This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1653.

Events

January 17 Events Pre-1600 *38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey. * 1362 – Saint Marcellus' flood kills at least 25,000 people on ...

–

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or ...

begins to set out gardens at

Sayes Court Sayes Court was a manor house and garden in Deptford, in the London Borough of Lewisham on the Thames Path and in the former parish of St Nicholas. Sayes Court once attracted throngs to visit its celebrated garden'' Diary and Correspondence of ...

, Deptford, the house he has recently bought. *

March 26 Events Pre-1600 * 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. *1021 – On the feast of Eid al-Adha, the death of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, kept secret for six weeks, ...

–

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 ...

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 masq ...

Cupid and Death ''Cupid and Death'' is a mid-seventeenth-century masque, written by the Caroline era dramatist James Shirley, and performed on 26 March 1653 before the Portuguese ambassador to Great Britain. The work and its performance provide a point of contr ...

'' is performed before the Portuguese ambassador in London. *June – English actor Robert Cox is arrested at the

Red Bull Theatre The Red Bull was an inn-yard conversion erected in Clerkenwell, London operating in the 17th century. For more than four decades, it entertained audiences drawn primarily from the City and its suburbs, developing a reputation over the years for ...

in London for performing a "

droll A droll is a short comical sketch of a type that originated during the Puritan Interregnum in England. With the closure of the theatres, actors were left without any way of plying their art. Borrowing scenes from well-known plays of the Elizabe ...

" deemed to be a play (prohibited during the English Interregnum). *

September 9 Events Pre-1600 * 337 – Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans succeed their father Constantine I as co-emperors. The Roman Empire is divided between the three Augusti. *1000 – Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. * 1141 – ...

– London publisher

Humphrey Moseley Humphrey Moseley (died 31 January 1661) was a prominent London publisher and bookseller in the middle seventeenth century. Life Possibly a son of publisher Samuel Moseley, Humphrey Moseley became a "freeman" (a full member) of the Stationers Co ...

enters into the '' Stationers' Register'' the plays ''

The History of Cardenio ''The History of Cardenio'', often referred to as simply ''Cardenio'', is a lost play, known to have been performed by the King's Men, a London theatre company, in 1613. The play is attributed to William Shakespeare and John Fletcher in a Stat ...

'' (1613), attributed posthumously to

William 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 nation ...

and John Fletcher, and ''Henry I'' (1624) and ''Henry II'', attributed to Shakespeare and

Robert Davenport Robert Davenport may refer to: * Robert Davenport (dramatist) (fl. 1623–1639), English dramatist * Robert Davenport (Australian politician) (1816–1896), pioneer and politician in the Colony of South Australia * Robert Davenport (cricketer) (185 ...

; none survive. *Pastor Daniel Klein's ''

Grammatica Litvanica ''Grammatica Litvanica'' ( lt, Lietuvių kalbos gramatika, lit=Lithuanian grammar) is the first prescriptive printed grammar of the Lithuanian language which was written by Daniel Klein in Latin and published in 1653 in Königsberg, Duchy of Pr ...

'', the first printed prescriptive grammar of the

Lithuanian language Lithuanian ( ) is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the official language of Lithuania and one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.8 mill ...

, is published in Latin by Johann Reusner in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...

, introducing the distinctive Lithuanian letter '' Ė''.

New books

Prose

Ralph Austen Ralph Austen (c. 1612–1676) was an English writer on gardening and husbandry, who urged the use of concise, plain language. He also worked to popularize cider as a beverage. Life Austen was a native of Staffordshire. He spent the second pa ...

– ''A Treatise on Fruit-trees, showing the manner of grafting, setting, pruning, and ordering of them in all respects'' * Baltasar Gracián – ''El criticón'' (second part) * Blaise Pascal – ''Traité du triangle arithmétique'' *

Jeremy Taylor Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667) was a cleric in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression, and he is fr ...

– ''Twenty-five Sermons'' *Sir

Thomas Urquhart Sir Thomas Urquhart (1611–1660) was a Scottish aristocrat, writer, and translator. He is best known for his translation of the works of French Renaissance writer François Rabelais to English. Biography Urquhart was born to Thomas Urquhart ...

**First English translation of Rabelais' ''

Gargantua and Pantagruel ''The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel'' (french: La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel) is a pentalogy of novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais, telling the adventures of two giants, Gargantua ( , ) and his son Pantagruel ...

'', Books I and II **''

Logopandecteision ''Logopandecteision'' is a 1653 parodic book by Sir Thomas Urquhart, detailing his plans for the creation of an artificial language by that name. Content and purpose The book consists of several distinct sections, most notably including a li ...

'' * Izaak Walton -''The Compleat Angler'' * Arthur Wilson – ''The History of Great Britain, being the Life and Reign of King James I''

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'', in ...

– ''Five New Plays'', a collection of his dramas including ''

A Mad Couple Well-Match'd ''A Mad Couple Well-Match'd'' is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Richard Brome. It was first published in the 1653 Brome collection ''Five New Plays'', issued by the booksellers Humphrey Moseley, Richard Marriot, and Thomas Dri ...

, The Novella,

The Court Beggar ''The Court Beggar'' is a Caroline era stage play written by Richard Brome. It was first performed by the acting company known as Beeston's Boys at the Cockpit Theatre. It has sometimes been identified as the seditious play, performed at the Coc ...

, The City Wit'', and '' The Damoiselle'' *

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

(attributed) – ''

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

'' (published) *

William Heminges William Heminges (1602 – c. 1653?), also Hemminges, Heminge, and other variants, was a playwright and theatrical figure of the Caroline period. He was the ninth child and third son of John Heminges, the actor and colleague of William Shakespear ...

– ''

The Fatal Contract ''The Fatal Contract: A French Tragedy'' is a Caroline era stage play, written by William Heminges.Carol A. Morley, ed., ''The Plays and Poems of William Heminge'', Madison, NJ, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2006.William Heminges, ''The ...

'' (published) * Henry Killigrew – ''Pallantus and Eudora'' (published; Killigrew's revision of his own ''The Conspiracy'', 1638) *

Philippe Quinault Philippe Quinault (; 3 June 1635 – 26 November 1688), French dramatist and librettist, was born in Paris. Biography Quinault was educated by the liberality of François Tristan l'Hermite, the author of ''Marianne''. Quinault's first play w ...

– ''Les Rivales'' *

– '' The Court Secret'' (published) * Lope de Vega – ''La discreta enamorada'' *

Agustín Moreto Agustín is a Spanish given name and sometimes a surname. It is related to Augustín. People with the name include: Given name * Agustín (footballer), Spanish footballer * Agustín Calleri (born 1976), Argentine tennis player * Agustín Cá ...

– ''El lindo don Diego'' *

Paul Scarron Paul Scarron (c. 1 July 1610 in Paris – 6 October 1660 in Paris) (a.k.a. Monsieur Scarron) was a French poet, dramatist, and novelist, born in Paris. Though his precise birth date is unknown, he was baptized on 4 July 1610. Scarron was the fi ...

– ''Don Japhel d'Arménie''

Poetry

Margaret Cavendish Margaret Lucas Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1623 – 15 December 1673) was an English philosopher, poet, scientist, fiction writer and playwright. Her husband, William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was Royalist co ...

– ''Poems and Fancies''

Births

* January 13 –

Philipp Jakob Spener Philipp Jakob Spener (23 January 1635 – 5 February 1705), was a German Lutheran theologian who essentially founded what would become to be known as Pietism. He was later dubbed the "Father of Pietism". A prolific writer, his two main works, '' ...

, German theologian (died 1705) *

March 8 Events Pre-1600 * 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem ''Shahnameh''. *1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León. * 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bou ...

–

Goodwin Wharton Goodwin Wharton (8 March 1653 – 28 October 1704) was an English Whig politician and autobiographer, as well as an avid mystic, alchemist and treasure hunter. His unpublished manuscript autobiography, in the British Library, "ranks high in the an ...

, English autobiographer and politician (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 i ...

) *''Unknown date'' –

Chikamatsu Monzaemon was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' has written that he is "widely regarded as the greatest Japanese dramatis ...

(近松門左衛門), Japanese dramatist (died

1725 Events January–March * January 15 – James Macrae, a former captain of a freighter for the British East India Company, is hired by the Company to administer the Madras Presidency (at the time, the "Presidency of Fort St. Geo ...

) *''Probable year of birth'' – Nathaniel Lee, English dramatist (died

1692 Events January–March * January 24 – At least 75 residents of what is now York, Maine are killed in the Candlemas Massacre, carried out by French soldiers led by missionary Louis-Pierre Thury, along with a larger force of Abenaki a ...

)

Deaths

May 26 Events Pre-1600 * 17 – Germanicus celebrates a triumph in Rome for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti, and other German tribes west of the Elbe. * 451 – Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire tak ...

–

Robert Filmer Sir Robert Filmer (c. 1588 – 26 May 1653) was an English political theorist who defended the divine right of kings. His best known work, '' Patriarcha'', published posthumously in 1680, was the target of numerous Whig attempts at rebuttal ...

, English political theorist (born

1558 __NOTOC__ Year 1558 ( MDLVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 7 – French troops, led by Francis, Duke of Guise, take Calais, ...

) *

July 10 Events Pre-1600 * 138 – Emperor Hadrian of Rome dies of heart failure at his residence on the bay of Naples, Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina. * 645 – Isshi Incident: Prin ...

–

Gabriel Naudé Gabriel Naudé (2 February 1600 – 10 July 1653) was a French librarian and scholar. He was a prolific writer who produced works on many subjects including politics, religion, history and the supernatural. An influential work on library science ...

, French librarian and scholar (born

1600 __NOTOC__ In the Gregorian calendar, it was the last century leap year until the year 2000. Events January–June * January 1 – Scotland adopts January 1 as New Year's Day instead of March 25. * January ** Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of T ...

) *

September 3 Events Pre-1600 *36 BC – In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompey, son of Pompey, thus ending Pompeian resistance to the Second Triumvirate. * 301 – San Marino, one of the ...

–

Claudius Salmasius Claude Saumaise (15 April 1588 – 3 September 1653), also known by the Latin name Claudius Salmasius, was a French classical scholar. Life Salmasius was born at Semur-en-Auxois in Burgundy. His father, a counsellor of the parlement of Dijon, se ...

, French classical scholar (born

1588 __NOTOC__ Events January–June * February – The Sinhalese abandon the siege of Colombo, capital of Portuguese Ceylon. * February 9 – The sudden death of Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, in the midst of pr ...

) * September 23 –

Jacques Goar Jacques Goar (1601 – 23 September 1653) was a French Dominican Order, Dominican and Hellenism (Academia), Hellenist. Life He was born at Paris, entered the convent of the Annunciation in the Rue St. Honoré in 1619, and made his profession ...

, French Hellenist (born

1601 This Epoch (reference date)#Computing, epoch is the beginning of the 400-year Gregorian leap-year cycle within which digital files first existed; the last year of any such cycle is the only leap year whose year number is divisible by 100. Jan ...

) * October 15 –

Piaras Feiritéar Piaras Feiritéar (; 1600? – 1653), or Pierce Ferriter, was an Irish clan Chief of the Name, Chief, and Irish poetry, poet. Although best known for his many works of Bardic poetry in the Irish language, Feiritéar is also a widely revered folk ...

, Irish-language poet and rebel (hanged; born c. 1600) *December – John Taylor, English poet and waterman (born

1578 __NOTOC__ Year 1578 ( MDLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 31 – Battle of Gembloux: Spanish forces under Don John of ...

) *''Unknown date'' **

Zachary Boyd Zachary Boyd (1585–1653) was a Scottish minister and university administrator who wrote many sermons, scriptural versifications and other devotional works.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 ...

) ** Lucrezia Marinella, Italian poet, writer and supporter of women's rights (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 23 ...

)

References

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