author
A. L. (Anthony Lawson) Mayhew
1842–1916
A Victorian scholar and clergyman, he is best remembered for reference works that helped readers make sense of older English. His books on Middle English and Tudor-and-Stuart vocabulary made demanding texts more approachable for students and general readers alike.
1 Audiobook
A Concise Dictionary of Middle English from A.D. 1150 to 1580
by A. L. (Anthony Lawson) Mayhew, Walter W. (Walter William) Skeat
About the author
Anthony Lawson Mayhew was an English lexicographer, scholar of English, and Christian minister who lived from 1842 to 1916. He was associated with Wadham College, Oxford, where he served as chaplain, and later references to him also describe him as a lexicographer.
He is best known for scholarly language books, especially A Concise Dictionary of Middle English from A.D. 1150 to 1580, written with Walter W. Skeat. He also edited A Glossary of Tudor and Stuart Words, Especially from the Dramatists and prepared A Select Glossary of English Words Used Formerly in Senses Different from Their Present, works that show his long interest in the history of English words and meanings.
Although he wrote for serious students, his work had a practical aim: helping readers navigate older literature, religious writing, and historical English with more confidence. He is also remembered through his family as the father of Mary Ruth Mayhew, later Lady Head.