Percy, Thomas, 1729-1811

Thomas Percy was the editor of the Reliques of ancient English poetry and of The Regulations and establishment of the household of Henry Algernon Percy (London, 1770).

From the description of Thomas Percy letter, Northumberland House [London], to Dear Sir, [1767] Saturday, May 9. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 38929735

Epithet: Bishop of Norwich

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000561.0x000166

Thomas Percy served as the parson of Easton Maudit, Northamptonshire, England from 1753 to 1782. He was appointed the Bishop of Dromore (Ireland) in 1782. He was a prolific author, best remembered for compiling The Reliques of Ancient English Poetry in 1765.

From the description of Additional papers, 1755-1804. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612860934

Percy was an English antiquary and poet.

From the description of Thomas Percy papers, 1759-1785. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612375720

English bishop.

From the description of Autograph letter signed : Easton Mauduit, to [Thomas Apperley], 1756 Nov. 12. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270851406

Percy was an English antiquary and poet. His compilation of ballads, Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, was published in 1765.

From the guide to the Thomas Percy papers, 1759-1785., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

Percy received his B.A. in 1750 and his M.A. in 1753, both from Christ Church, Oxford. He became chaplain to the king in 1769, dean of Carlisle in 1778, and Bishop of Dromore in 1882. He was the editor of "Reliques of Ancient English Poetry" and also published original works and English translations.

From the description of Thomas Percy correspondence, 1770-1807. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79142155

From the description of Thomas Percy correspondence, 1770-1807. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702147503

Thomas Percy, born at Bridgnorth Shropshire, was a poet, antiquary, editor of the Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, and bishop of Dromore.

From the guide to the Transcripts of metrical romances, 1769-1781 and undated., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

Epithet: writer, Bishop of Dromore

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000206.0x000105

Thomas Percy, born at Bridgnorth, Shropshire, was a poet, antiquary, editor of the Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, and bishop of Dromore.

From the description of Transcripts of metrical romances, 1769-1781 and undated. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 80830778

Thomas Percy, the son of a grocer, was born in Bridgnorth, Shropshire on April 13, 1729. Educated at Christ Church, Oxford, Percy was ordained in the Church of England in 1753 and held the livings of Easton Maudit and Wilby; served as chaplain to the Duke of Northumberland and chaplain-in-ordinary to King George III; and became Dean of Carlisle in 1778 and Bishop of Dromore (Ireland) in 1782.

Percy published a number of literary and antiquarian works, including the narrative poem The Hermit of Warkworth (1770); translations and adaptations from Chinese, Icelandic, Hebrew, and Spanish; and an edition of the "household book" of the Earl of Northumberland for 1513. He is best known, however, for Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, a three-volume collection of early English and Scottish ballad texts which included the first publication of "Sir Patrick Spens" and "Edward, Edward," among others. Reliques inspired two generations of antiquarians and poets both to preserve and study early ballads and to compose original poems in the form.

Percy married Anne Gutteridge in 1759. The couple had six children, of whom only two daughters survived. Thomas Percy died in Dromore on September 30, 1811, and is buried in Dromore Cathedral.

For further biographical information on Thomas Percy, see the Dictionary of National Biography, Volume XV; and the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 104.

From the guide to the Thomas Percy correspondence, 1770-1807, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)