The Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud (1573–1645), in his role as Chancellor of the University of Oxford, recognised the importance to English of Arabic as a source of reference material. He procured numerous original Arabic manuscripts and books for the University, housing them in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. He created the position of Professor of Arabic in 1636, appointing the Chaplain of Aleppo, Edward Pococke, as the first Laudian Professor of Arabic at The University of Oxford.