Title Page

Portrait of Castell

Castell, Edmund (1606-1685)

Lexicon Heptaglotton. London, Thomas Roycroft, 1669.

3986 pp. with portrait. (References attribute 2 volumes we have one). Folio, leather.
Hand-lettered inscriptions: From A. H. Lester ca. 1862 on cover verso.

Description

A product of upper middle class parents, Castell studied at Emmanuel college, Cambridge. He was on the committee which assisted Walton with the Polyglot Bible. Although he was Walton’s chief assistant, he received little credit from the Bishop. His life’s work, the Lexicon, was begun in 1651. Laboring from 16 to 18 hours per day, he could obtain little assistance and almost became destitute, having expended his patrimony of 12,000 pounds. Some of his manuscripts were consumed in the Great Fire, and he languished for a while in debtor’s prison for assuming the obligations of his dead brother. Made Chaplain in ordinary to King Charles II in 1664, he also got a prebendary at Canterbury. He taught Arabic at Cambridge. Critics say that the Lexicon "marks an epoch in Semitic scholarship...unparalleled industry and solid learning.” Regardless, the Lexicon did not sell, and only 500 copies remained at the author’s death. (DNB)

Listings: Drunet 6391, Ebert 3663, Lowndes, McKissick 131.