# Thomas Morell

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Thomas_Morell
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Thomas_Morell.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Morell
> Source revision: 1344573637
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{for|the Swedish politician|Thomas Morell (politician)}}
'''Thomas Morell''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ɔː|ˈ|r|ɛ|l}}; 18 March 1703 – 19 February 1784) was an English [librettist](/source/librettist), classical scholar,<ref>{{cite ODNB|author=Morell, Thomas |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101019201 |title=Morell, Thomas (1703–1784), classical scholar and librettist &#124; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/19201 |accessdate=2020-03-01}}</ref> and printer.<ref name="www.jstor.org">[https://www.jstor.org/pss/3840463 Smith, R. (2002). Thomas Morell and His Letter about Handel. Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 127(2), 191-225.] Retrieved March 1, 2020</ref>

[[File:Thomas Morell by James Basire.jpg|thumb|Thomas Morell, 1763 engraving by [James Basire](/source/James_Basire) after [William Hogarth](/source/William_Hogarth).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pictures.royalsociety.org/image-rs-11199 |title=Portrait of Thomas Morell &#124; Royal Society Picture Library |publisher=Pictures.royalsociety.org |date=2012-05-15 |accessdate=2020-03-01}}</ref>]]

==Life==
He was born in [Eton](/source/Eton%2C_Berkshire), [Berkshire](/source/Berkshire) and educated at [Eton College](/source/Eton_College) and [King's College, Cambridge](/source/King's_College%2C_Cambridge) (BA, 1726, MA, 1730 and DD, 1743).

He was a Fellow of the [Society of Antiquaries of London](/source/Society_of_Antiquaries_of_London) and in 1768 was elected a [Fellow of the Royal Society](/source/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society) as a "''Rector of Buckland in Hertfordshire, Author of the Greek Thesaurus lately published, and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, a Gentleman well skilled in Natural History and every branch of Polite Literature''".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqSearch=Code==%27NA6932%27 |title=Morell; Thomas (1703 - 1784) - DServe Archive Persons Show |publisher=Collections.royalsociety.org |date= |accessdate=2020-03-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqSearch=RefNo==%27EC%2F1768%2F11%27 <!--  https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqPos=0&dsqSearch=%28%28text%29%3D%27Morell,%20Thomas%27%29 https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqPos=0&dsqSearch=%28%28text%29%3D%27Morell,%20Thomas%27%29  https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqSearch=RefNo==%27EC%2F1768%2F11%27&dsqCmd=Show.tcl  https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqSearch=RefNo==%27IM%2F003163%27&dsqCmd=Show.tcl  https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Persons&dsqSearch=Code==%27NA6932%27&dsqCmd=Show.tcl  --> | title = Library and Archive Catalogue| publisher = Royal Society| accessdate = 2020-03-01}}<!-- | accessdate = 2012-03-05{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} --></ref>

He was appointed Garrison Chaplain at Portsmouth barracks in 1775.

Morell wrote the longest and most detailed surviving account of collaboration with Handel.<ref>''The Manuscripts of J. Eliot Hodgkin, F.S.A., of Richmond, Surrey'', Historical Manuscripts Commission 15th Report, Appendix, pt ii (London, 1897), 91-93</ref>

He died in 1784 and was buried in [Chiswick](/source/Chiswick), London.

==Librettos==
He is best known as the librettist of the following of [George Frideric Handel](/source/George_Frideric_Handel)'s oratorios:
*''[Judas Maccabaeus](/source/Judas_Maccabaeus_(Handel))'' (1747).<ref name="www.jstor.org" />
*''[Joshua](/source/Joshua_(Handel))'' (1748).
*''[Alexander Balus](/source/Alexander_Balus)'' (1748).<ref name="www.jstor.org" />
*''[Theodora](/source/Theodora_(Handel))'' (1750).<ref name="www.jstor.org" />
*''[The Choice of Hercules](/source/The_Choice_of_Hercules_(Handel))'' (1751). Uncertain if Morell was the librettist.
*''[Jephtha](/source/Jephtha_(Handel))'' (1752).<ref name="www.jstor.org" />
*''[The Triumph of Time and Truth](/source/The_Triumph_of_Time_and_Truth)'' (1757). Morell was probably the librettist.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Librivox author |id=18074}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morell, Thomas}}
Category:1703 births
Category:1784 deaths
Category:18th-century British scholars
Category:People educated at Eton College
Category:Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
Morell
Category:Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society

{{UK-music-bio-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Thomas Morell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Morell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Morell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.