Early Modern Books at Georgia Southern

Background 

Author - Thomas Cooper (1517-1594) and Henry Denham (1556-1589)
Date Made - 1578 
Date/Place Published - 1578; Eliot’s Court Printing House. 

Language - Dutch

"In 1565 appeared the first edition of Cooper's most notable work, Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et Britannicae ("Thesaurus of the Roman Tongue and the British")". Three other editions followed in 1573, 1578, and 1587.

"Queen Elizabeth I was greatly pleased with the Thesaurus, which became known as Cooper’s Dictionary,". - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Cooper-English-bishop-and-author

Significance

This book was selected to represent the Early Modern Books Collection at Special Collections because of its historical significance. The context it takes place in is that of the rise of the printing press in Elizabethan England (which was in some ways analogous to the rise of television in the 1950's). Moreover, the book in our possession at Georgia Southern University is unique in that it has margin text (a.k.a. marginalia) that was written by a reader of the Thesaurus more than 50 years later! This suggests that the book was still relevant decades after it's first publication (there were several later editions as well). The reader makes a reference to a later four-volume work by Sameul Purchas entitled Purchas his Pilgrims (1625) which was a “massive, four-volume collection of travel stories that can be seen as a continuation of Richard Hakluyt's Principal Navigations”.

Thomas Cooper (1517-1594)

Thomas Cooper was an English Bishop and Author. His life was devoted to religion and the literary arts. Both of his careers were very successful ones. He rose through the ranks of the clergy quite quickly. Cooper also saw success in his other passion as well by working with Sir Thomas Elyot and by writing a work that later came to be known as "Cooper's Chronicle". 

Cooper then created his seminal work which is now famously known as "Cooper's Dictionary" thanks to Queen Elizabeth. It was edited and re-released in several later editions in the following years. Henry Denham helped him to publish it with his printing house. An interesting fact about this books is that William Shakespeare is believed to have used Cooper's Thesaurus in the creation of some of his poems and plays.  ( https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-6229 ). 

Cooper's Dictionary is said to have borrowed heavily from Sir Thomas Elyot's earlier work. 

In fact, there were "accusations from multiple authors and scholars that Cooper copied either large sections of other Latin dictionaries and thesauri or
paraphrased (perhaps even simply transcribed) entire works. This controversy continued for over four centuries, yet the “instances of borrowing” do not negate the improvements made on Elyot's initial work". 

It should be noted, however, that Cooper paid tribute to the initial author and also expressed his lack of skill in languages at some points.

J Schinguan 

E.A. Fuller

J Binghamb

Marginalia Interpretation and Analysis

Appears to be referencing the seasonal flooding of the Nile river which is the result of the yearly monsoon between May and August. 

For further reference, please visit : https://www.crystalinks.com/floodingnile.html

Cover and Title Page

Transcribed Marginalia Text

“I Have found that thy author Cooper of Lincoln had all his makes built by his wife with what they had been collecting in eight years”

“? should kill him”

“By over much studying whereupon him, tell to it against its way another eight years”

“Making thy useful Diclio many” 

‘“Use the page 295”

-J Binghamb

Transcribed Marginalia Text (with reference to external source)

In order from top, far right to bottom left across the bottom of the page:

A Definition of some sort? Unclear. “Bring new mud to maps...fruitfull…” C Aug 18. 

“Thy river springeth out of two great Lakes in the Kingdom of Goiame: under the dominion of Prete Janni”

- (Reference from Purchas his Pilgrims Volume 2, L. 7, Chapter 5, Section 19, Page 1111. ( https://books.google.com/books?id=lVESAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA207&lpg=PA207&dq=Thy+river+springeth+out+of+two+great&source=bl&ots=qLL-nZDGXj&sig=ACfU3U00pbt3XFmczaa1AVgTwBlpvGv3fg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwir3OSbhProAhUyU98KHXYSD5cQ6AEwAHoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false )

“The cause why is it overfloweth. The winter in Ethiopia begins in the midst of June  and lasts until the midst of September. By realm (or maybe “reason”) of the exceeding rains … there all that...Nilus groweth great and overfloweth all of Egypt,” 
Id, eod, page 1117 (?)

"Thy river begin to overfloweth in June 4, 17" (year 1617, possibly). "Cairo…they have a pillar….divided into 18 Cubits by w(hich) they ob…. …...page 838 of..."

"My faith winkers past may p.1127"/ "by realm of many mountains and valleys must gather into the channel of Vit. and Egypt in a busy country". 

"It over flows once season began"