Christopher Brooke (died 1628) was an English poet, lawyer and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

between 1604 and 1626.

Life

He was the son of Robert Brooke, a rich merchant and alderman of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, who was twice lord mayor of that city. Anthony Wood states that he was educated at one of the universities;

Sidney Lee Sir Sidney Lee (5 December 1859 – 3 March 1926) was an English biographer, writer, and critic. Biography Lee was born Solomon Lazarus Lee in 1859 at 12 Keppel Street, Bloomsbury, London. He was educated at the City of London School , ...

thought it probable that, like his brother

Samuel Brooke Dr Samuel Brooke (1575–1631) was a Gresham Professor of Divinity (appointed 1612), a playwright, the chaplain of Trinity College, Cambridge and subsequently the Master of Trinity (1629–1631). He was known to be an Arminian and anti-Calvinist. ...

, he was a member of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. He subsequently studied law at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

, and shared a chamber there with

John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...

. Shortly before Christmas 1601 he witnessed Donne's secret marriage with the daughter of Sir George More, lieutenant of 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 ...

, performed by his brother, Samuel Brooke, and witnessed by the father of the bride, who opposed the match and contrived to commit Donne and his two friends to

Marshalsea Prison The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners, including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition, it became known, in ...

immediately afterwards. Donne was released first, and he secured the freedom of the Brookes after several weeks' imprisonment. In 1604 Brooke was elected Member of Parliament for

. He was re-elected MP for York in 1614. He made his way at

, becoming a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

and summer reader in 1614, and was a benefactor of the chapel. While at the

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

he became acquainted with many literary men, among whom were

John Selden John Selden (16 December 1584 – 30 November 1654) was an English jurist, a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law. He was known as a polymath; John Milton hailed Selden in 1644 as "the chief of learned ...

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

Michael Drayton Michael Drayton (1563 – 23 December 1631) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. He died on 23 December 1631 in London. Early life Drayton was born at Hartshill, near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Almost nothin ...

, and

John Davies of Hereford John Davies of Hereford (c. 1565 – July 1618) was a writing-master and an Anglo-Welsh poet. He referred to himself as ''John Davies of Hereford'' (after the city where he was born) in order to distinguish himself from others of the same name ...

. William Browne lived on terms of intimacy with him, and to Donne he left by will his portrait of

Elizabeth Wriothesley, Countess of Southampton Elizabeth Wriothesley (''née'' Vernon), Countess of Southampton (11 January 1572 – 23 November 1655) was one of the chief ladies-in-waiting to Elizabeth I of England in the later years of her reign. Family Elizabeth Vernon was the grandda ...

. In 1621 he was re-elected MP for York. In 1624 he was elected for both York and Newport (Isle of Wight) and chose to sit for York. He was re-elected MP for York in 1625 and 1626. He lived in a house of his own in

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

, London, and inherited from his father houses at York, and other property there and in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. He was buried at St. Andrew's, Holborn, on 7 February 1628.

Works

William Browne had a high opinion of his friend Brooke's poetic capacity. He eulogises him in ''Britannia's Pastorals'', book ii. song 2. In the fifth eclogue of the ''Shepheard's Pipe'', 1615, which is inscribed to Brooke, Browne urges him to attempt more ambitious poetry than the pastorals which he had already completed. Brooke's works are: * An elegy on the death of Prince Henry, published with another elegy by William Browne in a volume entitled ''Two Elegies consecrated to the neverdying Memorie of the most worthily admyred, most hartily loved and generally bewailed prince, Henry, Prince of Wales'', London, 1613. * An eclogue appended to William Browne's ''Shepheard's Pipe'', London, 1614. * ''The Ghost of Richard the Third. Expressing himselfe in these three parts: 1, His Character; 2, His Legend; 3, His Tragedie'', London, 1614. The unique copy in the Bodleian Library was reprinted by

John Payne Collier John Payne Collier (11 January 1789, London – 17 September 1883, Maidenhead) was an English Shakespearean critic and forger. Reporter and solicitor His father, John Dyer Collier (1762–1825), was a successful journalist, and his connection wi ...

for the Shakespeare Society in 1844, and by

Alexander Balloch Grosart Alexander Balloch Grosart (18 June 182716 March 1899) was a Scottish clergyman and literary editor. He is chiefly remembered for reprinting much rare Elizabethan literature, a work which he undertook because of his interest in Puritan theology. ...

in 1872. It is dedicated to Sir John Crompton and his wife Frances.

Thomas Rodd Thomas Rodd (1763–1822) was an English bookseller, antiquarian and Hispanist; Rodd purchased some Greek manuscripts for the British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the ...

the bookseller first attributed this work to Brooke at the beginning of the 19th century. The only direct clue lies in 'C. B.', the signature of the dedication.

George Chapman George Chapman (Hitchin, Hertfordshire, – London, 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been speculated to be the Rival Poet of Shak ...

, William Browne, 'Fr. Dyune Int. Temp.,' George Wither,

Robert Daborne Robert Daborne (c. 1580 – 23 March 1628) was an English dramatist of the Jacobean era. His father was also Robert Daborne, heir to family property in Guildford, Surrey and other places, including London, and a wealthy haberdasher by trade ...

, and

contributed

commendatory verse The epideictic oratory, also called ceremonial oratory, or praise-and-blame rhetoric, is one of the three branches, or "species" (eidē), of rhetoric as outlined in Aristotle's ''Rhetoric'', to be used to praise or blame during ceremonies. Origin ...

s. * ''Epithalamium—a nuptiall song applied to the ceremonies of marriage'', which appears at the close of ''

England's Helicon ''Englands Helicon'' is an anthology of Elizabethan pastoral poems compiled by John Flasket, and first published in 1600. There was an enlarged edition in 1614. The word Helicon refers to the Greek mountain on which, in Greek mythology, two s ...

'', 1614. * ''A Funerall Poem consecrated to the Memorie of that ever honoured President of Soldyership, Sr Arthure Chichester ... written by Christopher Brooke, gent.'', in 1624. This poem, to which Wither contributed commendatory verses, was printed for the first time by Grosart in 1872. The manuscript had been in the possession of

James Bindley James Bindley (1737–1818) was an English official and antiquary, known as a book collector. Life The second son of John Bindley, a distiller, of St. John Street, Smithfield, London, he was born in London on 16 January 1737. He was educated at ...

Richard Heber Richard Heber (5 January 1773 – 4 October 1833) was an English book-collector. Biography He was born in Westminster, as the eldest son of Reginald Heber, who succeeded his eldest brother as lord of the manors of Marton in Yorkshire and Hodnet ...

, and

Thomas Corser Thomas Corser (1793 – 24 August 1876) was a British literary scholar and Church of England clergyman. He was the editor of ''Collectanea Anglo-Poetica''. Life Corser, third son of George Corser of Whitchurch, Shropshire, banker, and his wi ...

. Corser printed selections in his ''Collectanea'', and

Joseph Haslewood Joseph Haslewood (5 November 1769 – 21 September 1833) was an English writer and antiquary. He was a founder of the Roxburghe Club. Life Haslewood was born in London, the son of Richard Haslewood and his wife Mary Dewsberry.Francis Haslewood Th ...

described it in the ''British Bibliographer'', ii. 235. Brooke also contributed verses to Michael Drayton's ''Legend of the Great Cromwell'', 1607; to Thomas Coriat's '' Odcombian Banquet'', 1611; to Henry Lichfield's ''First Set of Madrigals'', 1614 (two pieces, one to the Lady Cheyney and another to the author); and to Browne's ''Britannia's Pastorals'', 1625. He also wrote (20 December 1597) inscriptions for the tombs of Elizabeth, wife of Charles Croft, and of the wife of Thomas Crompton.

Family

Brooke married Mary Jacob on 18 December 1619 at the church of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields by Charing Cross. Formerly married to Sir Robert Jacobe,

Solicitor General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. On rar ...

, who died in 1618, she continued to be known as 'Lady Jacob' even after her marriage to Brooke.Will of Christopher Brooke 1628, UK National Archives, Catalogue reference prob/11/154 She was the daughter of the merchant William Lynch (or Linch) of Southampton (d. 1617)Will of William Linche 1617, UK National Archives, Catalogue reference prob/11/129 and first married David Targett, a sailor of Southampton (d. 1602) by whom she had a son, William (d. 1627), later a soldier serving in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. She had five children by her marriage to Jacob,at least one of whom, Mary, survived her: and from her last marriage she had a son, John Brooke. Lady Jacob had the reputation of a female 'wit' and once caused comment by ridiculing

Count Gondomar Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, the Spanish Ambassador.Michelle O'Callaghan, 'Brooke, Christopher (c.1570–1628)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2006 Her numerous critics called her "Lusty Mall Targett". She predeceased Brooke in 1622, being spiritually supported in her last illness by his friend Dr. Donne.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooke, Christopher Year of birth missing 1628 deaths English lawyers 17th-century English poets 17th-century male writers Members of Lincoln's Inn 17th-century English lawyers English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 Inmates of Fleet Prison English male poets