John Leland (antiquary)

John Leland
Line engraving by Charles Grignion the Elder (1772), purportedly taken from a bust of John Leland at All Souls College, Oxford. Sculptor Louis François Roubiliac (d. 1762) probably created the original bust.
Born	13 September c. 1503 London
Died	18 April 1552
Resting place	parish church of St Michael-le-Querne, London 51°30′46″N 0°05′51″W / 51.512778°N 0.0975°W / 51.512778; -0.0975Coordinates: 51°30′46″N 0°05′51″W / 51.512778°N 0.0975°W / 51.512778; -0.0975
Monuments	destroyed by fire in 1666
Nationality	English
Other names	John Leyland, Layland
Education	St Paul's School (London) Christ's College, Cambridge All Souls College, Oxford
Known for	Latin poetry, antiquarianism
Notable work	include Cygnea cantio (1545)
Relatives	an elder brother called John

John Leland or Leyland (13 September, c. 1503 – 18 April 1552) was an English poet and antiquary.

Leland has been described as "the father of English local history and bibliography". His Itinerary provided a unique source of observations and raw materials for many subsequent antiquaries, and introduced the county as the basic unit for studying the local history of England, an idea that has been influential ever since.

Most evidence for Leland's life and career comes from his own writings, especially his poetry. He was born in London on 13 September, most probably in about 1503, and had an older brother, also named John. Having lost both his parents at an early age, he and his brother were raised by Thomas Myles. Leland was educated at St Paul's School, London, under its first headmaster, William Lily. It was here that he already met some of his future benefactors, notably William Paget.

Leland was subsequently sent to Christ's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1522 (BA). While studying there, he was for a short time imprisoned, having accused a certain knight of collaborating with Richard de la Pole, the Yorkist claimant to the throne (d. 1525). He proceeded to Lambeth, London, serving Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, as tutor to his son Thomas. When the duke died in 1524, the king sent Leland to Oxford, where as Anthony Wood later claimed from tradition, he became a fellow of All Souls College. He would later deplore the state of education at Oxford, which he felt was too conservative in its approach to classical studies.

Between 1526 and 1528, Leland proceeded to Paris, studying along with many fellow expatriates, both English and German. His original plan to study in Italy, too, never succeeded. Leland honed his skills at composing Latin poetry and sought the acquaintance of humanist scholars whom he much admired, such as Guillaume Budé and Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples. A scholar of particular importance for Leland was François Dubois (Silvius), professor at the Collège de Tournai, who had a profound effect on his poetic as well as antiquarian interests. While in France, Leland kept in touch with his friends and sponsors in England, probably including Thomas Wolsey (d. 1530), Cardinal and Lord Chancellor, who made him rector at Laverstoke, Hampshire.