This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1625.

Events

Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the battle at ...

'' (described as ''The First Part of Sir John Falstaff '') at Whitehall Palace. *

January 9 Events Pre-1600 * 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain. *1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the J ...

– Ben Jonson's masque '' The Fortunate Isles and Their Union'' (designed by

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant architect in England and Wales in the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings. As the most notable archit ...

) is played before the English Court in London, becoming the last of the Jacobean era. * February 12 –

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

enters

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

, aged 16. * March 27 – On the death of King James VI of Scotland and I of England and Ireland, patron of the

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

and essayist, he is succeeded by his son, the Prince of Wales. At the same time, theatres are closed because of an outbreak of plague and do not reopen until December. *April – Sir Richard Baker's Oxfordshire property is seized as a result of debts. *

August 2 Events Pre-1600 *338 BC – A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean. *216 BC – The Carthaginian arm ...

– September 26 – Playwright

Cyril Tourneur Cyril Tourneur (; died 28 February 1626) was an English soldier, diplomat and dramatist who wrote ''The Atheist's Tragedy'' (published 1611); another (and better-known) play, ''The Revenger's Tragedy'' (1607), formerly ascribed to him, is now more ...

becomes secretary to the Council of War. On October 8 he joins the catastrophic Cádiz expedition in another secretarial post under

Sir Edward Cecil Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon (29 February 1572 – 16 November 1638) was an English military commander and a politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1601 and 1624. Life Cecil was the third son of Thomas Ceci ...

and on December 11 is put ashore from the returning fleet at Kinsale in Ireland, terminally ill. *December – After the closure of the London public theatres for most of the year due to an outbreak of

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

, a new company, Queen Henrietta's Men, is formed under the patronage of the new queen (whom Charles I had married in May 1625), and gives its first performances at the Cockpit Theatre. It replaces the dormant

Queen Elizabeth's Men Queen Elizabeth's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in English Renaissance theatre. Formed in 1583 at the express command of Queen Elizabeth, it was the dominant acting company for the rest of the 1580s, as the Admiral's Men and the ...

New books

Prose

* Francis Bacon – ''Complete Essays'' *

Alonso de Castillo Solórzano Alonso de Castillo (1584?, probably in Tordesillas, Valladolid1647?, probably in Palermo) was a Spanish novelist and playwright. He is said to have been baptized October 1, 1584. He is next heard of at Madrid in 1619 as a man of literary tastes. ...

– ''Tardes entretenidas'' *

Hugo Grotius Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright. A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft ...

– '' De jure belli ac pacis'' *''

Musaeum Hermeticum ''Musaeum Hermeticum'' ("Hermetic library") is a compendium of alchemical texts first published in German, in Frankfurt, 1625 by Lucas Jennis. Additional material was added for the 1678 Latin edition, which in turn was reprinted in 1749. __NOTOC ...

'' * Samuel Purchas – ''Hakluytus Posthumus, or Purchas his Pilgrimes'' * Ludovico Zuccolo – ''La Repubblica d' Evandria''

Drama

* John Fletcher and Philip Massinger – ''

The Elder Brother ''The Elder Brother'' is an early seventeenth-century English stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. Apparently dating from 1625, it may have been the last play Fletcher worked on before his August 1625 death. Dat ...

'' *

Alexandre Hardy Alexandre Hardy (c. 1570/1572 – 1632) was a French dramatist, one of the most prolific of all time. He claimed to have written some six hundred plays, but only thirty-four are extant. He was born in Paris, and seems to have been connected mo ...

– ''Mariamne'' (published) * Ben Jonson **'' The Staple of News'' **'' The Fortunate Isles and Their Union'' *

Honorat de Bueil, seigneur de Racan Honorat de Bueil, seigneur de Racan (sometimes mistakenly listed as "marquis de Racan", although he never held this title) (5 February 1589 – 21 January 1670) was a French aristocrat, soldier, poet, dramatist and (original) member of the Aca ...

– ''Les bergeries'' * James Shirley – '' Love Tricks, or the School of Complement'' * Joost van den Vondel – ''Palamedes''

Poetry

* Honoré d'Urfé – ''Sylvanire''

Births

* May 25 ** John Davies, Welsh translator into English (died

1693 Events January–March * January 11 – 1693 Sicily earthquake: Mount Etna erupts, causing a devastating earthquake that affects parts of Sicily and Malta. * January 22 – A total lunar eclipse is visible across North and South Ameri ...

) **

Ann, Lady Fanshawe Ann Fanshawe, Lady Fanshawe (25 March 1625 – 20 January 1680) was an English memoirist and cookery author. Her recipe for ice cream is thought to be the earliest recorded in Europe. Early life and education Ann (or Anne) Harrison was born on 2 ...

, English memoirist (died

1680 Events January–March * January 2 – King Amangkurat II of Mataram (located on the island of Java, part of modern-day Indonesia), invites Trunajaya, who had led a failed rebellion against him until his surrender on December ...

) *

June 23 Events Pre-1600 * 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu. * 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships. * 1280 – The Spanish Re ...

– John Fell, English academic and bishop (died

1686 Events January–March * January 3 – In Madras (now Chennai) in India, local residents employed by the East India Company threaten to boycott their jobs after corporate administrator William Gyfford imposes a house tax on res ...

) * August 20 – Thomas Corneille, French dramatist (died

1709 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Friday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – Battle of St. John's: The French capture St. John' ...

) *''unknown date'' – François Bernier, French travel writer and physician (died

1688 Events January–March * January 2 – Fleeing from the Spanish Navy, French pirate Raveneau de Lussan and his 70 men arrive on the west coast of Nicaragua, sink their boats, and make a difficult 10 day march to the city of Oco ...

)

Deaths

* January 29 –

Jacob Gretser Jacob Gretser (March 27, 1562 – January 29, 1625) was a celebrated German Jesuit writer. Life Gretser was born at Markdorf in the Diocese of Constance. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1578, and nine years later he defended publicly thes ...

, German Jesuit writer (born

1562 __NOTOC__ Year 1562 ( MDLXII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 6 – Shane O'Neill of Tír Eoghain pleads his cause at the Palac ...

) *

March 25 Events Pre-1600 * 421 – Italian city Venice is founded with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo di Rialto on the islet of Rialto. * 708 – Pope Constantine becomes the 88th pope. He would be the last pope to vi ...

– Giambattista Marino, Italian epic poet (born

1569 Year 1569 ( MDLXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 11–May 6 – The first recorded lottery in England is performed nonstop, at the we ...

) * March 27 – King James VI of Scotland and I of England and Ireland, Scottish literary patron (born

1566 __NOTOC__ Year 1566 ( MDLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 7 – Pope Pius V succeeds Pope Pius IV, as the 225th pope. * Febr ...

) * June 1 – Honoré d'Urfé, French novelist and miscellanist (born

1568 Year 1568 ( MDLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 6– 13 – In the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, the delegates of Unio Tr ...

) * August 29 ''(burial)'' – John Fletcher, English dramatist (born

1579 Year 1579 ( MDLXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, and a common year starting on Monday of the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. Events January–June * January 6 ...

) *September – Thomas Lodge, English dramatist and physician (born c. 1558) * September 6 – Thomas Dempster, Scottish historian (born

) * September 20 – Heinrich Meibom, German poet and historian (born

1555 Year 1555 ( MDLV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 22 – The Kingdom of Ava in Upper Burma falls. * February 2 – The Diet o ...

) *c. October –

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 linguist and lexicographer (born

1553 Year 1553 ( MDLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * May – The first Royal Charter is granted to St Albans, in England. * June – The ...

) *

November 27 Events Pre-1600 *AD 25 – Luoyang is declared capital of the Eastern Han dynasty by Emperor Guangwu of Han. * 176 – Emperor Marcus Aurelius grants his son Commodus the rank of " Imperator" and makes him Supreme Commander of the ...

– John Cameron, Scottish theologian (born c. 1579)

References

{{Year in literature article categories Years of the 17th century in literature