James Henthorn Todd

Infobox Writer
name = James Henthorn Todd


imagesize =
caption =
birthdate = 1805 April 23
birthplace = Rathfarnham, Ireland
deathdate = death date and age|1869|6|28|1805|4|23|mf=y
deathplace = Rathfarnham, Ireland
occupation = Writer, Academic, Historian, Minister
nationality = Irish
period =
genre = liberal Protestanism, Irish history
subject =
movement =
notableworks = "St. Patrick, Apostle to Ireland"; "War of the Danes with the Gaels"
spouse = none
children = none
relatives = Robert Bentley Todd
influences =
influenced =

James Henthorn Todd (1805 – 1869) was a biblical scholar, educator, and Irish historian. He is noted for his efforts to place religious disagreements on a rational historical footing, for his advocacy of a liberal form of Protestantism, and for his endeavours as an educator, librarian, and scholar in Irish history.

Early life

He was the son of Charles Hawkes Todd, a professor of surgery, and Eliza Bentley, and was the oldest of fifteen children. Noted physician Robert Bentley Todd was among his younger brothers. His father died a year after he received a B.A. from Trinity College in 1825, diminishing his prospects for success. However, he was able to remain at the college by tutoring and editing a church periodical.

Professional life

He obtained a premium in 1829, and two years later was elected Fellow, taking deacon's orders in the same year. From that time until 1850, when he became a Senior Fellow, he was among the most popular tutors in Trinity College.Todd took priest's orders in 1832. He began publishing in earnest, including papers on John Wycliffe, church history, and the religious questions of his day. He was Donnellan Lecturer in 1838 and 1839, publishing works related to the Antichrist in which he opposed the views of the more extreme of his co-religionists who applied this term to the Roman Catholic religion and pope. In 1840 he graduated Doctor of Divinity.In 1837 he had been installed Treasurer at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, and would become Precentor in 1864. His style of preaching was described as simple and lucid, and his sermons interesting. He co-founded Saint Columba's College in 1843, a school which promoted the Irish language for those who intended to take orders, as well as promoting the principles of the Church of Ireland.

In 1849 Todd was made Regius Professor of Hebrew at Trinity, and a Senior Fellow the following year. In 1852 he was appointed Librarian, and working alongside John O'Donovan and Eugene O'Curry, he classified and arranged the collection of manuscripts. When his office received money, he spent it on the acquisition of manuscripts and rare books, and he deserves much credit for the library's high ranking as one of the chief libraries of Europe.

His secular achievements were no less remarkable. In 1840 Todd co-founded the Irish Archaeological Society and acted as its honorary secretary. He was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy, and strove actively to acquire transcripts and accurate accounts of Irish manuscripts from foreign libraries. He was honorary secretary from 1847 to 1855, and president from 1851 to 1856. In 1860 he was given an "ad eundem" degree at Oxford.

Todd was a notable person among notable people. His work was widely respected and cited. Among his friends and acquaintances were lawyer and poet Sir Samuel Ferguson, Conservative MP and Roman Catholic convert Edwin Wyndham-Quin, fellow historian William Reeves, artist Sir George Petrie, and the the Stokes family (physician father William, future lawyer and Celticist son Whitley, and future antiquarian daughter Margaret).

James Henthorn Todd died at his house in Rathfarnham on June 28 of 1869, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Partial bibliography

* "The Last Age of the Church, Attributed to John Wycliff" (1840)
* "Six Discourses on the Prophecies Relating to Antichrist in The Apocalypse of St. John" (1846)
* "The Search After Infallibility: Remarks on the Testimony of the Fathers to the Roman Dogma of Infallibility" (1848)
* "Leabhar Breathnach Annso Sis: The Irish Version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius" (1848, with Herbert Algernon)
* "Three Treatises by John Wycklyffe, D. D." (1851)
* "The Martyrology of Donegal: A Calendar of the Saints of Ireland" (1864, with William Reeves)
* "St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, A Memoir of his Life and Mission" (1864)
* "The Books of the Vaudois: The Waldensian Manuscripts Preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin" (1865)
* "Some Account of the Irish Manuscript Deposited by The President De Robien in the Public Library of Rennes" (1867)
* "Cogadh Gaedhel Re Gallaibh, or The War of the Gaedhil With the Gaill" (1867) - Todd's use and translation of Scandinavian sources brought personal descriptions of the Norsemen into light, such as that of Brodir, who is reputed to have killed Brian Boru at the Battle of Clontarf
* "Leabhar Imuinn: The Book of Hymns of the Ancient Church of Ireland" (1869)

ee also

* Tadhg Og Ó Cianáin
* Peregrine Ó Duibhgeannain
* Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh
* Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
* Sylvester O'Halloran
* James Ussher
* Sir James Ware
* Mary Bonaventure Browne
* Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
* Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh
* Uilliam Ó Duinnín
* Charles O'Conor (historian)
* Eugene O'Curry
* John O'Donovan (scholar)

References

*Citation
last=Ferguson
first=Mary Catharine
author-link=
date=1896
editor-last=
editor-first=
editor-link=
contribution=Friendships (continued) — A Tour in Donegal
title=Sir Samuel Ferguson in the Ireland of His Day
volume=II
edition=
publisher=William Blackwood and Sons
publication-date=1896
publication-place=Edinburgh
pages=103-121
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=9aEzAAAAMAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
date=1898
editor-last=Stephen
editor-first=Leslie
editor-link=Leslie Stephen
editor2-last=Lee
editor2-first=Sidney
editor2-link=
contribution=Todd, James Henthorn
title=Dictionary of National Biography: Teach — Tollet
volume=LVI
edition=
publisher=The MacMillan Company
publication-date=1898
publication-place=New York
pages=430-32
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ECgJAAAAIAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10

External links

Several of his works
*Citation
last=Wycliffe
first=John
author-link=John Wycliffe
date=
editor-last=Todd
editor-first=James Henthorn
editor-link=James Henthorn Todd
contribution=
title=The Last Age of the Church, Attributed to John Wycliffe
volume=
edition=
publisher=University Press
publication-date=1840
publication-place=Dublin
page=
url=http://www.archive.org/details/lastageofchurch00wycl
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
last=Wycliffe
first=John
author-link=John Wycliffe
date=
editor-last=Todd
editor-first=James Henthorn
editor-link=James Henthorn Todd
contribution=
title=An Apology for Lollard Doctrines, Attributed to Wicliffe.
volume=
edition=
publisher=Camden Society
publication-date=1842
publication-place=London
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=R3JahD2AwLwC
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
last=Todd
first=James Henthorn
author-link=James Henthorn Todd
date=1844
editor-last=Crosthwaite
editor-first=John Clarke
editor-link=
contribution=Introduction
title=The of Obits and Martyology of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity
volume=
edition=
publisher=The Irish Archaeology Society
publication-date=1844
publication-place=Dublin
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=RgMGAAAAQAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
last=Todd
first=James Henthorn
author-link=James Henthorn Todd
date=1846
editor-last=
editor-first=
editor-link=
contribution=
title=Six Discourses on the Prophecies Relating to Antichrist in The Apocalypse of St. John
volume=
edition=
publisher=Hodges and Smith
publication-date=1846
publication-place=Dublin
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HQQWAAAAYAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
last=Todd
first=James Henthorn
author-link=James Henthorn Todd
date=1848
editor-last=
editor-first=
editor-link=
contribution=
title=The Search After Infallibility: Remarks on the Testimony of the Fathers to the Roman Dogma of Infallibility
volume=
edition=
publisher=John Petheram
publication-date=1848
publication-place=London
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=5BsEAAAAQAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
last=Nennius
first=
author-link=Nennius
date=c. 796
editor-last=Todd
editor-first=James Henthorn
editor-link=James Henthorn Todd
editor2-last=Algernon
editor2-first=Herbert
contribution=
title=Leabhar Breathnach Annso Sis: The Irish Version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius
volume=
edition=
publisher=The Irish Archaeological Society
publication-date=1848
publication-place=Dublin
page=
url=http://www.archive.org/details/leabharbreathnac00nennuoft
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
last=Wycliffe
first=John
author-link=John Wycliffe
date=
editor-last=Todd
editor-first=James Henthorn
editor-link=James Henthorn Todd
contribution=
title=Three Treatises by John Wycklyffe, D. D.
volume=
edition=
publisher=Hedges and Smith
publication-date=1851
publication-place=Dublin
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=W1QNAAAAYAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
last=
first=
author-link=
date=1864
editor-last=Todd
editor-first=James Henthorn
editor-link=James Henthorn Todd
editor2-last=Reeves
editor2-first=William
editor2-link=
contribution=
title=The Martyrology of Donegal: A Calendar of the Saints of Ireland
volume=
edition=
publisher=The Irish Archaeological Society
publication-date=1864
publication-place=Dublin
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zn8NAAAAQAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
last=Todd
first=James Henthorn
author-link=James Henthorn Todd
date=1863
editor-last=
editor-first=
editor-link=
contribution=
title=St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, A Memoir of his Life and Mission
volume=
edition=
publisher=Hodges, Smith, & Co.
publication-date=1864
publication-place=Dublin
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=um44AAAAMAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
last=Todd
first=James Henthorn
author-link=James Henthorn Todd
date=1865
editor-last=
editor-first=
editor-link=
contribution=
title=The Books of the Vaudois: The Waldensian Manuscripts Preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin
volume=
edition=
publisher=Macmillan And Co
publication-date=1865
publication-place=London
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=R34NAAAAQAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
last=Todd
first=James Henthorn
author-link=James Henthorn Todd
date=1867
editor-last=
editor-first=
editor-link=
contribution=
title=Some Account of the Irish Manuscript Deposited by The President De Robien in the Public Library of Rennes
volume=
edition=
publisher=
publication-date=1867
publication-place=Dublin
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=FqcIAAAAQAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
last=
first=
author-link=
date=1866
editor-last=Todd
editor-first=James Henthorn
editor-link=James Henthorn Todd
contribution=
title=Cogadh Gaedhel Re Gallaibh, or The War of the Gaedhil With the Gaill
volume=
edition=
publisher=Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer
publication-date=1867
publication-place=London
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=TgMGAAAAQAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
last=
first=
author-link=
date=1869
editor-last=Todd
editor-first=James Henthorn
editor-link=James Henthorn Todd
contribution=
title=Leabhar Imuinn: The Book of Hymns of the Ancient Church of Ireland
volume=
edition=
publisher=The Irish Archaeological Society
publication-date=1869
publication-place=Dublin
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8AIGAAAAQAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10

About his works
*Citation
last=Denison
first=E. B.
author-link=
date=1848
editor-last=
editor-first=
editor-link=
contribution=
title=Six Letters on Dr. Todd's Discourses on the Prophecies Relating to Antichrist in the Apocalypse
volume=
edition=
publisher=William Edward Painter
publication-date=1848
publication-place=London
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=VyMEAAAAQAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10
*Citation
last=Gargan
first=Denis
author-link=
date=1864
editor-last=
editor-first=
editor-link=
contribution=
title=The Ancient Church of Ireland: A Few Remarks on Dr. Todd's "Memoir of the Life and Mission of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland"
volume=
edition=
publisher=James Duffy
publication-date=1864
publication-place=Dublin
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZNUCAAAAQAAJ
access-date=2008-08-10