William Atwater d.1521

William ATWATER d.1521

Biographical Note

BA, MA and DD University of Oxford. Fellow Magdalen College, Oxford 1487 and afterwards bursar. Fellow of Eton 1482. Canon of Wells 1498 and of St George's Chapel, Windsor 1504. Dean of Salisbury 1509. Chanellor of University of Oxford from 1500 to 1503. His friendship with Thomas Wolsey likely influenced his appointment as Dean of the Chapel Royal in 1508.

Books

Bowker says of Atwater's library that "it does not suggest he was a humanist, since he knew no Greek, and these books are those of a committed if unadventurous Oxford theologian. His annotations suggest a love for the subject". He gave books to Magdalen and Brasenose Colleges, Oxford, a number of which survive in the latter. Examples: Brasenose College Library UB/S I 28/1, UB/S I 65, UB/S I 27.

Characteristic Markings

At least one of his extant books at Brasenose College contains the motto "Vox D[omi]ni. sup[er] aq[ua]s", and a number are annotated in his hand.

Sources

• Bowker, Margaret. "Atwater, William (d. 1521), bishop of Lincoln." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• Foster, J. Alumni Oxonienses, Oxford, 1891.