William Camden Criticism
William Camden (1551-1623) was a seminal English historian and poet who played a crucial role in the early development of historiography. Rising from a modest background, Camden became a central figure in Renaissance England's intellectual circles, befriending notable figures such as Philip Sidney and Ben Jonson. His most significant work, Britannia (1586), revolutionized historical writing by focusing on the topography, people, and customs of Britain rather than just major events, establishing antiquarianism as a respectable historical discipline. Camden's work was influenced by both British and Continental scholars and aimed to portray a unified British identity, as discussed in The Making of Camden's Britannia and The Structural Plan of Camden's Britannia. Additionally, he incorporated archaeological findings into his historiography, setting a precedent for future historical research.
Camden's influence extended beyond historical writing, impacting literature as well. His relationships with poets like Ben Jonson and Edmund Spenser are noted, with Camden's De Connubio Tamae et Isis potentially influencing Spenser's The Faerie Queene, as explored by Jack B. Oruch. Despite some criticisms, such as those noted by Rudolf B. Gottfried regarding Camden's biases, his commitment to accuracy and detail was groundbreaking. Camden's contributions to the field are further elaborated in Historical Topography and British History in Camden's Britannia, where his methods in documenting Britain's Roman past are acknowledged.
Throughout his career, Camden held influential positions that bolstered his antiquarian pursuits, such as his membership in the College of Arms and his foundation of the Camden Chair of History at Oxford, which emphasized his lasting impact on British historiography and education. As noted by W. H. Herendeen, Camden's work laid foundations for a British national identity and has been seen as a precursor to modern cultural history.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Essays
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The Early Development of the Section on Ireland in Camden's Britannia
(summary)
In the following essay, Gottfried detects an anti-Irish bias in the Britannia, but emphasizes Camden's attention to detail, his thoroughness, and his desire to ensure that each new edition would be more scrupulously accurate than the last.
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William Camden and the Britannia
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In the following essay, a transcription of the first Reckitt Archaeological Lecture, Piggott emphasizes Camden's efforts to construct a particularly Roman history for Britain. Piggott also surveys antiquarian history after Camden, including later editions of his Britannia, arguing that by the mid-eighteenth century the field of historiography was in sharp decline.
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The Making of Camden's Britannia
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In the following essay, Levy details Camden's antiquarian methods in compiling the Britannia, considering Camden's work as an attempt to reconstruct the history of Roman Britain as well as an effort to bring a Continental European mode of scholarship to bear on British history.
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Spenser, Camden, and the Poetic Marriages of Rivers
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In the following essay, Oruch argues that Camden's De Connubio Tamae et Isis likely influenced Spenser's plans to write Epithalamion Thamesis, a poem about mythological river marriages.
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William Camden's Commonplace Book.
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In the following essay, Dunham describes the discovery of Camden's Commonplace Book, noting that the book offers proof for the existence of Journals of the House of Lords prior to the reign of Henry VIII and documents important trials, including the contest for the barony of Abergavenny.
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Like a Circle Bounded in Itself: Jonson, Camden, and the Strategies of Praise
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In the following essay, Herendeen examines the relationship between Camden and Renaissance playwright Ben Jonson, noting Jonson's frequent claims of literary and personal indebtedness to his friend and mentor in his literary works.
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Geography and the Myth of History: Camden and the Rivers of Concord
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In the following excerpt, Herendeen discusses the relationship between landscape and moral history in Camden's Britannia. Herendeen explicates Camden's poem De Connubio Tamae et Isis as a part of Camden's historiography, observing the themes of unity and renewal.
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Historical Topography and British History in Camden's Britannia
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In the following essay, Rockett discusses Camden's method in documenting and narrating Britain's Roman past, acknowledging the author's debt to continental European sources and positing that Camden's efforts established continuity, solidarity, and historical inevitability for the British nation.
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The Structural Plan of Camden's Britannia
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In the following essay, Rockett proposes that the tripartite structure of the Britannia disproves the common assumption that Camden's history was meant to focus on Roman Britain. Rockett instead finds the Britannia to be a history of social organization, detailing the unification of diverse peoples into a common nation.
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The Early Development of the Section on Ireland in Camden's Britannia
(summary)
- Further Reading