This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in 1578.

Events

*December – Publication of

John Lyly John Lyly (; c. 1553 or 1554 – November 1606; also spelled ''Lilly'', ''Lylie'', ''Lylly'') was an English writer, dramatist of the University Wits, courtier, and parliamentarian. He was best known during his lifetime for his two books '' Eu ...

didactic Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is an emerging conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to ...

prose romance '' Euphues: the Anatomy of Wyt'', originating the ornate English prose style known as

Euphuism Euphuism is a peculiar mannered style of English prose. It takes its name from a prose romance by John Lyly. It consists of a preciously ornate and sophisticated style, employing a deliberate excess of literary devices such as antitheses, allitera ...

. *''unknown date'' – Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga is sent on a mission to

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

by King

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

New books

Prose

Diogo de Payva de Andrada Diogo de Payva de Andrada (26 July 1528 – 1 December 1575) was a celebrated Portuguese theologian of the sixteenth century. Biography He was born at Coimbra, the son of the grand treasurer of João III. His original bent was towards fo ...

– ''

Defensio Tridentinæ fidei ''Defensio Tridentinæ fidei'' (full title: ''Defensio Tridentinæ fidei catholicæ et integerrimæ quinque libris compræhensa aduersus hæreticorum detestabiles calumnias & præsertim Martini Kemnicij Germani'', or "A Defence of the Catholic and ...

'' (posthumously published) *

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest pla ...

– ''A True Discourse of the Late Voyages of Discoverie…under the Conduct of

Martin Frobisher Sir Martin Frobisher (; c. 1535 – 22 November 1594) was an English seaman and privateer who made three voyages to the New World looking for the North-west Passage. He probably sighted Resolution Island near Labrador in north-eastern Canada ...

'' *

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 ...

– ''First Fruits'' *

Jaroš Griemiller Jaroš Griemiller of Třebsko was a Czech alchemist, remembered for his illuminated manuscript '' Rosarium philosophorum''. He worked under Wilhelm von Rosenberg in the 1570s, and dedicated the ''Rosarium'' to him. He completed work on the manus ...

– ''

Rosarium philosophorum ''The Rosary of the Philosophers'' (''Rosarium philosophorum sive pretiosissimum donum Dei'') is a 16th-century alchemical treatise. It was published in 1550 as part II of ''De Alchimia Opuscula complura veterum philosophorum'' (Frankfurt). The t ...

'' *

Gabriel Harvey Gabriel Harvey (c. 1552/3 – 1631) was an English writer. Harvey was a notable scholar, whose reputation suffered from his quarrel with Thomas Nashe. Henry Morley, writing in the ''Fortnightly Review'' (March 1869), has argued that Harvey's Lati ...

– ''Smithus, vel Musarum lachrymae'' *

– '' Euphues: the Anatomy of Wit'' *

Margaret Tyler Margaret Tyler (c. 1540 - c. 1590) was the first Englishwoman to translate a Spanish romance and the first woman to publish a romance in England. She also published a defense of the seriousness and importance of women’s writing. She proposed th ...

, ''The Mirrour of Princely Deedes and Knighthood''

Drama

Jan Kochanowski Jan Kochanowski (; 1530 – 22 August 1584) was a Polish Renaissance poet who established poetic patterns that would become integral to the Polish literary language. He is commonly regarded as the greatest Polish poet before Adam Mickiewicz. Li ...

– ''Odprawa posłów greckich'' ("The Dismissal of the Greek Envoys") *

George Whetstone George Whetstone (1544? – 1587) was an English dramatist and author. Biography Whetstone was the third son of Robert Whetstone (d. 1557), a member of a wealthy family that owned the manor of Walcot Hall, Northamptonshire, Walcot at Barnack, near ...

– ''Promos and Cassandra''

Poetry

*''See

1578 in poetry Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or French). Events Works published Great Britain * Thomas Blenerhasset, ''The Seconde Part of the Mirrour for Magistrates'' (see ' ...

Births

April 2 Events Pre-1600 *1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. Jo ...

–

Francesco Amico Francesco Amico was a prominent Catholic theologian, born in Cosenza, in Calabria, 2 April 1578. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1596. For twenty-four years he was professor of theology at Naples, Aquila, and Gratz, and, for five years, ...

, Italian theologian *June –

Mary Fitton Mary Fitton (or Fytton) (baptised 24 June 1578 – 1647) was an Elizabethan gentlewoman who became a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth. She is noted for her scandalous affairs with William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, Vice-Admiral Sir Richa ...

, possible inspiration for Shakespeare's

The Dark Lady ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

(died 1647) *

August 24 Events Pre-1600 * 367 – Gratian, son of Roman Emperor Valentinian I, is named co-Augustus at the age of eight by his father. * 394 – The Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, the latest known inscription in Egyptian hieroglyphs, is written. ...

– John Taylor, English poet and waterman (died 1653) *''unknown dates'' **

Giambattista Andreini Giambattista Andreini (9 February 1576 – 7 June 1654) was an Italian actor and the most important Italian playwright of the 17th century. Life Born in Florence to stage stars Isabella Andreini and Francesco Andreini, he had a great success ...

, Italian dramatist and actor (died

1650 Events January–March * January 7 – Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, dies after a reign of more than 63 years. The area is now part of the northeastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt. * January 18 – Cardinal Jules Ma ...

) **

Jacob Bidermann Jacob Bidermann (1578 – 20 August 1639) was born in the Austrian (at that time) village of Ehingen, about 30 miles southwest of Ulm. He was a Jesuit priest and professor of theology, but is remembered mostly for his plays. He had a talent fo ...

, German dramatist (died

1627 Events January–March * January 26 – The Dutch ship t Gulden Zeepaert'', skippered by François Thijssen, makes the first recorded sighting of the coast of South Australia. * February 15 – The administrative rural p ...

) **

George Hakewill George Hakewill (1578 or 1579 – 1649) was an English clergyman and author. Early life Born in Exeter, he studied at Alban Hall, Oxford, where he was a noted disputant and orator and in June 1596, only a year after his matriculation and a ...

, English author and cleric (died

1649 Events January–March * January 4 – In England, the Rump Parliament passes an ordinance to set up a High Court of Justice, to try Charles I for high treason. * January 17 – The Second Ormonde Peace concludes an allian ...

)

Deaths

May 4 Events Pre-1600 * 1256 – The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull ''Licet ecclesiae catholicae''. * 1415 – Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are ...

– Martin Eisengrein, German theologian and polemicist (born

1535 __NOTOC__ Year 1535 ( MDXXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 18 – Lima, Peru, is founded by Francisco Pizarro, as '' Ciudad de l ...

) *

July 27 Events Pre-1600 * 1054 – Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland and defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland, somewhere north of the Firth of Forth. * 1189 – Friedrich Barbarossa arrives at Niš, the capital of Serbian King Ste ...

–

Jane Lumley Jane Lumley, Baroness Lumley ( Lady Jane Fitzalan; 1537 – 27 July 1578), sometimes called Joanna, was an English noblewoman. She was the first person to translate Euripides into English. Life and family Jane is the eldest child of three sibli ...

, English translator from Greek and Latin (born 1537) *

August 11 Events Pre-1600 * 3114 BC – The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Maya, begins. * 2492 BC – Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founde ...

–

Pedro Nunes Pedro Nunes (; Latin: ''Petrus Nonius''; 1502 – 11 August 1578) was a Portuguese mathematician, cosmographer, and professor, from a New Christian (of Jewish origin) family. Considered one of the greatest mathematicians of his time, Nunes ...

, Portuguese polymath (born

1502 Year 1502 (Roman numerals, MDII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 1 – Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese explorers, led by Gonçal ...

) *

October 12 Events Pre-1600 * 539 BC – The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon, ending the Babylonian empire. (Julian calendar) * 633 – Battle of Hatfield Chase: King Edwin of Northumbria is defeated and killed by an alliance u ...

–

Cornelius Gemma Cornelius (or Cornelio) Gemma (28 February 1535 – 12 October 1578) was a Flemish physician, astronomer and astrologer, and the oldest son of cartographer and instrument-maker Gemma Frisius. He was a professor of medicine at Catholic University ...

, Dutch physician, astronomer and astrologer (born

) *''unknown date'' –

Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari (c. 1508 – 1578) was a 16th-century Italian printer active in Venice. He was one of the first major publishers of literature in the vernacular Italian language. Early life and career Giolito was born at Trino to ...

, Italian printer (born c. 1508) *''probable'' – Johann Stumpf, Swiss writer on history and topography (born

1500 Year 1500 (Roman numerals, MD) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The year 1500 was not a leap year in the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. The year was seen as being especially important by many Christians in Europe, ...

)

References

{{Year in literature article categories * Years of the 16th century in literature