This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1553.
Events
*Early –
William Baldwin writes ''
Beware the Cat'' (first published
1561
Year 1561 ( MDLXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 31 – The Edict of Orleans suspends the persecution of the Huguenots in ...
), an early example of extended fiction (and specifically of
horror fiction
Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J ...
) in English and including an account of a printing house with which the author is familiar.
*''unknown dates''
**''
The xiii Bukes of Eneados of the famose Poete Virgill'' appears in London as the first published complete translation of any major work of
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
into one of the
English languages, based posthumously on
Gavin Douglas's ''Eneados'', a translation of
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
's ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
'' from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
into
Middle Scots completed in 1513.
**Construction of the
Biblioteca Marciana in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
is completed to the design of
Jacopo Sansovino
Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of Venetian Renaissance archi ...
.
New books
Prose
*
Francesco Patrizi – ''La Città felice (The Happy City)''
Drama
*
António Ferreira – ''Bristo''
*''Approximate year''
**
Nicholas Udall
Nicholas Udall (or Uvedale Udal, Woodall, or other variations) (1504 – 23 December 1556) was an English playwright, cleric, schoolmaster, the author of '' Ralph Roister Doister'', generally regarded as the first comedy written in the English ...
– ''Respublica'' (probable author)
**Mr. S. – ''Gammer Gurton's Needle''
Poetry
*''See
1553 in poetry
— Opening lines from Gavin Douglas' ''Eneados'', a translation, into Middle Scots of Virgil's ''Aeneid''
Events
* Joachim du Bellay accompanies (and is secretary to) his cousin, Cardinal Jean du Bellay, on a visit to Rome which lasts until Au ...
''
Births
*
March 29 –
Vitsentzos Kornaros, Cretan poet (died 1613 or 1614)
*
October 8
Events Pre-1600
* 314 – Constantine I defeats Roman Emperor Licinius, who loses his European territories.
* 451 – The first session of the Council of Chalcedon begins.
* 876 – Frankish forces led by Louis the Younger preven ...
–
Jacques Auguste de Thou
Jacques Auguste de Thou (Thuanus) (8 October 1553, Paris – 7 May 1617, Paris) was a French historian, book collector and president of the Parliament of Paris.
Life
Jacques Auguste de Thou was the grandson of , president of the Parliament ...
, French historian (died
1617
Events
January–June
* February 27 – The Treaty of Stolbovo ends the Ingrian War between Sweden and Russia. Sweden gains Ingria and Kexholm.
* April 14 – Second Battle of Playa Honda: The Spanish navy defeats a Dutch f ...
)
*c. December –
John Chamberlain, English correspondent (died
1628
Events
January–March
* January 19 – (26 Jumada al-Awwal 1037 A.H.) The reign of Salef-ud-din Muhammad Shahryar as the Mughal Emperor, Shahryar Mirza, comes to an end a little more than two months after the November 7 dea ...
)
*''Unknown dates''
**
John Florio
Giovanni Florio (1552–1625), known as John Florio, was an English linguist, poet, writer, translator, lexicographer, and royal language tutor at the Court of James I. He is recognised as the most important Renaissance humanist in England. F ...
, English lexicographer (died
1625
Events
January–March
* January 17 – Led by the Duke of Soubise, the Huguenots launch a second rebellion against King Louis XIII, with a surprise naval assault on a French fleet being prepared in Blavet.
* February 3 – ...
)
**
Richard Hakluyt
Richard Hakluyt (; 1553 – 23 November 1616) was an English writer. He is known for promoting the English colonization of North America through his works, notably ''Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America'' (1582) and ''The Pri ...
, English travel writer (died
1616
Events
January–June
* January
** Six-year-old António Vieira arrives from Portugal, with his parents, in Bahia (present-day Salvador) in Colonial Brazil, where he will become a diplomat, noted author, leading figure of the Church, an ...
)
**
George Wyatt, English biographer of
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
(died
1624
Events
January–March
* January 14 – After 90 years of Ottoman occupation, Baghdad is recaptured by the Safavid Empire.
* January 22 – Korean General Yi Gwal leads an uprising of 12,000 soldiers against King Injo in wh ...
)
Deaths
*
March 17 –
Girolamo Fracastoro
Girolamo Fracastoro ( la, Hieronymus Fracastorius; c. 1476/86 August 1553) was an Italian physician, poet, and scholar in mathematics, geography and astronomy. Fracastoro subscribed to the philosophy of atomism, and rejected appeals to hidden c ...
, Italian scholar and poet (born
1478
Year 1478 (Roman numerals, MCDLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
* January 14 – Novgorod surrenders to Ivan III of Russia, Ivan ...
) (executed)
*
April 9
Events Pre-1600
* 193 – The distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum.
* 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (''Enkyklikon'') to the bishops of his empire, s ...
–
François Rabelais
François Rabelais ( , , ; born between 1483 and 1494; died 1553) was a French Renaissance writer, physician, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He is primarily known as a writer of satire, of the grotesque, and of bawdy jokes and ...
, French writer and satirist (born c. 1494)
*
May 28 –
Johannes Aal
Johannes Aal (c. 1500 – 28 May 1553) was a Swiss Roman Catholic theologian, composer and dramaturg.
Aal was born in Bremgarten, Switzerland, and was pastor there until 1529, then ''Leutpriester'' in Baden until 1536. At the collegiate chur ...
, Swiss theologian and dramatist (born c. 1500)
*
October 27
Events Pre-1600
* 312 – Constantine is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross.
* 1275 – Traditional founding of the city of Amsterdam.
* 1524 – French troops lay siege to Pavia.
* 1553 – Condemned as ...
–
Michael Servetus, Spanish theologian and humanist (born
1511
Year 1511 ( MDXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* March 26 - The 1511 Idrija earthquake occurs, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''E ...
) (executed)
*
December 14 –
Hanibal Lucić, Croatian poet and playwright (born c. 1485)
*''unknown date'' –
Yamazaki Sōkan, Japanese poet (born
1465
Year 1465 ( MCDLXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
* January 24 – Chilia is conquered by Stephen the Great of Moldavia, following a s ...
)
References
{{Year in literature article categories
*
Years of the 16th century in literature