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Thomas Deloney (born ; died in or shortly before 1600) was an English silk-weaver,
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...
, and
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
writer.


Biography

Thomas Deloney was born sometime in the middle decades of the 16th century; the precise date is not recorded. Although often alleged to be a native of Norwich, he was most likely born in London, where he was trained as a silk-weaver. French and Walloon immigrants dominated the silk-weaving trade in 16th-century England, and the name Deloney, which looks like an anglicized form of a French name such as De Laune or De Lanoy, suggests that his family may have been relatively recent arrivals in England. An entry in the parish register of
St Giles-without-Cripplegate St Giles-without-Cripplegate is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on Fore Street within the modern Barbican complex. When built it stood without (that is, outside) the city wall, near the Cripplegate. The church is dedicated to S ...
from 16 October 1586 records the baptism of his son Richard, who may have died within a few months. During the 1580s and 1590s he became well-known as a writer of popular printed ballads, many of which circulated as ephemeral broadsides, while others were collected in books and pamphlets. His subject matter, like that of most Elizabethan and Jacobean balladists, was wide-ranging and eclectic, including stories from English history and romance, religious and moral exhortations, social and political commentary, and journalistic reporting of current events. Among his topical poems on news of the day are a description of a fire that devastated the town of
Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fl ...
in Suffolk in November 1586; the confession of an adulterous wife in Devonshire who conspired to murder her husband in 1590; two accounts of the arrest and execution of the conspirators in the
Babington Plot The Babington Plot was a plan in 1586 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestant, and put Mary, Queen of Scots, her Catholic cousin, on the English throne. It led to Mary's execution, a result of a letter sent by Mary (who had been imp ...
to overthrow the queen in 1586; and three ballads inspired by the campaign against the
Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an ar ...
in 1588, including one that describes Elizabeth's visit and address to the troops at Tilbury. Deloney's writings on social and political issues sometimes created controversy. In 1595 he was briefly imprisoned as a result of his contribution to a letter signed by a group of yeoman weavers petitioning for stricter enforcement of the rules of the London Weavers' Company. And in 1596 a ballad on the scarcity of grain in London was criticized as "scurrilous" and "vain and presumptuous" by the mayor of the city,
Stephen Slaney Sir Stephen Slaney (1524 - 1608) was an English merchant, four times Master of the Worshipful Company of Skinners, and Alderman, Sheriff and Lord Mayor of London. He has been called "one of the most picturesque of the Elizabethan Merchant Adventu ...
, in part because in it Deloney had the queen engage in a dialogue with her people "in a very fond and undecent sort", which might incite discontent among the poor. In the late 1590s Deloney turned to writing prose narratives, usually called novels in modern sources (although that word was not used by Deloney or his contemporaries). Four novels — ''Jack of Newbury'', the two parts of ''The Gentle Craft'', and ''Thomas of Reading'' — were published in the last three or four years of his life (1597–1600), and it is on these works that his modern reputation chiefly depends. They were enormously popular, so much so that the original printings were literally "read to pieces" and they survive today only in later 17th-century editions. Deloney's novels are a mixture of historical romance and social and economic realism, which draw heavily in their choice of subject matter, background, and incidental details on his personal experience as a member of the commercial class of artisans and merchants in Elizabethan London. They are often thought to reflect the character and interests of the growing English "middle class". ''Jack of Newbury'', which is dedicated to the cloth-makers of England, is a fictionalized biography of John Winchcombe (c. 1489−1557), a notable Tudor clothier, while ''The Gentle Craft'', dedicated to his fellow artisans, the shoemakers, is a compilation of tales "showing what famous men have been Shoomakers in time past in this Land, with their worthy deeds and great Hospitality". The popularity of the latter inspired at least two dramatic adaptations of some of its material, Thomas Dekker's play ''
The Shoemaker's Holiday ''The Shoemaker's Holiday or the Gentle Craft'' is an Elizabethan play written by Thomas Dekker. The play was first performed in 1599 by the Admiral's Men, and it falls into the subgenre of city comedy. The story features three subplots: an in ...
'' (1599) and
William Rowley William Rowley (c. 1585 – February 1626) was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626 i ...
's '' A Shoemaker a Gentleman'' (c. 1608?). Although Deloney was familiar with the elaborate euphuistic prose of
John Lyly John Lyly (; c. 1553 or 1554 – November 1606; also spelled ''Lilly'', ''Lylie'', ''Lylly'') was an English writer, dramatist of the University Wits, courtier, and parliamentarian. He was best known during his lifetime for his two books '' E ...
and his successors, and was capable of imitating it when he chose to, his style is normally more simple and straightforward. In its directness and vividness it owes something to the compilations of popular tales in contemporary jest books. He makes much greater use of dialogue than other contemporary writers of prose narratives, such as Robert Greene and
Thomas Nashe Thomas Nashe (baptised November 1567 – c. 1601; also Nash) was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel ''The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including ''Pierce Penniless,'' ...
, and shares some dramatic techniques with the Elizabethan playwrights. Deloney probably died early in 1600, or perhaps late in the previous year. In ''Nine Daies Wonder'', published in April 1600, William Kempe refers to a tune known as "Thomas Deloney's Epitaph", and writes that he (Kempe) had been the been the subject of "abominable Ballets" written by "the great Ballet-maker, T.D., alias Tho. Deloney." In a mocking address to the other ballad-writers of London, he concludes "I was given since to understand, your late general Tho. dyed poorley, as ye all must do, and was honestly buried, which is much to be doubted of some of you."; . Nothing else is known of the date or circumstances of his death.


Selected works


Verse

* ''The Garland of Good Will'', a collection of ballads of various types, many of which circulated earlier in broadside form. Entered in the
Stationers' Register The Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. The company is a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with the publishing industry, including prin ...
on 5 March 1593; survives only in 17th-century editions. Reprinted in from an edition of 1631. * ''Strange Histories of Kings, Princes, Dukes, Earles, Lords, Ladies, Knights, and Gentlemen'', a collection of ballads on historical topics, based on episodes in
Holinshed's Chronicles ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', also known as ''Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland'', is a collaborative work published in several volumes and two editions, the first edition in 1577, and the second in 1587. It was a large, co ...
. Original date of publication unknown; survives only in 17th-century editions. (The later editions include some additional poems not by Deloney.) Reprinted in from an edition of 1602. * Miscellaneous broadside ballads. Reprinted in ; facsimiles and transcriptions in th
English Broadside Ballad Archive


Prose

* ''The Pleasant Historie of Iohn Winchcombe, in his younger yeares called Iack of Newberie, the famous and worthy Clothier of England''. Entered in the
Stationers' Register The Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. The company is a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with the publishing industry, including prin ...
on 7 March 1597; survives only in 17th-century editions. Reprinted from the edition of 1627 in , from the edition of 1626 in , and from the edition of 1633 in . * ''The Gentle Craft''
art I Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of what ...
Entered in the
Stationers' Register The Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. The company is a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with the publishing industry, including prin ...
on 19 October 1597; survives only in 17th-century editions. Reprinted from the edition of 1627 in , and from the edition of 1648 in . * ''The Gentle Craft: The second Part''. Originally published before 1600; survives only in 17th-century editions. Reprinted from the edition of 1639 in , and in . * ''Thomas of Reading or the Sixe Worthie Yeomen of the West''. Originally published before 1600 and first recorded in
Stationers' Register The Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. The company is a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with the publishing industry, including prin ...
on 19 April 1602; survives only in 17th-century editions. Reprinted from the edition of 1612 in , from the edition of 1623 in , and from the edition of 1632 in .


References


Citations


Sources

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External links


''The Works of Thomas Deloney''
edited by F. O. Mann (Internet Archive). Includes both ballads and prose works.
''Thomas Deloney's Works''
Partial HTML transcription of Mann's edition; includes ballads only.
Broadside ballads by Deloney
in the English Broadside Ballad Archive (University of California, Santa Barbara). {{DEFAULTSORT:Deloney, Thomas 1600 deaths Writers from Norwich 16th-century English composers 16th-century English novelists 16th-century English poets English male poets English biographers English songwriters English male composers English male novelists Musicians from Norwich Male biographers British male songwriters