This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1646.

Events

March 24 Events Pre-1600 * 1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6. *1387 – English victory over a Franco- Castilian-Flemish fleet in the Battle of Margate off ...

– The King's Men petition Parliament for three-and-a-half years' back pay, even though the London theatres officially remained closed through the middle 1640s. No details of their activities in these years survive. *

May 5 Events Pre-1600 * 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins. *1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta. *1260 – Kub ...

– Martin Llewellyn's drama ''The King Found at Southwell'' is performed at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

; it is the last stage piece presented in the city before its surrender to Parliamentary forces in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

on June 22–24. *July –

John Lilburne John Lilburne (c. 161429 August 1657), also known as Freeborn John, was an English political Leveller before, during and after the English Civil Wars 1642–1650. He coined the term "'' freeborn rights''", defining them as rights with which eve ...

is placed in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

for denouncing his former commander the Earl of Manchester as a traitor. *

September 6 Events Pre-1600 * 394 – Battle of the Frigidus: Roman emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills Eugenius the usurper. His Frankish ''magister militum'' Arbogast escapes but commits suicide two days later. *1492 – Christopher Colu ...

– The

Biblioteca Palafoxiana The Biblioteca Palafoxiana is a library in Puebla City's historic centre, in the Mexican state of Puebla. Founded in 1646, it is recognized by the UNESCO for being the first and oldest public library in the Americas, It has more than 45,000 b ...

is established in

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, through the donation of books by Bishop

Juan de Palafox y Mendoza Juan de Palafox y Mendoza (26 June 1600 – 1 October 1659) was a Spanish politician, administrator, and Catholic clergyman in 17th century Spain and a viceroy of Mexico. Palafox was the Bishop of Puebla (1640−1655), and the interim Archbisho ...

, perhaps the earliest

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

in the American colonies. *''unknown dates'' **Henry Burkhead's

closet drama A closet drama is a play that is not intended to be performed onstage, but read by a solitary reader or sometimes out loud in a large group. The contrast between closet drama and classic "stage" dramas dates back to the late eighteenth century. Al ...

''Cola's Fury, or Lirenda's Misery'', based on the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...

("Lirenda" is an anagram), is published in

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

(dated 1645). Burkhead presents the historical persons involved under pseudonyms: among others, the Earl of Ormonde as "Osiris" and Sir John Borlase as "Berosus". **

Jacqueline Pascal Jacqueline Pascal (4 October 1625 – 4 October 1661), sister of Blaise Pascal, was born at Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne (region), Auvergne, France. Like her brother she was a prodigy, composing verses when only eight years old, and a five-act com ...

is converted to

Jansenism Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by t ...

, under the influence of her brother,

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal ( , , ; ; 19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. Pa ...

New books

Prose

*Anonymous (

?) – ''London's Liberty in Chains Discovered'' *Anonymous (John Lilburne?) – ''Vox Plebis, or the People's Outcry'' *Sir

Thomas Browne Sir Thomas Browne (; 19 October 160519 October 1682) was an English polymath and author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including science and medicine, religion and the esoteric. His writings display a deep curi ...

''Pseudodoxia Epidemica or Vulgar Errors'' *

Thomas Fuller Thomas Fuller (baptised 19 June 1608 – 16 August 1661) was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his ''Worthies of England'', published in 1662, after his death. He was a prolific author, and ...

– ''Andronicus or the Unfortunate Politician'' *Sir John Suckling – ''An Account of Religion by Reason'' published *''Vida y hechos de Estebanillo González'' * Baltasar Gracián – ''El discreto'' *

Diego de Saavedra Fajardo Diego de Saavedra Fajardo (24 August 1648) was a Spanish Diplomacy, diplomat and Intellectual, man of letters. Biography He was born in Algezares, in what is now the province of Murcia. After receiving a religious education at Salamanca, he to ...

– ''Corona gótica, castellana y austríaca''

Children

* John Cotton – ''

Spiritual Milk for Boston Babes '' Spiritual Milk for Boston Babes '' is a children's catechism by the minister John Cotton. The 1656 catechism is the first known children's book published in America. Content Cotton's catechism consisted of fifteen pages of 64 questions ...

Drama

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

– ''Théodore'' *

Jean de 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 years ...

**''Célie'' **''Le Veritable Saint Genest'' *

James Shirley James Shirley (or Sherley) (September 1596 – October 1666) was an English dramatist. He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Charles Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so m ...

– ''

The Triumph of Beauty ''The Triumph of Beauty'' is a Literature in English#Caroline and Cromwellian literature, Caroline era masque, written by James Shirley and first published in 1646 in literature, 1646. The masque shows a strong influence of William Shakespeare, S ...

'' (

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 masque ...

) *Sir John Suckling – ''Fragmenta Aurea'', collected plays, including ''The Sad One'' (unfinished)

Poetry

Richard Crashaw Richard Crashaw (c. 1613 – 21 August 1649) was an English poet, teacher, High Church Anglican cleric and Roman Catholic convert, who was one of the major metaphysical poets in 17th-century English literature. Crashaw was the son of a famous ...

– ''Steps to the Temple'' * Martin Lluelyn – ''Men-Miracles'' *

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 ...

– '' Poems of Mr. John Milton, Both English and Latin, compos'd at several times'' (dated 1645, published early 1646) *

Francis Quarles Francis Quarles (about 8 May 1592 – 8 September 1644) was an English poet most notable for his emblem book entitled ''Emblems''. Early life Francis Quarles was born in Romford, Essex, and baptised there on 8 May 1592. His family had a long hist ...

– ''The Shepherds' Oracle'' *

– ''Poems'' *

Henry Vaughan Henry Vaughan (17 April 1621 – 23 April 1695) was a Welsh metaphysical poet, author and translator writing in English, and a medical physician. His religious poetry appeared in ''Silex Scintillans'' in 1650, with a second part in 1655.''Oxfo ...

– ''Poems, with the Tenth Satire of Juvenal Englished''

Births

March 19 Events Pre-1600 * 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire. * 1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen en ...

– Michael Kongehl, German poet (died 1710) * July 1 –

Gottfried Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathem ...

, German mathematician and philosopher (died 1716) *

July 20 Events Pre-1600 * 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount. The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots. * 792 – Kardam of Bulgaria defea ...

–

Eusèbe Renaudot Eusèbe Renaudot (; 20 July 16461 September 1720) was a French theologian and Orientalist. Biography Renaudot was born in Paris, and brought up and educated for a career in the church. After being educated by the Jesuits, and joining the Oratori ...

, French theologian and orientalist (died 1720) *''Probable'' – John Mason, English poet, cleric and hymnist (died 1694)

Deaths

August 19 Events Pre-1600 *295 BC – The first temple to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility, is dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges during the Third Samnite War. *43 BC – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, later know ...

– Alexander Henderson, Scottish theologian (born c. 1583) *

September 17 Events Pre-1600 * 1111 – Highest Galician nobility led by Pedro Fróilaz de Traba and the bishop Diego Gelmírez crown Alfonso VII as "King of Galicia". * 1176 – The Battle of Myriokephalon is the last attempt by the Byzantine Empi ...

–

Erycius Puteanus Erycius Puteanus (4 November 1574 – 17 September 1646) was a humanist and philologist from the Low Countries. Name Erycius Puteanus is a latinization of his name, which was rendered in various ways, including Hendrick van den Putte (Put, Putt ...

, Netherlandish philologist and encyclopedist (born

1574 __NOTOC__ Year 1574 ( MDLXXIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * February 23 – The fifth War of Religion against the Huguenots begins ...

) *

October 23 Events Pre-1600 *4004 BC – James Ussher's proposed creation date of the world according to the Bible. *42 BC – Liberators' civil war: Mark Antony and Octavian decisively defeat an army under Brutus in the second part of the Batt ...

– David Wedderburn, Scottish educationist and schoolbook author (born

1580 __NOTOC__ Events January–June * January 31 – Portuguese succession crisis of 1580: The death of Henry, King of Portugal, with no direct heirs, leads to conflict between his potential successors, including King Philip II of ...

) *

December 23 Events Pre-1600 * 484 – The Arian Vandal Kingdom ceases its persecution of Nicene Christianity. * 558 – Chlothar I is crowned King of the Franks. * 583 – Maya queen Yohl Ik'nal is crowned ruler of Palenque. * 962 &ndas ...

– François Maynard, French poet (born c. 1582)

References

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