Myles Davies
Myles Davies (1662-1715 or 1716) was a Welsh-born British author. He published the Athenae Britannicae in 1716.[1]
Biography
Davies was a native of Whiteford, near Holywell in Flintshire, Wales.[1] His parents George and Elizabeth Davies lived in Tre'r Abbot.[2] Isaac D'Israeli said his biography was quite unknown. He was educated at the English Jesuit College in Rome, and was made a Roman Catholic priest on 17 April 1688. [2] He left Rome on 15 October 1688 to work with the Jesuits in Wales, but soon converted to become a Protestant, and in 1705 published an explanation (apologia) for his surprising conversion in The Recantation of Mr Pollett, A Roman priest. [2]
The preface to one of his books describes him as a gentleman of the Inns of Court. He was a learned and erudite scholar, but eccentric to the verge of insanity.
In 1715 he published the first volume of his Athenae Britannicae, a critical history of pamphlets called Icon Libellorum. It was described as "a queer production, but cram full of curious information".[1] The Libellorum included a French letter and a Latin Ode to Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford.
Davies became a mendicant scholar, selling his own books. He would visit the house of a potential patron and send in a bundle of his books, with perhaps an ode to the recipient, in the hope of receiving a gift in return. He was often rejected or insulted when trying to obtain payment or return of his work. By 1812, his work was described as extremely rare.
References
Bibliography
- Nichols, John; Bentley, Samuel (1813). Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century: Comprizing Biographical Memoirs of William Bowyer, Printer, F.S.A., and Many of His Learned Friends; an Incidental View of the Progress and Advancement of Literature in this Kingdom During the Last Century; and Biographical Anecdotes of a Considerable Number of Eminent Writers and Ingenious Artists; with a Very Copious Index. London: Nichols, Son, and Bentley. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=aD0UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA586.
- Odell, Andrew J.; Philes, George Philip (1878). Bibliotheca curiosa. Catalogue of the library of Andrew J. Odell. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=G1MVAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA314.
- Smollett, Tobias George (1812). "Review of Calamities of Authors". The Critical review, or, Annals of literature. W. Simpkin and R. Marshall. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=F4VHAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA384.
- Urban, Sylvanus, ed (June 1812). "Review of D'Israeli's Calamities of Authors". The Gentleman's magazine (London: Nichols, Son, and Bentley) 82 (1). http://books.google.co.in/books?id=HKr7B1AIW0oC&pg=PA561.
- Rose, Hugh James; Rose, Henry John; Wright, Thomas, eds (1848). "Davies, Miles". New general biographical dictionary. 7 DAC–GEO. London: Fellowes. pp. 32.
- Jenkins, Geraint H. (1987). The foundations of modern Wales: Wales 1642–1780. History of Wales. 4. Clarendon Press. pp. 238. ISBN 9780198217343.
- Roberts, Thomas Rowland; Williams, Robert (1908). "Davies, Miles". Eminent Welshmen: a short biographical dictionary of Welshmen who have attained distinction from the earliest times to the present. 1. Educational Publishing Co.. pp. 51.
- Collins, An (1961). "Miles Davies". In Stewart, Stanley N.. Divine Songs and Meditacions (1653). Los Angeles: Clark Library. pp. 119 et seq..
| Persondata |
| Name |
Davies, Myles |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
|
| Date of birth |
|
| Place of birth |
|
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|