Frederic Madden facts for kids

Sir Frederic Madden (born February 16, 1801 – died March 8, 1873) was an English expert in old handwriting, known as a palaeographer. He spent his life studying and preserving ancient documents.

Early Life and Career

Frederic Madden was born in Portsmouth, England. His father, William John Madden, was a Captain in the Royal Marines. From a young age, Frederic showed a great interest in languages and old things, which are called antiquarian studies.

In 1826, he started working at the famous British Museum. His job was to help organize their huge collection of printed books. Just two years later, in 1828, he became an assistant keeper of manuscripts. This meant he helped look after the museum's collection of handwritten documents.

He was very good at his job and became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1832. At only 32 years old, he was knighted, which is why he had "KH" after his name. In 1837, he became the main Keeper of Manuscripts. He worked hard but sometimes found it difficult to get along with his co-workers. He retired in 1866.

Madden was considered the best palaeographer of his time. He knew a lot about old writing styles. He also studied early forms of French and English. One of his most famous ideas was about how to spell William Shakespeare's name. He believed it should be "Shakspere," based on a signature he found. This led to a big discussion at the time!

When he passed away in London, he left his personal diaries and papers to the Bodleian Library. They were kept sealed and weren't opened until 1920.

Studying Old Texts

Frederic Madden spent a lot of time editing and publishing old texts so that more people could read them. He worked with different clubs and societies that were interested in old books.

For example, he edited:

• Havelok the Dane (1828), an old story he found himself.
• William and the Werwolf (1832).
• Old English versions of the Gesta Romanorum (1838), which are collections of stories.
• Syr Gawayne (1839), which are ancient poems about a knight of the Round Table.
• Layamon's Brut (1847), an important historical poem.

One of his biggest projects was a huge edition of the "Wycliffite" versions of the Bible. He worked on this for twenty years with his colleague, Josiah Forshall. It was published in 1850.

He also edited the Historia Minor by Matthew Paris between 1866 and 1869. He helped create the text for Henry Shaw's book, Illuminated Ornaments of the Middle Ages, which showed beautiful old drawings. He also edited the English version of Joseph Balthazar Silvestre's Paléographie universelle, a book about old writing from around the world.

Saving Ancient Manuscripts

Frederic Madden did amazing work to save old manuscripts. In 1837, when he was still an assistant, he found a room full of burnt and damaged pieces of old vellum (animal skin used for writing). He quickly realized these were parts of the Cotton library collection, which had been badly damaged in a fire in 1731.

As the Keeper of Manuscripts, Madden started a huge project to fix these damaged documents. Even though some people at the museum thought it was too expensive, he kept going. He worked with a bookbinder named Henry Gough. Together, they found ways to restore even the most damaged pieces. They cleaned and flattened the vellum sheets and then carefully placed them into paper frames. Whenever possible, they put the pages back into their original books.

He didn't just work on the burnt fragments. He also helped preserve other manuscripts in the collection that had become brittle and fragile. This included the famous book that holds the only known copy of the epic poem Beowulf (Cotton Vittelius A xv). By 1845, most of the work was done. Sadly, there was another fire at the museum's bindery, which destroyed a few more works.

Family Life

In 1837, Frederic Madden married Emily Sarah Robinson. Her father, William Robinson, was a lawyer and historian.

Frederic and Emily had six children. Their oldest son was Frederic William Madden (1839–1904). He also became a scholar, specializing in coins (a numismatist). He worked at Brighton College and later became the Chief Librarian of the Public Library in Brighton.

Works and Publications

Here are some of the important works Frederic Madden helped create or edit:

With Josiah Forshall:

• The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, with the Apocryphal books, in the earliest English versions made from the Latin Vulgate by John Wycliffe and his followers, (1850)

As editor:

• Syr Gawayne; a Collection of ancient Romance-Poems, by Scotish and English Authors, relating to that Celebrated Knight of the Round Table, with an Introduction, Notes, and a Glossary. London, 1839 (Google Books)