The Regius Professorship of Hebrew in the University of Cambridge is an ancient academic chair at the University of Cambridge founded by King Henry VIII in 1540.
When created, the professorship carried a permanent stipend of £40 per year. In 1848 this was increased a canonry of Ely Cathedral being attached to the post in perpetuity.
The chair has been held by:
According to a grant of 1590, the office of Regius Professor of "Hebrew" at Cambridge has a coat of arms with the following blazon: [6]
A Regius Professor is a university professor who has, or originally had, royal patronage or appointment. They are a unique feature of academia in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The first Regius Professorship was in the field of medicine, and founded by the Scottish King James IV at the University of Aberdeen in 1497. Regius chairs have since been instituted in various universities, in disciplines judged to be fundamental and for which there is a continuing and significant need. Each was established by an English, Scottish, or British monarch, and following proper advertisement and interview through the offices of the university and the national government, the current monarch still appoints the professor. This royal imprimatur, and the relative rarity of these professorships, means a Regius chair is prestigious and highly sought-after.
The Regius Professorships of Divinity are amongst the oldest professorships at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. A third chair existed for a period at Trinity College Dublin.
The Regius Professorship of Physic is one of the oldest professorships at the University of Cambridge, founded by Henry VIII in 1540. "Physic" is an old word for medicine : it does not refer to the study of physics. The Regius Professor of Physic is ex officio head of the School of Clinical Medicine at the University.
The Regius Professorship of Civil Law is one of the oldest and most prestigious of the professorships at the University of Cambridge.
The Regius Professorship of Greek is one of the oldest professorships at the University of Cambridge. The Regius Professor chair was founded in 1540 by Henry VIII with a stipend of £40 per year, subsequently increased in 1848 by a canonry of Ely Cathedral.
The Ascension Parish Burial Ground, formerly known as the burial ground for the parish of St Giles and St Peter's, is a cemetery off Huntingdon Road in Cambridge, England. Many notable University of Cambridge academics are buried there, including three Nobel Prize winners.
The Regius Professorship of Greek is a professorship at the University of Oxford in England.
The White's Chair of Moral Philosophy was endowed in 1621 by Thomas White, Canon of Christ Church as the oldest professorial post in philosophy at the University of Oxford.
Paul Fagius was a Renaissance scholar of Biblical Hebrew and Protestant reformer.
The Regius Professor of Medicine is an appointment held at the University of Oxford. The chair was founded by Henry VIII of England by 1546, and until the 20th century the title was Regius Professor of Physic. Henry VIII established five Regius Professorships in the University, the others being the Regius chairs of Divinity, Civil Law, Hebrew and Greek. The Regius Professor of Clinical Medicine is always a member of Christ Church.
A Christian Hebraist is a scholar of Hebrew who comes from a Christian family background/belief or is a Jewish adherent of Christianity. The main area of study is that commonly known as the Old Testament to Christians, but Christians have occasionally taken an interest in the Talmud and the Kabbalah.
Events from the 1540s in England.
Immanuel Tremellius was an Italian Jewish convert to Christianity. He was known as a leading Hebraist and Bible translator.
The Regius Chair of Civil Law, founded in the 1540s, is one of the oldest professorships at the University of Oxford.
The CambridgeFaculty of Divinity is the divinity school of the University of Cambridge. It houses the Faculty Library.
Thomas Wakefeld was an English academic, the first Regius Professor of Hebrew at Cambridge University.
Antoine Rodolphe Chevallier (1523–1572) was a French Protestant Hebraist and a holder of teaching positions in England. He acted as tutor in French and Hebrew to the future Elizabeth I of England.
Christopher Carlile was an Anglican clergyman.
The Regius Professorship of Hebrew in the University of Oxford is a professorship at the University of Oxford, founded by Henry VIII in 1546.
The Regius Professorship of Laws is a professorship at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). It is one of the oldest chairs in the college, having been founded in 1668. Professor Mark Bell has held the post since July 2015.