A UNIVERSAL, HISTORICAL, and LITERARY DICTIONARY. S. Stow, pre TOW (JOHN), an eminent English antiquary, was Strype's born in London about 1525; and very probably in Life of Cornhill, fince it is certain, that both his father and grand- fixed to father dwelt there, and were perfons of good fubftance and Stow's Surcredit. There is no account of any circumstances relating to vey of London, printed his youth, except that he was bred to his father's bufinefs, in 1720. which, there is reafon to fuppofe, was that of a taylor. When he quitted Cornhill, is uncertain; but, in 1549, we find him dwelling within Aldgate, from whence he afterwards removed to Lime-ftreet ward, where he continued till his death. He began early to apply himself to the ftudy of the history and antiquities of England, even fo as to neglect his calling, and hurt his circumftances. It was about 1560, that he conceived thoughts of compiling an English chronicle; and he spent the remaining part of a long life in collecting fuch things relating to this kingdom as he esteemed worthy to be tranfmited to pofterity. He had purfued thefe ftudies fome time, and had acquired a name by his fkill in them, when, perceiving how little profit he was likely to gain from his industry, he was upon the point of deferting them, in order to apply himself more diligently to the business of his profeffion; and the expenfiveness of purchafing manufcripts was an additional motive to this refolution. But Dr. Matthew Parker, archbishop of Canterbury, who was an excellent antiquary, and a generous encourager of those VOL. XII. B studies, See art. 15 ftudies, perfuaded him to continue his purfuits, and affifted him during his life by feveral benefactions. The fit work which he published was, "A fummary of the chronicles of England, from the coming in of "Brute unto his own time.' He began this work at the defire of the lord Robert Dudley, afterwards earl of Leicefter; and the occafion of it was this. In 1562, Mr. Stow, in his fearch after curious and uncommon tracts, met with an ingenious one written by Edmund Dudley, his lordship's grandfather, during his imprisonment in the Tower, intituled, "The Tree of the Commonwealth;" which he dedicated to king Henry VIII. though it never came to his majefty's hand. Mr. Stow kept the original himself, and tranfcribed a fair copy of it, which he prefented to lord Dudley, who upon this requefted him to draw up fome work of the fame nature. Our antiquary therefore collected this fummary, and dedicated it to his lord1hip: it was reprinted in 1573, Svo, with additions. This fame year came out the laborious and voluminous collections of Reiner Wolfe, printer to the queen; being "A Chronicle of Britain, and the Kings and Queens of that Kingdom," printed and reprinted by Raphael Hollinfhead, and going commonly under his name. The last and largeft edition of that work, in 1587, contains many confiderable additions by Mr. Stow; indeed the main part of the continuation of that hiftory from 1573 to 1587. In 1598, he published his Survey of London, containing the original, antiquity, increafe, modern eftate, and defcription of that city," in 4to. This useful and valuable work has been reprinted feveral times, with additions and improvements by the author, and after his death by others; and, in 1720, a fifth edition of it was publifhed, in 2 vols. folio, by Mr. Strype, with the author's life and additions by himfelf. In 1600, Mr. Stow fet forth his "Flores hiftoriarum;" that is, his "Annals of this king"dom from the time of the ancient Britons to his own.' This work was nothing elfe but his "Summary" greatly enlarged, which he dedicated to archbishop Whitgift. It was reprinted five years after with additions; but even in this improved ftate it was no more than an abridgement of a much larger hiftory of this nation, which he had been above forty years collecting out of a multitude of ancient authors, regifters, chronicles, lives, and records of cities and towns; and which he intended now to have published, if the printer, probably fearing the fuccefs of it, after after the late appearance of fo large a chronicle as that of Hollinfhead, had not chofen rather to undertake this abstract of Mr. Stow's work. Towards the latter end of his life, finding himfelf reduced to narrow circumftances, for his purfuits had been rather expenfive than profitable to him, he addreffed the lord mayor and aldermen, that, in confideration of his fervices to the city, and in order to affift him in farther defigns, they would grant him two freedoms of the city: and, fome years after, he prefented another petition to them, fetting forth, that he was of the age of threefcore and four; that he had, for the fpace of almoft thirty years laft paft, fet forth divers works to them, and that he therefore prayed them to bestow on him a yearly penfion, whereby he might reap fomewhat towards his great charges. Whether thefe applications had any fuccefs, is not known; nor do we find that he received any reward from the city, equal to the extraordinary pains he had taken for its glory, unless we reckon for fuch his being appointed the feed-chronicler of it: yet no great salary could be annexed to this place, fince he was obliged to requeft a brief from king James I. to collect the charitable benevolence of well-difpofed people for his relief. What the city contributed upon this occafion, may be estimated from what was collected from the parishioners of St. Mary Woolnoth, which was no more than feven fhillings and fixpence. He died of a ftone-colic April 5, 1605, and was interred in the church of St. Andrew Underfhaft, where a decent monument was erected to him by his widow; from which it appears, that he was then in his 80th year. His perfon and temper are thus defcribed by Mr Edmund Howes, who knew him very well: "He was "tall of ftature, lean of body and face; his eyes finall and "chryftalline; of a pleasant and chearful countenance; "his fight and memory very good; and he retained the "true ufe of all his fenfes to the day of his death. He had "an excellent memory; was very fober, mild, and "courteous to any that required his inftructions. "always protefted never to have written any thing either "for envy, fear, or favour, nor to feek his own private "gain or vain-glory; and that his own pains and care "was to write truth." He As to his literary character, he was an unwearied reader of all English hiftory, whether printed or in manufcript, and a fearcher into records, registers, journals, original B 2 charters, Fabric. Bibl Grec. charters, inftruments, &c. Nor was he contented with a mere perufal of these things, but was ambitious of polfeffing them as a great treasure; and by the time he was forty years of age, he had raised a confiderable library of fuch. His ftudy was ftored, not only with ancient authors, but likewife with original charters, regifters, and chronicles of particular places. He had the greater opportunity of enriching himself with thefe things, as he lived fhortly after the diffolution of the monafteries, when they were dispersed and scattered abroad into divers hands out of thofe repofitories. It was his cuftom to tranfcribe all fuch old and ufeful books as he could not obtain or purchase; thus he copied fix volumes of collections for his own ufe, which he afterwards fold to Mr. Camden, who gave him for them an annuity of eight pounds for life. He was a true antiquary, fince he was not fatisfied with reports, nor with the credit of what he had feen in print, but had recourse to the originals and he made ufe of his own legs, for he could never ride, travelling on foot to many cathedrals and churches, in order to confult and tranfcribe from ancient records and charters. With regard to his religion, he was at first in all probability a favourer of Popery: for, in 1568, the ftate had a jealoufy of him, which occafioned an order of council to Dr. Grindal, bishop of London, to caufe his library to be fearched for fuperftitious books, of which fort several were found there. And it is very likely, that his known inclination that way might be the ground of other troubles, which he underwent, either in the ecclefiaftical commiffion, or in the ftar-chamber: for it is certain, that, about 1570, he was accufed, though falfely, as appeared upon trial, before the ecclefiaftical commiffioners, upon no lefs than a hundred and forty articles, Papift or Proteftant, he was an honeft and generous man, unfpotted in his life, and ufeful in his generation. To conclude: is it not a little extraordinary, that Stow, our most famous antiquary, and Speed, our most famous hiftorian, should both have been taylors? STRABO, an excellent writer of antiquity, who died som, i. & at the beginning of the emperor Tiberius's reign, has Strabonis left us a very valuable work, in feventeen books, "De vita ab J." rebus geographicis." His family was ancient and noble, Prefix. edit. and originally of Cnoffus, a city of Crete; but he was S rabon. born at Amafia, a town of Pontus. The greatest care was A.1707 taken of his education; for, as we learn from himself. Cafaubono there |