James Henthorn Todd

James Henthorn Todd
Trinity College, Dublin
Subject	liberal Protestantism, Irish history
Notable works	St. Patrick, Apostle to Ireland; The War of the Gaedhil With the Gaill
Relatives	Charles Hawkes Todd (father) Robert Bentley Todd (brother)

James Henthorn Todd (23 April 1805 – 28 June 1869) was a biblical scholar, educator, and Irish historian. He is noted for his efforts to place religious disagreements on a rational historical footing, for his advocacy of a liberal form of Protestantism, and for his endeavors as an educator, librarian, and scholar in Irish history.^[1]

Early life

He was the son of

in 1825, diminishing his prospects for success. However, he was able to remain at the college by tutoring and editing a church periodical.

Professional life

He obtained a premium in 1829, and two years later was elected Fellow, taking deacon's orders in the same year. From that time until 1850, when he became a Senior Fellow, he was among the most popular tutors in Trinity College.

Todd took priest's orders in 1832. He began publishing in earnest, including papers on

and the Pope. In 1840 he graduated Doctor of Divinity.

In 1837 he had been installed Treasurer at

.

In 1840 Todd co-founded the Irish Archaeological Society and acted as its honorary secretary. He was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy, and strove actively to acquire transcripts and accurate accounts of Irish manuscripts from foreign libraries. He was honorary secretary from 1847 to 1855, and president from 1856 to 1861. In 1860 he was given an ad eundem degree at Oxford.

In 1849 Todd was made

When his office received money, he spent it on the acquisition of manuscripts and rare books, and he deserves much credit for the library's high ranking as one of the chief libraries of Europe.

His work was widely respected and cited. Among his friends and acquaintances were lawyer and poet Sir

).

James Henthorn Todd died at his house in Rathfarnham on 28 June 1869 and was buried in the churchyard of St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Partial bibliography

• The Last Age of the Church, Attributed to John Wycliff (1840)
• An Apology for Lollard Doctrines, by John Wycliffe (1842)
• The Book of Obits and Martyrology of the Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity: Commonly Called Christ Church, Dublin (1844) – with John Clarke Crosthwaite
• Six Discourses on the Prophecies Relating to Antichrist in The Apocalypse of St. John (1846)
• The Search After Infallibility: Remarks on the Testimony of the Fathers to the Roman Dogma of Infallibility (1848)
• Leabhar Breathnach Annso Sis: The Irish Version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius (1848, with Herbert Algernon)
• Three Treatises by John Wycklyffe, D. D. (1851)
• A Catalogue of the Collection of Tracts for and against Popery (1859)
• The Martyrology of Donegal: A Calendar of the Saints of Ireland (1864) – with William Reeves
• St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, A Memoir of his Life and Mission (1864)
• The Books of the Vaudois: The Waldensian Manuscripts Preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin (1865)
• Some Account of the Irish Manuscript Deposited by The President De Robien in the Public Library of Rennes (1867)
• Cogadh Gaedhel Re Gallaibh, or The War of the Gaedhil With the Gaill (1867) – Todd's use and translation of Scandinavian sources brought personal descriptions of the Norsemen into light, such as that of
  Brodir, who is reputed to have killed Brian Boru at the Battle of Clontarf
• A Descriptive Catalogue of the Contents of the Irish Manuscript Commonly Called The Book of Fermoy (1868)
• Leabhar Imuinn: The Book of Hymns of the Ancient Church of Ireland (1869)

See also

References

Works

Several of his works

About his works

External links

• A Compendium of Irish Biography
  . Dublin: M. H. Gill & son.