Interred at Pancras, the 20th, 6 o'clock P.M. I only attended him.’ This date is corroborated by a notice in the ‘Daily Post’ for 20 Sept. 1744: ‘Last Tuesday died Mr. Theobald, a gentleman well known for his poetical productions already printed, and for many more promised and subscribed for.’ He had a good private library, including two hundred and ninety-five old English plays in quarto, which was advertised to be sold by auction on 20 Oct. succeeding his death (Reed's note in Variorum Shakespeare, ed. 1803, i. 404).
Theobald was married and left a son Lewis, who, by the patronage of Sir Edward Walpole, was appointed a clerk in the annuity pell office, and died young.
It was suggested by George Steevens [q. v.] that Hogarth's plate, ‘The Distressed Poet,’ as first published on 3 March 1736, was intended as a satire on the much-abused Theobald. The composition was doubtless inspired by Pope's vivid picture of the dunce-laureate-elect brooding over his sunken fortunes (see Pope, Works, ed. Courthope, iv. 28).
[The fullest account of Theobald will be found in Nichols's Illustrations of Literature, ii. 707–748, but it contains several inaccuracies. Theobald's correspondence with Concanen and Warburton is of great interest, and embodies some biographical particulars, ib. pp. 189–653. There is a meagre memoir of him in Cibber's Lives of the Poets, v. 276–83, and brief notices in Giles Jacob's Historical Account of the Lives and Writings of English Poets, and in Baker's Biographia Dramatica. His own preface to his Shakespeare and the Dedications and Prefaces to his several works yield a few details; Meystayer's Dedication to his ‘Perfidious Brother;’ Dennis's Observations on Pope's Homer; A Miscellany on Taste (1732); Mist's Journal and the Daily Post passim; Genest's Account of the English Stage; notes to the various editions of the Dunciad; Warton's Essay on Pope; prefaces to the editions of Shakespeare by Pope, Warburton, Hanmer, Johnson, and Malone; Capell's appendix to the Preface to the edition of Beaumont and Fletcher (1750). See, too, Johnson's Life of Pope; Boswell's Life of Johnson; Watson's Life of Warburton. A few notes have been furnished by W. J. Lawrence, esq., of Belfast.]
THEODORE (602?–690), archbishop of Canterbury, a native of Tarsus in Cilicia, was born in or about 602 (Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica, iv. 1). He studied at Athens (Monumenta Moguntina, ed. Jaffé, p. 185), had a scholarly knowledge of Greek and Latin, and was well versed in sacred and profane literature and in philosophy, which caused him to receive the surname ‘Philosopher’ (Gesta Pontificum, p. 7). He was a monk, and had not taken subdeacon's orders when in 667 he was at Rome, having perhaps been led to come to Italy by the visit to that country of the Emperor Constans II in 663. When Theodore was in Rome, Pope Vitalian was anxious to find a primate for the English church in place of Wighard, who had died in Rome before consecration. He fixed on Hadrian, an African by birth and an abbot of a monastery not far from Naples, who was learned both in Greek and Latin, in the Scriptures, and in ecclesiastical discipline. Hadrian refused the pope's offer, and finally presented Theodore to him. Vitalian promised to consecrate him, provided that Hadrian, who had twice visited Gaul and would therefore be useful as a guide, would accompany him to England, and remain with him to assist him in doctrinal matters; for the pope seems to have feared that Theodore might be affected by the monothelite heresy. Theodore was ordained subdeacon in November, and as he was tonsured after the Eastern fashion—his whole head being shaved—he had to wait four months before receiving further orders, to allow his hair to grow sufficiently for him to be tonsured after the Roman fashion. At last, on Sunday, 26 March 668, he was consecrated by Vitalian. He set out from Rome on 27 May, in company with Hadrian and Benedict Biscop [q. v.] At Arles he and his party were detained by John, the archbishop of the city, in accordance with the command of Ebroin, mayor of the palace in Neustria and Burgundy, who suspected them of being political emissaries sent by the emperor Constans to the English king. When Ebroin gave them leave to proceed, Theodore went on to Paris, where he was received by Aligbert, the bishop, formerly bishop of the West-Saxons, and remained with him during the winter. At last Egbert, king of Kent, being informed that the archbishop was in the Frankish kingdom, sent his high reeve Raedfrith to conduct him to England. Ebroin gave Theodore leave to depart, but detained Hadrian, whom he still suspected of being an imperial envoy. Theodore was conducted by Raedfrith to Quentavic or Etaples, where he was delayed for some time by sickness. As soon as he began to get well he crossed the Channel, and was received at Canterbury on 27 May 669. Hadrian joined him soon afterwards.
At the time of Theodore's arrival the English church lacked order, administrative organisation, discipline, and culture. The work of the Celtic missionaries had been carried on rather by individual effort than through an ordered ecclesiastical system. The Roman party had gained a decisive victory in 664,
