Thomas Madox

Thomas Madox (1666 – 13 January 1727) was a legal antiquary and historian, known for his publication and discussion of medieval records and charters; and in particular for his History of the Exchequer, tracing the administration and records of that branch of the state from the Norman Conquest to the time of Edward II. It became a standard work for the study of English medieval history. He held the office of historiographer royal from 1708 until his death.

Life

Madox was born in 1666. He applied himself at an early age to the study of the common law, and was admitted to the Middle Temple, though he was never called to the bar.[1] He became a sworn clerk in the Lord Treasurer's remembrance office (i.e. official archives), and afterwards joint clerk in the Augmentation Office, which administered the crown estates; first with Charles Batteley, who died in May 1722, and afterwards with John Batteley.[1][2]

There he pursued his historical researches under the patronage of Lord Somers. He made his first appearance as an author with the publication of Formulare Anglicanum in 1702, concerning ancient charters, which Madox introduced with a learned dissertation on the subject. The principal materials for this work were obtained from the archives of the court of augmentations. It is "justly" (according to the Dictionary of National Biography) described by Bishop William Nicolson as "of unspeakable service to our students in law and antiquities".[3] On the motion of Peter Le Neve, Madox was elected a member of the Society of Antiquaries in January 1708.[1][4]

In 1711 he published his History of the Exchequer, with a dedication to the Queen and a long prefatory epistle to Lord Somers, giving an account of his researches among the public records to gather the materials for the work. Madox was subsequently sworn in and admitted to the office of historiographer royal, in succession to Thomas Rymer, on 12 July 1714,[5] with an attached salary of £200 a year.[1]

The last of his works Madox saw printed in his lifetime was Firma Burgi, on early records concerning English towns and boroughs, dedicated to George I, published in 1723. Madox died on 13 January 1727, and was buried at Arlesey, Bedfordshire.[6] He was succeeded in the office of historiographer royal by Robert Stephens.

A posthumous work, Baronia Anglica, on the history and records of the feudal barons, appeared in 1736. A collection of further transcripts was bequeathed by his widow to the British Museum, as an addition to the Sloane Library. It ran to ninety-four volumes,[7] folio and quarto, consisting chiefly of extracts of records from the Exchequer, the Patent and Close Rolls in the Tower, the Cottonian Library, the archives of Canterbury and Westminster, and the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; all that Madox had transcribed himself, intending them as materials for a Feudal History of England from the earliest times.[1][8]

Personal life

Madox married Catharine, the daughter of Vigarus Edwards. He had no issue.[1]

Works

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11  "Madox, Thomas". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  2. ↑ DNB cites Birch MS 4223, fol. 1.
  3. ↑ DNB cites English Historical Library (1776), pp. 168-9.
  4. ↑ DNB cites Nichols, Literary Anecdotes, vol. 6, pp. 147, 148.
  5. ↑ DNB cites British Library, Additional MS 4572, fol. 108.
  6. ↑ DNB cites Historical Register (1727), Chron. Diary, p. 6.
  7. ↑ DNB cites British Library, Additional MSS 4479–4572.
  8. ↑ DNB cites Nichols, Literary Anecdotes, vol. 9, p. 645.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "National Library of Australia – Catalogue". Retrieved 2 November 2009.

References

Further reading

Preceded by
Thomas Rymer		 English Historiographer Royal
1714–1727 		Succeeded by
Robert Stephens
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