Page:Dictionary of National Biography. Sup. Vol II (1901).djvu/209

  in the same county, whence he probably derived his name (, Northamptonshire, i. 59, 62, 317, 531). He was at this time a king's clerk, probably in chancery, in the rules of which he was said to be particularly skilled (, iv. 569). In 1242 he appears to have had the custody of the great seal during Henry III's absence in Gascony, and two years later he is said to have been appointed chancellor or keeper; Matthew Paris, however, only speaks of him as 'vices agens cancellarii,' though the 'Annales Monastici' (iii. 337) style him 'cancellarius.' He seems to have had charge of the great seal until his appointment to the bishopric of Carlisle. He was archdeacon of Chester in February 1244-5, and about the feast of St. Giles (1 Sept. 1246) he was elected bishop of Carlisle in succession to [q. v.]; at first he refused the honour, either, says Matthew Paris, because the revenues were too small or because he feared the burden. He accepted it, however, soon afterwards, and on 9 Nov. received the royal assent; he was consecrated on 5 Feb. 1246-7. As bishop of Carlisle Silvester attended the parliament of 1248, and in 1251 and 1252 he was acting as justice itinerant in the counties of York, Nottingham, Derby, Warwick, and Leicester. In April 1253 he was one of the bishops deputed to request Henry III to observe the liberties of the church, whereupon the king overwhelmed him with reproaches and abuse. In the same month he joined with other bishops in ex-communicating all who violated the provisions of Magna Carta. On 13 March 1254 (, v. 431, says 13 May, and so Foss, but cf. Annales Mon. i. 317, iv. 104) he was thrown from his horse, and he died of his injuries four days later.

Two later Everdons, John de Everdon (d. 1336) and William de Everdon (d. 1340?), were judges under Edward I and Edward II, but they are not known to have been related to Silvester.



EWALD, ALEXANDER CHARLES (1842–1891), historical writer, was born at Jerusalem in 1842.

His father, (1802–1874), was born of Jewish parentage near Bamberg, joined the Christian church in 1822, connected himself with the London Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Jews, was ordained by the bishop of London in 1836 (having previously been in Lutheran orders), laboured assiduously among the Jews in North Africa, and in 1841 left Tunis as chaplain to Dr. Alexander, the first Anglican bishop of Jerusalem. An account of his work is given in his ‘Missionary Labours in Jerusalem’ (London, 1846). The archbishop of Canterbury conferred upon him in 1872 the degree of bachelor of divinity, and he died at Norwood two years later (9 Aug. 1874).

Alexander was educated abroad and was appointed to a clerkship in the public record office in 1861, rising to be senior clerk by 1890. While there he was mainly responsible for the completion of the work begun by Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy in 1835, namely, a full calendar and précis of the ‘Norman Rolls-Henry V.’ This was printed in vols. xli. and xlii. of the ‘Deputy-keeper's Reports’ (1880 and 1881), and was supplemented by a glossary of obsolete French words, also prepared by Ewald. He gained the ear of a wider public by a popular sketch of the ‘Life’ of the young pretender, and he followed this up by a series of pleasantly written volumes upon the lighter side of historical research, until his premature death at 31 Victoria Road, Upper Norwood, on 20 June 1891. His numerous compilations include: 
 * 1) ‘A Reference Book of English History,’ 1866 and 1867.
 * 2) ‘Our Constitution: an Epitome of our Chief Laws and System of Government,’ 1867.
 * 3) ‘The Last Century of Universal History (1767–1867),’ 1868.
 * 4) ‘Our Public Records: a Brief Handbook to the National Archives,’ 1873.
 * 5) ‘Life and Times of Algernon Sydney,’ 1873, 2 vols.
 * 6) ‘Life and Times of Prince Charles Stuart, Count of Albany,’ 1875 and 1883, 2 vols.
 * 7) ‘Sir Robert Walpole: a Political Biography,’ 1877.
 * 8) ‘Representative Statesmen,’ 1879, 2 vols. 9. ‘Stories from the State Papers,’ 1881, 2 vols.
 * 9) ‘The Rt. Hon. Benjamin Disraeli and his Times,’ 1883, 2 vols.
 * 10) ‘Leaders of the Senate: a Biographical History of the Rise and Development of the British Constitution,’ 1884–5, 2 vols.
 * 11) ‘Studies Re-studied: Historical Sketches from Original Sources,’ 1885, 8vo.
 * 12) ‘The Life of Sir Joseph Napier, Bart.,’ 1887.
 * 13) ‘Paper and Parchment’ (Record Office Studies), 1890.