Robert Henry Codrington

Robert Henry Codrington (15 September 1830, Wroughton, Wiltshire – 11 September 1922)^[1] was an Anglican priest and anthropologist who made the first study of Melanesian society and culture. His work is still held as a classic of ethnography.

Codrington wrote, "One of the first duties of a missionary is to try to understand the people among whom he works,"^[2] and he himself reflected a deep commitment to this value. Codrington worked as headmaster of the Melanesian Mission school on Norfolk Island from 1867 to 1887.^[1] Over his many years with the Melanesian people, he gained a deep knowledge of their society, languages, and customs through a close association with them. He also intensively studied Melanesian languages, including the Mota language.^[1]

Bibliography of works by Codrington

• The Melanesian Languages. (1885). Oxford: Clarendon Press. (full text from the Internet Archive).
• The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-Lore. (1891). Oxford: Clarendon Press. (full text from the Internet Archive).
• A Dictionary of the Language of Mota, Sugarloaf Island, Banks' Islands: With a short grammar and index. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
• "Melanesians." Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. Ed. James Hastings. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 8:529–38.

References

1. 1 2 3 Davidson, Allan K. "The Legacy of Robert Henry Codrington." International Bulletin of Missionary Research. Oct 2003, Vol. 27 Issue 4, p. 171-176. full text.
2. ↑ The Melanesians. Robert Codrington.

External links

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Robert Henry Codrington

• Works by or about Robert Henry Codrington at Internet Archive
• Bibliography of works by or about Codrington from Project Canterbury