“Most Active and Effectual Assistance” in the Correspondence of Sir William Dugdale and William Somner

Abstract

Abstract In the Dictionarium Saxonico-Latino-Anglicum (1659), the first published dictionary of Old English, its compiler, William Somner (?1606–1669), expresses his gratitude for the “most active and effectual assistance” of the herald and antiquary William Dugdale (1605–1686) in bringing the work to publication. However, this brief mention conveys little about the long-standing working relationship between the two men, which was already in place when Somner began work on the Dictionarium and which continued after its publication. The author shows how surviving correspondence can help build a fuller picture, drawing on letters frequently cited in connection with the Dictionarium alongside less discussed material. This article situates Dugdale’s “active and effectual assistance” with the Dictionarium in the wider context of the antiquarian interests and projects he shared with Somner. In doing so, it also demonstrates how each of the two men was able to contribute his own expertise and resources to the work of the other. As such, this article emphasises both the importance of such collaboration for the development of Old English studies in the seventeenth century and the significant overlap in this period between linguistic investigation and broader antiquarian activities.