Selden

Selden, JOHN (1584-1654), English jurist and antiquary, was born in Sussex and was educated at Chichester and Oxford. He entered the Temple and was called to the bar, practising with much success, and making at the same time deep researches into English legal history. In 1607 he published his Analectum Anglo-Britannicum, which was followed by others, especially his Titles of Honour (1614) and his History of Tithes which last he had to apologise for. In 1623 he became M.P. for Lancaster, espousing the popular slde. His Mare Clasum (l635) upholds the right of the English to certain marine teritory. In 1640 he published De Jure Naturali. By this time he was justly celebrated as one of the greatest men of his age, and in 1643 he was appointed Keeper of the Records in the Tower. He was very popular, and in 1644 the Government voted him £5,0OO for his public services. His Table Talk, an interesting work, appeared thirty-five years after his death.