Francis Thynne facts for kids

Francis Thynne (around 1544 – 1608) was an English historian and expert on old documents, known as an antiquary. He also worked as an officer of arms at the College of Arms, which is a place that deals with family histories and coats of arms.

Early Life and Family

Francis Thynne was born in Kent, England. His father, William Thynne, held an important job working for King Henry VIII. Francis went to Tonbridge School when he was younger.

Working as an Officer of Arms

Francis Thynne was already a respected antiquary before he joined the College of Arms. After trying several times, he was finally accepted in 1602. He became a special officer called the Blanche Lyon Pursuivant of Arms Extraordinary. Soon after, he was promoted to Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary.

Francis Thynne faced many challenges in his life. He was once in prison because of debts. He also suffered from gout, a painful condition, for much of his life. He helped another famous historian, William Camden, with his work on heraldry (the study of coats of arms). Thynne hoped to become a higher-ranking officer, the Norroy King of Arms, but this never happened. He passed away around November 1608.

Studying Old English History

Francis Thynne was very important as an antiquary. He was part of a group called the Society of Antiquaries. This group was active from about 1586 to 1607. Their main goal was to create a detailed and accurate history of the English people.

This club included lawyers, heralds, and antiquaries. They mostly studied old records written in Latin. However, Francis Thynne was special because he could read sources written in Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon.

Discovering Ancient Texts

Earlier, Archbishop Matthew Parker had started looking through libraries of old monasteries. He wanted to find proof about the history of the English Church. After he died, the scholars he worked with mostly stopped their research. Many valuable old manuscripts disappeared into university libraries.

For a long time, very few Old English texts were published. This makes Thynne's work even more amazing. He and only a few other antiquaries were learning to understand the Anglo-Saxon language. Records from the Society of Antiquaries show that they discussed old charters and documents written in Old English. For example, in 1591, Thynne showed good knowledge of Old English during a talk about the origins of English shires.

Thynne's Research Methods

Many people believe Thynne was one of the most scholarly antiquaries of his time. He believed strongly in the accuracy of original manuscripts. His work on Anglo-Saxon and medieval chronicles was very solid and based on facts.

For instance, Thynne was the only one to quote from an important old book called Textus Roffensis. No one in Parker's group even knew this book existed. It wasn't printed until 1644. In 1604, Thynne used it in a discussion about the office of Earl Marshal. He carefully copied a sentence from the book about "peace" (grið).

Thynne thought this sentence was from a law by King Æthelstan. This was a reasonable guess because it appeared right after Æthelstan's laws in Textus Roffensis. However, this text was actually an extension of another law code. It used words like grið, which are now known to be from Scandinavian languages. This shows how hard it was for Thynne to learn Old English with almost no help. There were no public grammar books or dictionaries available. He mostly used Ælfric’s Grammar and Glossary and his Colloquy, which were meant for learning Latin. He also used old legal and religious texts that had both Latin and English versions.

Traveling for Knowledge

If Thynne saw Textus Roffensis, it means he traveled all the way to Rochester to see it. This was another unusual thing about his work. He traveled to different places to look at manuscripts. He visited Rochester, Winchester, and private libraries in and around London. For example, his notes about William of Malmesbury’s Gesta Regum Anglorum suggest he saw this collection either at John Stow's library or John, Lord Lumley's library.

Legacy and Importance

Francis Thynne was not a wealthy man. He spent most of his life studying in libraries. He didn't finish many of his writings, and the papers he read to the Society of Antiquaries only give us small clues about his ideas.

His most important contribution was the old manuscripts he collected, copied, and translated. His greatest achievement was helping to keep the study of Old English alive. This was especially important after the first attempts to revive it by Parker's group had slowed down.