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FREEMAN, EDWARD AUGUSTUS (1823-1892)

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Originally appearing in Volume V11, Page 77 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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FREEMAN
FREEMAN, EDWARD AUGUSTUS (1823-1892)

FREEMAN, See also:
EDWARD
EDWARD See also:
AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)
AUGUSTUS (1823-1892) , See also:

ENGLISH

English historian, was See also:

BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born at Harborne, See also:

STAFFORDSHIRE

Staffordshire, on the 2nd of See also:

AUGUST (originally Sextilis)

August 1823. He lost both his parents in See also:

INFANCY

infancy, was brought up by a grandmother, and was educated at private See also:

SCHOOLS

schools and by a private See also:

TUTOR (Lat. tutor, guardian, tueri, to watch over, protect)

tutor. He was a studious and precocious boy, more interested in religious matters, See also:

HISTORY

history and See also:

FOREIGN

foreign politics than in boyish things. He obtained a scholarship at Trinity See also:

COLLEGE (Collegium)

College, See also:

Oxford, and a second class in the degree examination, and was elected See also:

FELLOW

fellow of his college (1845). While at Oxford he was much influenced by the High See also:

Church See also:

MOVEMENT

movement, and thought seriously of taking orders, but abandoned the See also:

IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea. He married a daughter of his former tutor, the Rev. R. Gutch, in 1847, and entered on a See also:

LIFE

life of study. Ecclesiastical See also:

ARCHITECTURE (Lat. architectura, from the Gr. ap)(LTEKrwv, a master-builder)

architecture attracted him strongly. He visited many churches and began a practice, which he pursued throughout his life, of making drawings of buildings on the spot and afterwards tracing them over in See also:

INK (from Late Lat. encaustum, Gr. gysavorov, the purple ink used by Greek and Roman emperors, from iyKaiew, to burn in)

ink. His first See also:

BOOK

book, See also:

SAVE, or SAVA (Ger. Sau; Hungarian Szdva; Lat. Savus)

save for his See also:

SHARE (O. Eng. scearu, chiefly in compounds, e.g. land-scearu, a share of land, from sceran to cut; cf. " shear" )

share in a See also:

VOLUME

volume of English See also:

VERSE (from Lat. versus, literally a line or furrow drawn by turning the plough, from vertere, and afterwards signifying an arrangement of syllables into feet)

verse, was a History of Architecture (1849). Though he had not then seen any buildings outside See also:

England, it contains a See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good See also:

SKETCH (directly adapted from Dutch schets, which was taken from Ital. schizzo, a rough draft, Lat. schedium, something hastily made, Gr. oxE&os, sudden, off-hand, axeb6v, near by; Ger. Skizze and Fr. esquisse are from the same source)

sketch of the development of the See also:

art.

It is full of youthful See also:

ENTHUSIASM

enthusiasm and is written in florid See also:

LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language. After some changes of See also:

RESIDENCE (Latin residere, to remain behind, to dwell, reside)

residence he bought a hbllse called Somerleaze, near See also:

Wells, See also:

Somerset, and settled there in 186o. Freeman's life was one of strenuous See also:

LITERARY

literary See also:

WORK

work. He wrote many books, and countless articles for reviews, See also:

NEWSPAPERS

newspapers and other publications, and was a See also:

CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant contributor to the Saturday See also:

REVIEW (Fr. revue, from revoir, to see again, Lat. re and videre)

Review until 1878, when he ceased to write for it for See also:

POLITICAL

political reasons. His Saturday Review articles corrected many errors and raised the level of See also:

HISTORICAL

historical knowledge among the educated classes, but as a reviewer he was See also:

apt to forget that a book may have blemishes and yet be praiseworthy. For some years he was an active See also:

COUNTY (through Norm. Fr. comae, cf. O. Fr. cunte, conk', Mod. Fr. comae, from Lat. comitatus, cf. Ital. comitato, Prov. comtat; see COUNT)

county See also:

MAGISTRATE (Lat. magistratus, from magister, master, properly a public office, hence the person holding such an office)

magistrate. He was deeply interested in politics, was a follower of Mr See also:

Gladstone, and approved the See also:

Home See also:

RULE

Rule See also:

BILL

Bill of 1886, but objected to the later proposal to retain the Irish members at See also:

Westminster. To be returned to See also:

PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

Parliament was one of his few ambitions, and in 1868 he unsuccessfully contested See also:

Mid-Somerset. Foreign rather than domestic politics had the first See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place with him. Historical and religious sentiment combined with his destestation of all that was tyrannical to inspire him with hatred of the Turk and sympathy with the smaller and subject nationalities of eastern See also:

EUROPE

Europe. He took a prominent See also:

PART

part in the agitation which followed " the Bulgarian atrocities "; his speeches were intemperate, and he was accused of uttering the words " Perish See also:

India!" at a public See also:

MEETING (from " to meet," to come together, assemble, 0. Eng. metals ; cf. Du. moeten, Swed. mota, Goth. gamotjan, &c., derivatives of the Teut. word for a meeting, seen in O. Eng. Wit, moot, an assembly of the people; cf. witanagemot)

meeting in 1876. This, however, was a misrepresentation of his words.

He was made a See also:

knight See also:

COMMANDER

commander of the See also:

order of the Saviour by the See also:

king of See also:

GREECE

Greece, and also received an order from the See also:

prince of See also:

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro. Freeman advanced the study of history in England in two See also:

SPECIAL

special directions, by insistence on the unity of history, and by teaching the importance and right use of See also:

ORIGINAL

original authorities. History is not, he urges, to be divided " by a See also:

MIDDLE

middle See also:

wall of See also:

PARTITION

partition " into See also:

ancient and See also:

MODERN

modern, nor broken into fragments as though the history of each nation stood apart. It is more than a collection of narratives; it is a See also:

SCIENCE (Lat. scientia, from scire; to learn, know)

science, " the science of See also:

man in his political See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character." The historical student, then, cannot afford to be indifferent to any part of the See also:

RECORD (Lat. recordari, to recall to mind, from cor, heart or mind)

record of man's political being; but as his abilities for study are limited, he will, while reckoning all history to be within his range, have his own special range within which he will See also:

MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master every detail (Rede Lecture). Freeman's range included See also:

Greek, See also:

ROMAN

Roman and the earlier part of English history, together with some portions of foreign See also:

MEDIEVAL

medieval history, and he had a scholarly though See also:

general knowledge of the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest of the history of the See also:

EUROPEAN

European See also:

WORLD

world. He regarded the abiding life of See also:

Rome as " the central truth of European history," the See also:

bond of its unity, and he undertook his History of See also:

SICILY (Ital. Sicilia)

Sicily (1891–1894) partly because it illustrated this unity. Further, he urges that all historical study is valueless which does not take in a knowledge of original authorities, and he teaches both by example and See also:

PRECEPT (Lat. praeceptum, a rule, from praecipere, literally to take beforehand, to give rules, instructions or orders)

precept what authorities should be thus described, and how they are to be weighed and used. He did not use See also:

MANUSCRIPT

manuscript authorities, and for most of his work he had no need to do so. The authorities which he needed were already in See also:

print, and his books would not have been better if he had disinterred a few more facts from unprinted See also:

SOURCES

sources. His reputation as a historian will chiefly rest on his History of the See also:

Norman See also:

CONQUEST

Conquest (1867–1876), his longest completed book. In See also:

COMMON

common with his See also:

WORKS

works generally, it is distinguished by exhaustiveness of treatment and See also:

RESEARCH (O. Fr. recerche, from recercher, re- and cercer, mod. chercher, to search; Late Lat. circare, to go round in a circle, to explore)

research, See also:

CRITICAL (in alphabetical order of authors)

critical ability, a remarkable degree of accuracy, and a certain insight into the past which he gained from his See also:

PRACTICAL

practical experience of men and institutions. He is almost exclusively a political historian.

His saying that " history is past politics and politics are See also:

PRESENT

present history " is significant of this See also:

LIMITATION, STATUTES OF

limitation cf his work, which See also:

LEFT

left on one See also:

side subjects of the deepest See also:

INTEREST

interest in a nation's life. In dealing with constitutional matters he sometimes attaches too much See also:

WEIGHT

weight to words and formal aspects. This gives certain of his arguments an See also:

air of pedantry, and seems to See also:

lead him to find evidences of continuity in institutions which in reality and spirit were different from what they once had been. As a rule his estimates of character are remarkably able. It is true that he is sometimes swayed by See also:

PREJUDICE (Lat. praejudicium)

prejudice, but this is the common See also:

lot of See also:

GREAT

great historians; they cannot altogether avoid sharing in the feelings of the past, for they live in it, and Freeman did so to an extraordinary degree. Yet if he See also:

JUDGES, THE BOOK OF

judges too favourably the leaders of the See also:

NATIONAL

national party in England on the See also:

eve of the Norman Conquest, that is a small See also:

MATTER

matter to set against the insight which he exhibits in See also:

writing of See also:

ARATUS

Aratus, See also:

SULLA, LUCIUS CORNELIUS (138–78 B.C.)

Sulla, See also:

Nicias, See also:

William the Conqueror, See also:

Thomas of See also:

Canterbury, See also:

Frederick the Second and many more. In width of view, thoroughness of investigation and honesty of purpose he is unsurpassed by any historian. He never conceals nor wilfully misrepresents anything, and he reckoned no labour too great which might help him to draw a truthful picture of the past. When a place had any important connexion with his work he invariably visited it. He travelled much, always to gain knowledge, and generally to See also:

COMPLETE

complete his historical equipment. His collected articles and essays on places of historical interest are perhaps the most pleasing of his writings, but they See also:

DEAL

deal exclusively with historical associations and architectural features. The quantity of work which he turned out is enormous, for the fifteen large volumes which contain his Norman Conquest, his unfinished History of Sicily, his William See also:

Rufus (1882), and his Essays (1872–1879), and the See also:

CROWD, CROUTH, CROWTH

crowd of his smaller books, are matched in amount by his uncollected contributions to See also:

PERIODICALS

periodicals.

In respect of matter his historical work is uniformly excellent. In respect of See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form and See also:

style the See also:

case is different. Though his sentences themselves are not wordy, he is extremely diffuse in treatment, habitually repeating an ideain successive sentences of much the same import. While this See also:

HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit was doubtless aggravated by the amount of his journalistic work, it seems originally to have sprung from what may be called a professorial spirit, which occasionally appears in the See also:

TONE, THEOBALD WOLFE (1763-1798)

tone of his remarks. He was anxious to make sure that his readers would understand his exact meaning, and to guard them against all possible misconceptions. His lengthy explanations are the more grievous because he insists on the same points in several of his books. His prolixity was increased by his unwillingness, when writing without prescribed limits, to leave out any detail, however unimportant. His See also:

PASSION (post-classical Lat. passio, formed from pati, passus, to suffer, endure)

passion for details not only swelled his volumes to a portentous See also:

SIZE

size, but was fatal to See also:

ARTISTIC

artistic construction. The length of his books has hindered their usefulness. They were written for the public at large, but few save professed students, who can admire and value his exhaustiveness, will read the many hundreds of pages which he devotes to a See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short See also:

period of history. In some of his smaller books, however, he shows great See also:

POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers of condensation and arrangement, and writes tersely enough. His style is correct, lucid and virile, but generally nothing more, and his endeavour to use as far as possible only words of See also:

Teutonic origin limited his vocabulary and makes his sentences somewhat monotonous.

While See also:

FRONDE, THE

Fronde often strayed away from his authorities, Freeman kept his authorities always before his eyes, and his narrative is here and there little more than a See also:

TRANSLATION

translation of their words. Accordingly, while it has nothing of See also:

FROUDE, JAMES ANTHONY (1818-1894)

Froude's carelessness and inaccuracy, it has nothing of his See also:

CHARM (through the Fr. from the Lat. carmen, a song)

charm of style. Yet now and again he rises to the level of some heroic event, and parts of his See also:

CHAPTER (a shortened form of chapiter, a word still used in architecture for a capital; derived from O. Fr. chapitre, Lat. capitellum, diminutive of caput, head)

chapter on the " See also:

CAMPAIGN

Campaign of See also:

Hastings " and of his record of the See also:

WARS

wars of See also:

Syracuse and See also:

Athens, his reflections on the visit of See also:

BASIL (Russ. VASILY)

Basil the Second to the church of the Virgin on the See also:

ACROPOLIS (Gr. aKpos, top, a6)Xts, city)

Acropolis, and some other passages in his books, are See also:

FINE

fine pieces of eloquent writing. The high quality of Freeman's work was acknowledged by all competent judges. He was made D. C.L. of Oxford and LL.D. of See also:

Cambridge honoris causa, and when he visited the See also:

UNITED

United States on a lecturing tour was warmly received at various places. of learning. He served on the royal See also:

COMMISSION (from Lat. commissio, committere)

commission on ecclesiastical courts appointed in 1881. In 1884 he was appointed regius See also:

PROFESSOR (the Latin noun formed from the verb profiteri, to declare publicly, to acknowledge, profess)

professor of modern history at Oxford. His lectures were thinly attended, for he did not care to adapt them to the requirements of the university See also:

EXAMINATIONS

examinations, and he was not perhaps well fitted to See also:

TEACH [THATCH OR THACH], EDWARD (d. 1718)

teach See also:

young men. But he exercised a wholesome See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence over the more See also:

EARNEST (probably a corruption of the obsolete arles or erles, adapted from Lat. equivalent arrha, due to a confusion with the adjective " earnest," serious, O. Eng. eornust, cognate with Ger. ernst)

earnest students of history among the See also:

RESIDENT

resident graduates. From 1886 he was forced by See also:

ill-See also:

HEALTH

health to spend much of his See also:

time abroad, and he died of smallpox at See also:

ALICANTE

Alicante on the 16th of See also:

March 1892, while on a tour in See also:

Spain. Freeman had a strongly marked See also:

PERSONALITY (from Lat. persona, originally an actor's mask, from personare,1 to sound through)

personality.

Though impatient in See also:

TEMPER (from Lat. temperare, to mingle or compound in due proportion, to qualify, rule, regulate, to be moderate, formed from tempos, time, fit or due season)

temper and occasionally See also:

RUDE, FRANCOIS (1784–1855)

rude, he was See also:

TENDER

tender-hearted and generous. His rudeness to strangers was partly caused by shyness and partly by a childlike inability to conceal his feelings. Eminently truthful, he could not understand that some verbal insincerities are necessary to social life. He had a See also:

PECULIAR

peculiar See also:

FACULTY (through the French, from the Lat. facultas, ability to do anything, from facilis, easy, facere, to do; another form of the word in Lat. facilitas, facility, ease, keeps the original meaning)

faculty for friendship, and his See also:

friends always found him sympathetic and affectionate. In their society he would talk well and showed a keen sense of See also:

HUMOUR (Latin humor)

humour. He considered it his See also:

DUTY (from " due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, dil, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. " debt ")

duty to expose careless and ignorant writers, and certainly enjoyed doing so. He worked hard and methodically, often had several pieces of work in See also:

hand, and kept a daily record of the time which he devoted to each of them. His tastes were curiously limited. No art interested him except architecture, which he studied throughout his life; and he cared little for literature which was not either historical or political. In later life he ceased to hold the theological opinions of his youth, but remained a devout churchman. See W. R.

W. See also:

Stephens, Life and Letters of E. A, Freeman (See also:

LONDON

London, 1895) ; See also:

FREDERIC, HAROLD (1856-1898)

Frederic See also:

Harrison, See also:

TENNYSON, ALFRED TENNYSON

Tennyson, See also:

RUSKIN, JOHN (1819-1goo)

Ruskin, See also:

Mill and other Literary Estimates (London, 1899) ; See also:

James See also:

BRYCE, JAMES (1838- )

Bryce, " E. A. Freeman," Eng. Hist. Rev., See also:

JULY

July 1892. (W.

End of Article: FREEMAN, EDWARD AUGUSTUS (1823-1892)

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