, Scotland
EducationKing's College, Aberdeen
Occupation(s)translator and author
Notable workLogopandecteision

Biography edit

Urquhart was born to Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty and Christian Elphinstone, daughter of Alexander Elphinstone, 4th Lord Elphinstone. At the age of eleven he attended King's College, University of Aberdeen. Afterwards he toured the Continent, returning in 1636. In 1639, he participated in the Royalist uprising known as the Trot of Turriff; he was knighted by Charles I at Whitehall for his support. In 1641 he published his first book, a volume of epigrams.[1]

Urquhart's father died in 1642, leaving behind a large estate encumbered by larger debts. As the eldest son, Urquhart was from that time on harassed by creditors. He left for the Continent in order to economize, but returned in 1645 and published Trissotetras, a mathematical treatise.[1]

In 1648, Urquhart participated in the Royalist uprising at Inverness. He was declared a traitor by Parliament, though he doesn't seem to have suffered any other consequences. Two years later he marched with Charles II and fought in the Battle of Worcester. The Royalist forces were decisively defeated and Urquhart was taken prisoner. He lost all his manuscripts, which he had brought with him for safekeeping, and he had to forfeit all his property. He was held first at the Tower of London and later at Windsor, but he was given considerable freedom by his captors. The following year he published Pantochronachanon, a work of genealogy, and The Jewel, a defense of Scotland. In 1652, he was paroled by Cromwell and returned to Cromarty. Soon after he published Logopandecteision, his plan for a universal language, and his most celebrated work, his translation of Rabelais.[1]

Urquhart returned to the Continent some time after 1653, perhaps as a condition of his release by Cromwell.[1] Little is known of his life after this time. He died no later than 1660, because in that year his younger brother took up his hereditary titles.

There is a legend that Urquhart died in a fit of laughter on receiving news of the Restoration of Charles II.[2][3]

Works edit

Epigrams, Divine and Moral (1641)
Collections of epigrams were fashionable in the mid seventeenth century, but Urquhart's contribution to the genre has not been highly regarded. Most critics have concluded that the sentiments are largely banal and the versification inept.
Trissotetras (1645)
Trissotetras treats plane and spherical trigonometry using Napier's logarithms and a new nomenclature designed to facilitate memorization. Urquhart's nomenclature resembles the names medieval schoolmen gave the various forms of syllogism, in which the construction of the name gives information about the thing being named. (Urquhart would make use of the same idea in his universal language.) The resulting effect is, however, bizarre, and the work is impenetrable without the investment of considerable time to learn Urquhart's system. Although Urquhart was a formidable mathematician and Trissotetras mathematically sound, his approach has never been adopted and his book is a dead end in the history of mathematics.
Pantochronachanon (1652)
Subtitled "A peculiar promptuary of time," this work is a genealogy of the Urquhart family. In it, Urquhart manages to name each of his ancestors in an unbroken hereditary line from Adam and Eve all the way up to himself through 153 generations. This work has been the subject of ridicule since the time of its first publication, though it was likely an elaborate joke.
The Jewel (Ekskybalauron) (1652)
A miscellaneous work. It contains a prospectus for Urquhart's universal language, but most of the book is, as the title page says, "a vindication of the honor of Scotland," including anecdotes about many Scottish soldiers and scholars. It includes Urquhart's fictionalized life of the Scottish hero James Crichton (1560–82, "The Admirable Crichton"), Urquhart's most celebrated work outside of his Rabelais; this section has sometimes been reprinted separately.
Logopandecteision (1653)
This book contains another prospectus for Urquhart's universal language. Although Urquhart does not give a vocabulary, he explains that his system would be based on a scheme in which the construction of words would reflect their meanings. Logopandecteision also contains a polemic against Urquhart's creditors.
The Works of Rabelais (Books I and II, 1653; Book III, 1693)
This is the work for which Urquhart is best known. It was described by the English author Charles Whibley, as "the finest translation ever made from one language into another"[4] and a "magnificent and unsurpassable translation", by the academic Roger Craik.[5] There is a perfect match of temperament between author and translator. Urquhart's learning, pedantry and word-mad exuberance proved to be ideal for Rabelais's work. It is a somewhat free translation, but it never departs from the spirit of Rabelais. The third book was edited and completed by Peter Anthony Motteux and published after Urquhart's death.

Style edit

Urquhart's prose style is unique. His sentences are long and elaborate, and his love of the odd and recondite word seems boundless.[6] At its worst his style can descend into almost unintelligible pretension and pedantry ("a pedantry which is gigantesque and almost incredible", in the words of George Saintsbury), but at its best it can be rich, rapid and vivid, with arresting and original imagery. He coined words constantly, although none of Urquhart's coinages have fared as well as those of his contemporary Browne.

Popular culture edit

Urquhart appears as the protagonist of Alasdair Gray's short story "Sir Thomas's Logopandocy" (included in Unlikely Stories, Mostly), the title taken from Urquhart's Logopandecteision. Urquhart appears in the illustrations throughout Unlikely Stories.[7]

Urquhart appears as a major character in the novel A Hand-book of Volapük by Andrew Drummond. Urquhart's language proposal "The Jewel" as well as Volapük, Esperanto, and other constructed languages are prominent plot devices in the novel.[8]

One of the characters in Robertson Davies' The Cornish Trilogy, Urquhart McVarish, claims to be a descendant of Urquhart.[9]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Urquhart, Sir Thomas" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 801–802.
  2. ^ Brown, Huntington (1968). Rabelais in English Literature. Routledge. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-7146-2051-0.
  3. ^ The History of Scottish Poetry. Edmonston & Douglas. 1861. p. 539, footnote 4.
  4. ^ Whibley, Charles (1898). Studies in Frankness. London. p. 255.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Craik, Roger (1 January 1999). "Sir Thomas Urquhart's Translation of Rabelais". Studies in Scottish Literature. 31 (1). ISSN 0039-3770.
  6. ^ Reid, David (1984), Sir Thomas's Gem, a review of The Jewel, in Parker, Geoff (ed.), Cencrastus No. 19, Winter 1984, pp. 45 & 46, ISSN 0264-0856
  7. ^ Gray, Alasdair (1983). Unlikely stories mostly. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 0-86241-029-0. OCLC 9606023.
  8. ^ Drummond, Andrew (2006), A Hand-book of Volapük', Birlinn, ISBN 9781904598671
  9. ^ Galbraith, John Kenneth (14 February 1982). "The World of Wonders of Robertson Davies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 January 2022.

Further reading edit

  • Seccombe, Thomas (1899). "Urquhart, Thomas (1611-1660)" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 58. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  • Jack, R. D. S. "Urquhart, Sir Thomas, of Cromarty (1611–1660)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/28019. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  • Boston, Richard (1975), The Admirable Urquhart, London: Gordon Fraser
  • Thomson, Alexander (ed) (2011). "Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty: 400th Anniversary Conference." Cromarty, Cromarty Arts Trust
  • Reid, David (ed.) (1984), The Party-Coloured Mind, Scottish Academic Press, ISBN 9780707303048
  • Willcock, John (1899), Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromartie, Knight, Edinburgh and London: Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier. (Book at Internet Archive (the OCR is uncorrected, but the DjVu files are fine))

External links edit

 
Wikisource has original works by or about:
Thomas Urquhart
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Urquhart.
  • Works by Thomas Urquhart at Project Gutenberg
  • Works by or about Thomas Urquhart at Internet Archive
  • Works by Thomas Urquhart at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)  
  • Works by Thomas Urquhart at Open Library
  • Logopandecteision etext
  • Lecture on Sir Thomas Urquhart's works by Dr John B. Corbett (close transcription)
  • from Discovering Scottish writers
  • Information from The Gazetteer for Scotland
  • Epigrams, divine and moral by Sir Thomas Vrchard, Knight
  • Epigrams by Thomas Urquhart

January 01, 1970
thomas, urquhart, this, article, about, 17th, century, scottish, aristocrat, former, mayor, toronto, politician, florida, politician, florida, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help. This article is about the 17th century Scottish aristocrat For the former mayor of Toronto see Thomas Urquhart politician For the Florida politician see Thomas Urquhart Florida This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Sir Thomas Urquhart 1611 1660 was a Scottish aristocrat writer and translator He is best known for his translation of the works of French Renaissance writer Francois Rabelais to English SirThomas UrquhartUrquhart in a 1641 engraving by George GloverBorn1611Cromarty ScotlandDied1660 aged 48 49 Cromarty ScotlandEducationKing s College AberdeenOccupation s translator and authorNotable workLogopandecteision Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 3 Style 4 Popular culture 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksBiography editUrquhart was born to Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty and Christian Elphinstone daughter of Alexander Elphinstone 4th Lord Elphinstone At the age of eleven he attended King s College University of Aberdeen Afterwards he toured the Continent returning in 1636 In 1639 he participated in the Royalist uprising known as the Trot of Turriff he was knighted by Charles I at Whitehall for his support In 1641 he published his first book a volume of epigrams 1 Urquhart s father died in 1642 leaving behind a large estate encumbered by larger debts As the eldest son Urquhart was from that time on harassed by creditors He left for the Continent in order to economize but returned in 1645 and published Trissotetras a mathematical treatise 1 In 1648 Urquhart participated in the Royalist uprising at Inverness He was declared a traitor by Parliament though he doesn t seem to have suffered any other consequences Two years later he marched with Charles II and fought in the Battle of Worcester The Royalist forces were decisively defeated and Urquhart was taken prisoner He lost all his manuscripts which he had brought with him for safekeeping and he had to forfeit all his property He was held first at the Tower of London and later at Windsor but he was given considerable freedom by his captors The following year he published Pantochronachanon a work of genealogy and The Jewel a defense of Scotland In 1652 he was paroled by Cromwell and returned to Cromarty Soon after he published Logopandecteision his plan for a universal language and his most celebrated work his translation of Rabelais 1 Urquhart returned to the Continent some time after 1653 perhaps as a condition of his release by Cromwell 1 Little is known of his life after this time He died no later than 1660 because in that year his younger brother took up his hereditary titles There is a legend that Urquhart died in a fit of laughter on receiving news of the Restoration of Charles II 2 3 Works editEpigrams Divine and Moral 1641 Collections of epigrams were fashionable in the mid seventeenth century but Urquhart s contribution to the genre has not been highly regarded Most critics have concluded that the sentiments are largely banal and the versification inept Trissotetras 1645 Trissotetras treats plane and spherical trigonometry using Napier s logarithms and a new nomenclature designed to facilitate memorization Urquhart s nomenclature resembles the names medieval schoolmen gave the various forms of syllogism in which the construction of the name gives information about the thing being named Urquhart would make use of the same idea in his universal language The resulting effect is however bizarre and the work is impenetrable without the investment of considerable time to learn Urquhart s system Although Urquhart was a formidable mathematician and Trissotetras mathematically sound his approach has never been adopted and his book is a dead end in the history of mathematics Pantochronachanon 1652 Subtitled A peculiar promptuary of time this work is a genealogy of the Urquhart family In it Urquhart manages to name each of his ancestors in an unbroken hereditary line from Adam and Eve all the way up to himself through 153 generations This work has been the subject of ridicule since the time of its first publication though it was likely an elaborate joke The Jewel Ekskybalauron 1652 A miscellaneous work It contains a prospectus for Urquhart s universal language but most of the book is as the title page says a vindication of the honor of Scotland including anecdotes about many Scottish soldiers and scholars It includes Urquhart s fictionalized life of the Scottish hero James Crichton 1560 82 The Admirable Crichton Urquhart s most celebrated work outside of his Rabelais this section has sometimes been reprinted separately Logopandecteision 1653 This book contains another prospectus for Urquhart s universal language Although Urquhart does not give a vocabulary he explains that his system would be based on a scheme in which the construction of words would reflect their meanings Logopandecteision also contains a polemic against Urquhart s creditors The Works of Rabelais Books I and II 1653 Book III 1693 This is the work for which Urquhart is best known It was described by the English author Charles Whibley as the finest translation ever made from one language into another 4 and a magnificent and unsurpassable translation by the academic Roger Craik 5 There is a perfect match of temperament between author and translator Urquhart s learning pedantry and word mad exuberance proved to be ideal for Rabelais s work It is a somewhat free translation but it never departs from the spirit of Rabelais The third book was edited and completed by Peter Anthony Motteux and published after Urquhart s death Style editUrquhart s prose style is unique His sentences are long and elaborate and his love of the odd and recondite word seems boundless 6 At its worst his style can descend into almost unintelligible pretension and pedantry a pedantry which is gigantesque and almost incredible in the words of George Saintsbury but at its best it can be rich rapid and vivid with arresting and original imagery He coined words constantly although none of Urquhart s coinages have fared as well as those of his contemporary Browne Popular culture editUrquhart appears as the protagonist of Alasdair Gray s short story Sir Thomas s Logopandocy included in Unlikely Stories Mostly the title taken from Urquhart s Logopandecteision Urquhart appears in the illustrations throughout Unlikely Stories 7 Urquhart appears as a major character in the novel A Hand book of Volapuk by Andrew Drummond Urquhart s language proposal The Jewel as well as Volapuk Esperanto and other constructed languages are prominent plot devices in the novel 8 One of the characters in Robertson Davies The Cornish Trilogy Urquhart McVarish claims to be a descendant of Urquhart 9 References edit a b c d Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Urquhart Sir Thomas Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 27 11th ed Cambridge University Press pp 801 802 Brown Huntington 1968 Rabelais in English Literature Routledge p 126 ISBN 978 0 7146 2051 0 The History of Scottish Poetry Edmonston amp Douglas 1861 p 539 footnote 4 Whibley Charles 1898 Studies in Frankness London p 255 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Craik Roger 1 January 1999 Sir Thomas Urquhart s Translation of Rabelais Studies in Scottish Literature 31 1 ISSN 0039 3770 Reid David 1984 Sir Thomas s Gem a review of The Jewel in Parker Geoff ed Cencrastus No 19 Winter 1984 pp 45 amp 46 ISSN 0264 0856 Gray Alasdair 1983 Unlikely stories mostly Edinburgh Canongate ISBN 0 86241 029 0 OCLC 9606023 Drummond Andrew 2006 A Hand book of Volapuk Birlinn ISBN 9781904598671 Galbraith John Kenneth 14 February 1982 The World of Wonders of Robertson Davies The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 17 January 2022 Further reading editSeccombe Thomas 1899 Urquhart Thomas 1611 1660 In Lee Sidney ed Dictionary of National Biography Vol 58 London Smith Elder amp Co Jack R D S Urquhart Sir Thomas of Cromarty 1611 1660 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 28019 Subscription or UK public library membership required Boston Richard 1975 The Admirable Urquhart London Gordon Fraser Thomson Alexander ed 2011 Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty 400th Anniversary Conference Cromarty Cromarty Arts Trust Reid David ed 1984 The Party Coloured Mind Scottish Academic Press ISBN 9780707303048 Willcock John 1899 Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromartie Knight Edinburgh and London Oliphant Anderson amp Ferrier Book at Internet Archive the OCR is uncorrected but the DjVu files are fine External links edit nbsp Wikisource has original works by or about Thomas Urquhart nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Urquhart Works by Thomas Urquhart at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Thomas Urquhart at Internet Archive Works by Thomas Urquhart at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp Works by Thomas Urquhart at Open Library Logopandecteision etext Lecture on Sir Thomas Urquhart s works by Dr John B Corbett close transcription Sir Thomas Urquhart Man of letters amp Translator 1611 1660 from Discovering Scottish writers Information from The Gazetteer for Scotland Epigrams divine and moral by Sir Thomas Vrchard Knight Epigrams by Thomas Urquhart Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Urquhart amp oldid 1207103314, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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