Francis Tate (1560–1616) was an English antiquary and politician, Member of Parliament for

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

and

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

Life

Tate was born in 1560 at Gayton, the second son of Bartholomew Tate (d. 1601) of Delapre,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, by his wife Dorothy, daughter of Francis Tanfield of Gayton. On 20 December 1577 he matriculated as a commoner at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, but left the university without a degree and entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

. He was called to the bar in 1587, but devoted his attention mainly to antiquarian researches. He was an original member of the Society of Antiquaries, and was for some time its secretary; a volume of collections by him (

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

Stowe MS 1045) is said to consist of matters discussed by the society. In 1601 Tate was returned to parliament for

. On 22 February 1604 he was placed on commissions of the peace in the counties of Glamorgan, Brecknock, and Radnor, and from 1604 till 1611 he sat in parliament as member for

. In 1607 he was Lent reader in the Middle Temple, and about the same time was employed as justice itinerant in South Wales. He died, unmarried, on 11 November 1616. Zouch Tate was son of Francis Tate's brother, Sir William Tate (d. 1617).

Works

Tate made antiquarian collections which were used by

William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and the ''Annal ...

and others, but remained unpublished at his death.

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 ...

describes him as "multijugæ eruditionis et vetustatis peritissimus". *His tract on ''The Antiquity, Use, and Privileges of Cities, Boroughs, and Towns'', and his ''Antiquity, Use, and Ceremonies of laufull Combats in England'', were both printed in John Gutch's ''Collectanea Curiosa'', 1781, vol. i. *His treatises on ''Knights made by Abbots'', dated 21 June 1606; on the ''Antiquity of Arms in England'', dated 2 November 1598; on the ''Antiquity, Variety, and Ceremonies of Funerals in England'', dated 30 April 1600; on the ''Antiquity, Authority, and Succession of the High Steward of England'', dated 4 June 1603, and his ''Questions about the Ancient Britons'' are all printed in Thomas Hearne's ''Curious Discourses'', 1775. *A treatise ''Of the Antiquity of Parliaments in England'', is printed in ''The Several Opinions of Sundry Learned Antiquaries'', the publication of which was arranged by John Dodderidge, 1658; and a similar ''Discourse importing the Assembly of Parliament'' is extant (Harleian MS. 253). *His ''King Edward II's Household and Wardrobe Ordinances ... Englisht by F. Tate'', was printed by the

Chaucer Society Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...

in 1876 (2nd series, No. 14). *Letters to

Robert Bruce Cotton Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, 1st Baronet (22 January 1570/71 – 6 May 1631) of Conington Hall in the parish of Conington in Huntingdonshire, England,Kyle, Chris & Sgroi was a Member of Parliament and an antiquarian who founded the Cotton library. ...

are extant in Cottonian MS. Julius C iii. ff. 97, 103, and to Camden in Julius F. vii. f. 288. * Anthony Wood also mentions ''Nomina Hydarum in com. Northampton'', as used by

Augustine Vincent Augustine Vincent (c. 1584–1626) was an English herald and antiquary. He became involved in an antiquarian dispute between his friend William Camden and Ralph Brooke. Life Vincent was born presumably in Northamptonshire, about 1584, third and y ...

in his ''Survey of Northamptonshire'', an ''Explanation of the abbreviated Words in Domesday Book'', and a collection of ''Learned Speeches in Parliaments held in the latter end of Q. Elizabeth and in the Reign of K. James I'', which have not been traced. Copies of most of Tate's works are extant among the Stowe manuscripts in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Tate, Francis 1560 births 1616 deaths English antiquarians People from Gayton, Northamptonshire Members of the Middle Temple Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford 17th-century English lawyers 17th-century antiquarians English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 People from Northampton