Richard Brett facts for kids
Richard Brett (born 1567, died 1637) was an English church leader and a smart scholar. He was part of a special team that helped translate the famous King James Version of the Bible. He worked on the later books of the Old Testament.
Richard Brett's Life
Richard Brett was born in London in 1567. His family, the Bretts, lived at Whitestaunton Manor in Somerset.
Richard started studying at Hart Hall, Oxford in 1582. In 1595, he became the Rector (a type of church leader) of Quainton, a village in Buckinghamshire. That same year, he also became a Fellow at Lincoln College. There, he studied many different languages, including Latin, Greek, Aramaic, Arabic, Hebrew, and Ge'ez (an ancient Ethiopian language).
In 1597, he earned a degree in divinity, and he continued his studies in this field until 1605.
Richard Brett passed away in Quainton on April 5, 1637, when he was 70 years old. He was buried in the church in Quainton, where he had served for 43 years. His wife, Alice, had a monument built over his grave with his image and words in Latin and English. Richard and Alice had four daughters. One of them, Margaret, married Calybute Downing in 1627.
Richard Brett's Writings
Richard Brett wrote several scholarly books, all in Latin. These books showed his deep knowledge of ancient languages and religious topics.
- Two books where he translated texts from Greek into Latin:
- Vitæ sanctorum Evangelistarum Johannis et Lucæ à Simeone Metaphraste concinnatæ (Oxford, 1597).
- Agatharchidis et Memnonis historicorum quæ supersunt omnia (Oxford, 1597).
- A book about sacred images and their meaning:
- Iconum sacrarum Decas in quâ è subjectis typis compluscula sanæ doctrinæ capita eruuntur (Oxford, 1603).
