William Wotton facts for kids
William Wotton (born August 13, 1666, died February 13, 1727) was a very smart English scholar who studied religion and many different languages. He is mostly remembered for how amazing he was at learning languages. In Wales, people remember him because he collected and was the first to translate the old Welsh laws.
Life Story
Early Years
William Wotton was the second son of Henry Wotton, a church leader in Wrentham, Suffolk. William was a child prodigy, which means he was incredibly smart for his age. Before he was six years old, he could read parts of the Bible in English, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew!
In April 1676, when he was not even ten years old, William went to Catharine Hall, a part of Cambridge University. He finished his studies there in 1679. By this time, William had learned Arabic, Syriac, and Aramaic. He also knew a lot about logic (how to think clearly), philosophy (big ideas about life), math, geography, and history.
Sadly, his parents died while he was still at Cambridge. As a teenager, he went to live with Gilbert Burnet, who later became a bishop. William got a special scholarship at St John's College, another part of Cambridge. He earned more degrees there in 1683 and 1691.
In 1686, he became a church leader in Brimpton, Berkshire. The next year, he was also chosen to be a member of the Royal Society, a famous group for important scientists. In 1689, he became a vicar (another type of church leader) in Lacock, Wiltshire, a job he held until 1693. Soon after becoming a church leader, he also became a chaplain (a religious advisor) to Daniel Finch, the Earl of Nottingham, and taught his family. Finch later gave him a church job in Milton Keynes in 1693.
Studying in Wales
While living in Carmarthen, William Wotton focused on his studies again. He also became good friends once more with Archbishop Wake, who had become a very important church leader in 1715.
Wotton started to learn the Welsh language. His friend asked him to create an important book that showed both the Welsh and Latin versions of the medieval Welsh laws. These laws were traditionally thought to have been written by an old Welsh ruler named Hywel Dda.
To do this, William first had to find and get copies of about fifteen old manuscripts written in Latin or medieval Welsh. He then had to figure out the correct text. After that, he faced the difficult job of translating the old Welsh words that appeared in both the Latin and Welsh versions. The meaning of many of these words had been lost by the 1700s.
From 1721, a Welsh scholar named Moses Williams helped Wotton. William Wotton finished the translation before he died, but he was still working on a dictionary to go with it. Moses Williams finished the dictionary, and the whole book was published in 1730 by William Clarke, Wotton's son-in-law. The book was called Leges Wallicae.
While in Carmarthen, Wotton also studied the cathedrals of St David's and Llandaff. His friend Browne Willis published these studies in 1717 and 1718. In 1718, Wotton also published a book called Miscellaneous Discourses relating to the Traditions and Usages of the Scribes and Pharisees, which included a translation of part of an ancient Jewish text called the Mishnah.
Later Life and Death
William Wotton was able to pay back his debts and returned to Bath in October 1721, and then to London in June 1722. However, his health was very poor. He was still working on his Leges Wallicae book when he died from a sickness called dropsy (which causes swelling) in Buxted, Sussex, on February 13, 1727.
