Laurence Echard

?1670-1730

Notes : also listed in BL cat as EACHARD and as Laurence Echard, A.M. of Christ-College, Cambridge fl.1699 Laurence Echard (1670?-1730) was born at Barsham in Suffolk. In 1687 he was admitted a sizar to Christ’s College, Cambridge, where he received his B.A. in 1691 and his M.A. in 1695. After having been ordained by the Bishop of Norwich he was presented to the livings of Welton and Elkington in Lincolnshire and was appointed chaplain to the Bishop of Lincoln. In 1697 Echard was installed prebendary of Louth and in 1712 archdeacon of Stow. After having resided in Lincolnshire for over twenty years in or about 1722 Echard was presented by George I to the livings of Rendlesham and Sudborne in Suffolk, where he lived in bad health for nearly eight years before he died in Lincoln in 1730. He was a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, was married twice, but there were no children from either marriage. Among the subject areas, in which Echard took an interest, was geography. He published descriptions of Ireland (1691), Flanders (1691), a complete compendium of geography (1691) and an index of all considerable cities etc. in Europe (1692). His publications in history included A General Ecclesiastical History, which came out in 1702, his controversial but popular History of England (1707-20), which covered Britain from Roman times until the end of the seventeenth century, as well as his abridgement of Sir Walter Raleigh’s History of the World in Five Books (1700). With regard to classical antiquity Echard contributed mainly to the study of Roman culture, and he translated comedies by Terence (1694) and Plautus (1716). His major work in this field consisted of two volumes of a five volume Roman History. Echard’s contribution covered the time from the foundation of Rome to the reign of Constantine the Great. His history went into nine English editions during the author’s lifetime. The first part was preceded by a dedicatory epistle ‘To the Right Honourable Sir John Sommers, Kt., Lord Keeper of he Great Seal of England, And One of His Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy-Council’. According to the author, the second volume included an extraordinary variety of examples fit for the instruction of princes and was dedicated ‘To His Highness the Most Illustrious Prince William, Duke of Glocester’, who had been enthusiastic about the first part of the work. Echard wrote a preface to the third volume of the history and explained that it was ‘written by One whose Person is unknown to’ him. The final three parts by this anonymous author, which were revised by Echard, cover the time from Constantine the Great to the taking of Constantinople by the Turks. Overall, Echard’s approach is uncritical, but as the preface to his first volume shows, he provides an evaluation of the ancient and modern authors his work is based on.

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