This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1636.

Events

January 31 Events Pre-1600 * 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades. * 1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the t ...

– The King's Men perform

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's '' Julius Caesar'' at

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Alt ...

, London. Chambers, E. K. ''The Elizabethan Stage.'' 4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923. *February – James Shirley's

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragic and comic forms. Most often seen in dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a serious ...

The Duke's Mistress ''The Duke's Mistress'' is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by James Shirley and first published in 1638. It was the last of Shirley's plays produced before the major break in his career: with the closing of the London theatres d ...

'' is performed at St James's Palace. *

March 3 Events Pre-1600 * 473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire. * 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan. *1575 & ...

– A "great charter" to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

establishes the

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

as the second of England's

privileged presses In the United Kingdom, the privileged presses are Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. They are called this because, under letters patent issued by the Crown defining their charters, only they have the right to print and publish ...

. *April –

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book '' Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influ ...

travels from Rome to Florence. *

May 10 Events Pre-1600 * 28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China. *1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of E ...

– London theatres close, and remain almost continuously closed until the end of the year (and on to October 1637), 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 ...

. Playing companies are profoundly impacted; the

King's Revels Men The King's Revels Men or King's Revels Company was a playing company or troupe of actors in seventeenth-century England. In the confusing theatre nomenclature of that era, it is sometimes called the ''second'' King's Revels Company, to distingu ...

dissolve and other companies tour the countryside to survive. *June –

Tommaso Campanella Tommaso Campanella (; 5 September 1568 – 21 May 1639), baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet. He was prosecuted by the Roman Inquisition for heresy in 1594 an ...

, having left Italy for France, because of his pro-French views, gives a speech in front of Cardinal Richelieu; he teaches at the Sorbonne. *August – King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

and Queen

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...

visit the

. They are entertained with college theatricals, including William Strode's allegory ''The Floating Island'' (with music by

Henry Lawes Henry Lawes (1596 – 1662) was the leading English songwriter of the mid-17th century. He was elder brother of fellow composer William Lawes. Life Henry Lawes (baptised 5 January 1596 – 21 October 1662),Ian Spink, "Lawes, Henry," ''Grove Mus ...

), which mocks

William Prynne William Prynne (1600 – 24 October 1669), an English lawyer, voluble author, polemicist and political figure, was a prominent Puritan opponent of church policy under William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (1633–1645). His views were presbyt ...

as the play-hating Melancholico; George Wilde's ''Love's Hospital''; and William Cartwright's ''The Royal Slave'' (also with Lawes' music and design by

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England and Wales in the Early modern Europe, early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion an ...

). Henrietta Maria enjoys the last so much that she brings it to be performed at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

by her

Queen Henrietta's Men Queen Henrietta's Men was an important playing company or troupe of actors in Caroline era in London. At their peak of popularity, Queen Henrietta's Men were the second leading troupe of the day, after only the King's Men. Beginnings The company ...

. *November – Compilation of the

Irish language Irish (an Caighdeán Oifigiúil, Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages, Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European lang ...

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or mediev ...

is completed by

Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Mícheál Ó Cléirigh (), sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the ''Annals of the Four Masters,'' assisted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire, and Per ...

, assisted by

Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh (fl. 1624–1664) was an Irish historian and genealogist, known in English as Peregrine O'Clery. Life and work Ó Cléirigh was a son of Diarmaid Ó Cléirigh, and thus a third-cousin once removed to Brother Mích ...

, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire and Peregrine Ó Duibhgeannain, in the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

Donegal Town Donegal ( ; , "fort of the foreigners") is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The name was also historically spelt 'Dunnagall'. Although Donegal gave its name to the county, now Lifford is the county town. From the 15th until the early 17th c ...

in Ireland, under the patronage of Fearghal Ó Gadhra. * December 8 – The King's Men perform Shakespeare's ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyp ...

'' at Hampton Court Palace.

New books

Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works, most notably in the fields of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to ...

– First grammar of the

Coptic language Coptic (Bohairic Coptic: , ) is a language family of closely related dialects, representing the most recent developments of the Egyptian language, and historically spoken by the Copts, starting from the third-century AD in Roman Egypt. Copti ...

*Sir Henry Blount – ''A Voyage to the Levant'' * Juan Pérez de Montalbán – ''Fama póstuma a la vida y muerte de Lope de Vega Carpio'' * Salvador Jacinto Polo de Medina – ''Hospital de incurables y Viaje de este mundo y el otro'' * Cristóbal de Salazar Mardones – ''Ilustración y defensa de la Fábula de Píramo y Tisbe'' * José García de Salcedo Coronel – ''Comentario a las Soledades de Góngora''

New drama

Richard Brome Richard Brome ; (c. 1590? – 24 September 1652) was an English dramatist of the Caroline era. Life Virtually nothing is known about Brome's private life. Repeated allusions in contemporary works, like Ben Jonson's '' Bartholomew Fair'', ind ...

– ''

The New Academy ''The New Academy, or the New Exchange'' is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Richard Brome. It was first printed in 1659. Performance and publication ''The New Academy'' was premiered onstage in 1636. The play was entered into th ...

'' * Lodowick Carlell – ''Arviragus and Philicia'' * William Cartwright – ''The Royal Slave'' *John Cayworth – ''Enchiridion Christiados'' (

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...

) * Pierre Corneille – '' L'Illusion Comique'', performed *Sir

William Davenant Sir William Davenant (baptised 3 March 1606 – 7 April 1668), also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned bo ...

– ''The Triumphs of the Prince D'Amour'' (masque), '' The Wits'', and '' The Platonick Lovers'' published * Pierre Corneille – ''

Le Cid ''Le Cid'' is a five-act French tragicomedy written by Pierre Corneille, first performed in December 1636 at the Théâtre du Marais in Paris and published the same year. It is based on Guillén de Castro's play ''Las Mocedades del Cid''. Cast ...

'' * Henry Glapthorne – ''The Hollander'' and perhaps ''Wit in a Constable'' * François Tristan l'Hermite – ''La Mariane'' *

Thomas Heywood Thomas Heywood (early 1570s – 16 August 1641) was an English playwright, actor, and author. His main contributions were to late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre. He is best known for his masterpiece '' A Woman Killed with Kindness'', ...

– ''A Challenge for Beauty'' published *

Thomas Killigrew Thomas Killigrew (7 February 1612 – 19 March 1683) was an English dramatist and theatre manager. He was a witty, dissolute figure at the court of King Charles II of England. Life Killigrew was one of twelve children of Sir Robert Killigr ...

– ''Claracilla'' *

Philip Massinger Philip Massinger (1583 – 17 March 1640) was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including '' A New Way to Pay Old Debts'', '' The City Madam'', and '' The Roman Actor'', are noted for their satire and realism, and their pol ...

– ''

The Bashful Lover ''The Bashful Lover'' is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger. Dating from 1636, it is the playwright's last known extant work; it appeared four years before his death in 1640. The play was licensed for performanc ...

'' performed; '' The Great Duke of Florence'' published *

Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño (, ; ; 17 January 160025 May 1681) was a Spanish dramatist, poet, writer and knight of the Order of Santiago. He is known as one of the most distinguished Baroque ...

**''Casa con dos puertas mala es de guardar'' **''La dama duende'' **''La devoción de la cruz'' **''La vida es sueño'' *''Parte XXX de comedias de varios autores'' *

Tirso de Molina Gabriel Téllez ( 24 March 1583 20 February 1648), better known as Tirso de Molina, was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and Roman Catholic monk. He is primarily known for writing ''The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest'', the play from ...

– **''La vida de Herodes'' **''Marta la piadosa'' * Thomas Nabbes – ''Microcosmus, a Moral Masque'' *

Jean Rotrou Jean Rotrou (21 August 1609 – 28 June 1650) was a French poet and tragedian. Life Rotrou was born at Dreux, city of the current department of Eure-et-Loir, in Centre-Val de Loire region. He studied at Dreux and at Paris, and, though three year ...

– ''Les Deux Sosies'' * William Sampson – ''The Vow-Breaker, or The Fayre Maid of Clifton'' * James Shirley – ''

'' *

William Strode William Strode (1598 – 9 September 1645) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1624 and 1645. He was one of the Five Members whose impeachment and attempted unconstitutional arrest by King Charles I i ...

– ''The Floating Island'' *George Wilde – ''Love's Hospital''John R. Elliott, Jr and John Buttrey (1985). The Royal Plays at Christ Church in 1636: A New Document. Theatre Research International, 10, pp. 93–106. .

New poetry

Abraham Cowley Abraham Cowley (; 161828 July 1667) was an English poet and essayist born in the City of London late in 1618. He was one of the leading English poets of the 17th century, with 14 printings of his ''Works'' published between 1668 and 1721. Early ...

– ''Sylva'' (in the 2nd edition of his collection ''Poetical Blossoms'') * William Sampson – ''Virtus post Funera vivit, or Honour Tryumphing over Death, being true Epitomes of Honorable, Noble, Learned, and Hospitable Personages''

Births

April 7 Events Pre-1600 * 451 – Attila the Hun captures Metz in France, killing most of its inhabitants and burning the town. * 529 – First '' Corpus Juris Civilis'', a fundamental work in jurisprudence, is issued by Eastern Roman Emp ...

– Gregório de Matos, Brazilian poet (died

1696 Events January–March * January 21 – The Great Recoinage of 1696, Recoinage Act, passed by the Parliament of England to pull counterfeit silver coins out of circulation, becomes law.James E. Thorold Rogers, ''The First Nine Y ...

) *

November 1 Events Pre-1600 *365 – The Alemanni cross the Rhine and invade Gaul. Emperor Valentinian I moves to Paris to command the army and defend the Gallic cities. * 996 – Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk, Bishop of Freising, ...

–

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (; 1 November 1636 – 13 March 1711), often known simply as Boileau (, ), was a French poet and critic. He did much to reform the prevailing form of French poetry, in the same way that Blaise Pascal did to reform the ...

, French poet and critic (died

1711 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January – Cary's Rebellion: The Lords Proprietor appoint Edward ...

) *

November 11 Events Pre-1600 * 308 – At Carnuntum, Emperor ''emeritus'' Diocletian confers with Galerius, ''Augustus'' of the East, and Maximianus, the recently returned former ''Augustus'' of the West, in an attempt to end the civil wars of the T ...

– Yan Ruoqu (閻若璩), Chinese scholar and polymath (died

1704 In the Swedish calendar it was a leap year starting on Friday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–June * January 7 – Partial solar eclipse, Solar Saros 146, is visible in A ...

) *''Unknown dates'' **

Joseph Glanvill Joseph Glanvill (1636 – 4 November 1680) was an English writer, philosopher, and clergyman. Not himself a scientist, he has been called "the most skillful apologist of the virtuosi", or in other words the leading propagandist for the approa ...

, English philosopher and cleric (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 ...

) ** James Janeway, English children's writer and Puritan minister (died

1674 Events January–March * January 2 – The French West India Company is dissolved after less than 10 years. * January 7 – In the Chinese Empire, General Wu Sangui leads troops into the Giuzhou province, and soon takes c ...

) ** Jean de Montigny, French poet and philosopher (died

1671 Events January–March * January 1 – The Criminal Ordinance of 1670, the first attempt at a uniform code of criminal procedure in France, goes into effect after having been passed on August 26, 1670. * January 5 – The B ...

) *''Probable year of birth'' –

Thomas Traherne Thomas Traherne (; 1636 or 1637) was an English poet, Anglican cleric, theologian, and religious writer. The intense, scholarly spirituality in his writings has led to his being commemorated by some parts of the Anglican Communion on 10 Octobe ...

, English poet and religious writer (died

)

Deaths

January 19 Events Pre-1600 * 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to ''Augustus'', and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. * 649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrender ...

– Daniel Schwenter, German Orientalist, polymath, poet and librarian (born

1585 Events January–June * January – The Netherlands adopts the Gregorian calendar. * February – The Spanish seize Brussels. * April 24 – Pope Sixtus V succeeds Pope Gregory XIII, as the 227th pope. * May 19 – S ...

) *

February 4 Events Pre–1600 * 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrelling ...

– James Perrot, Welsh politician and philosophical writer (born

1571 Year 1571 ( MDLXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 11 – The Austrian nobility are granted freedom of religion. * January 2 ...

) * April 26 –

Paul Hay du Chastelet Paul Hay du Chastelet (November 1592 – 26 April 1636) was a French magistrate, orator, and writer. His brother, Daniel Hay du Chastelet de Chambon, was a mathematician. Biography Du Chastelet was born at Laval, Mayenne, a member of the ancient ...

, French orator and writer (born 1592 *

August 25 Events Pre-1600 * 19 – The Roman general Germanicus dies near Antioch. He was convinced that the mysterious illness that ended in his death was a result of poisoning by the Syrian governor Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, whom he had ordered to l ...

–

Bhai Gurdas Bhai Gurdas ( pa, ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ; 1551 – 25 August 1636) was a Sikh writer, historian and preacher who served as the Jathedar of the Akal Takht from 1606 to his death in 1636. He was the original scribe of the early version o ...

, Punjabi Sikh scholar (born

1551 Year 1551 ( MDLI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January–February – Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow, and Tsar Ivan IV of Rus ...

) * September 15 –

Cuthbert Burbage Cuthbert Burbage (c. 15 June 1565 – 15 September 1636) was an English theatrical figure, son of James Burbage, builder of the Theatre in Shoreditch and elder brother of the actor Richard Burbage. From 1589 he was the owner of the ground lease ...

, English theatre owner, associate of William Shakespeare (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 ...

) *

December 9 Events Pre-1600 * 536 – Gothic War: The Byzantine general Belisarius enters Rome unopposed; the Gothic garrison flees the capital. * 730 – Battle of Marj Ardabil: The Khazars annihilate an Umayyad army and kill its commander, ...

–

Fabian Birkowski Fabian Birkowski (1566 in Lwów – 9 December 1636 in Kraków, Poland) was a Polish writer and preacher.Fabian Birkowski

, Polish writer and preacher (born

) *''Unknown dates'' ** Henning Arnisaeus, German political theorist and philosopher (born

1570 __NOTOC__ Year 1570 ( MDLXX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 8 – Ivan the Terrible begins the Massacre of Novgorod. * Januar ...

) **

Johannes Messenius Johannes Messenius (1579–1636) was a Swedish historian, dramatist and university professor. He was born in the village of Freberga, in Stenby parish in Östergötland, and died in Oulu, in modern-day Finland. Childhood He was the son of a mill ...

, Swedish dramatist and historian (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 ...

) ** Cesare Rinaldi, Italian poet (born

1559 Year 1559 ( MDLIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 15 – Elizabeth I of England is crowned, in Westminster Abbey. * February 27 ...

) **

Wen Zhenmeng Wen Zhenmeng (; 1574–1636) was a late Ming Dynasty painter, calligrapher, scholar, author, and Chinese garden designer. Biography Zhenmeng was born to a very wealthy family in the city that is today known as Suzhou. He was the great-grandson ...

(文震孟), Chinese artist and author (born 1574) *''Probable date'' **

Antonio Mira de Amescua Antonio Mira de Amescua (1578?1636?), Spanish dramatist, was born at Guadix ( Granada) about 1578. He is said, but doubtfully, to have been the illegitimate son of one Juana Perez. He took orders, obtained a canonry at Guadix, and settled at Mad ...

, Spanish dramatist (born c. 1578) ** William Sampson, English dramatist (born c. 1590)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1636 In Literature Years of the 17th century in literature