George John Warren Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon (22 June 1803 – 31 May 1866), was a British politician. He was one of the last members of parliament for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

and the first for

South Derbyshire South Derbyshire is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. The population of the local authority at the 2011 Census was 94,611. It contains a third of the National Forest, and the council offices are in Swadlincote. The district a ...

. Vernon had a lifetime enthusiasm for

Italian literature Italian literature is written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italian people, Italians or in Languages of Italy, other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely re ...

, particularly

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

after visiting Italy as a child. Vernon county is named after him in Australia.

Early life and education

Vernon was born at

Stapleford Hall Stapleford may refer to: Places England *Stapleford, Cambridgeshire * Stapleford, Hampshire *Stapleford, Hertfordshire * Stapleford, Leicestershire ** Stapleford Miniature Railway * Stapleford, Lincolnshire *Stapleford, Nottinghamshire ** Staplefo ...

in Nottinghamshire, the only son of George Charles Venables-Vernon, 4th Baron Vernon (1779–1835) of

Sudbury, Derbyshire Sudbury is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, located about south of Ashbourne. It is part of the Derbyshire Dales district. The population as recorded at the 2001 Census was 976, increasing to 1,010 at the 2011 Census. The £0. ...

, and Frances Maria, only daughter of Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren. Sir

Richard Vernon Richard Evelyn Vernon (7 March 1925 – 4 December 1997) was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles. Prematurely balding and greying, Vernon settled into playi ...

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of 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. ...

from 1425 to 1426, was an ancestor. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

Politics

Vernon entered public life in 1831, as Member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for

. As a result of the passing of the

Reform Bill In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

in 1832 (which Vernon supported) the parliamentary seat for Derbyshire was divided in two, and he became MP for the southern part. He continued in the House of Commons until 1835, when he succeeded his father as Baron Vernon and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. In 1837, he exchanged his

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

surname Venables-Vernon for that of Warren, in compliance with the will of

Viscountess Bulkeley A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

, but his children born before 1839 retained their original surname. He was an expert rifle-shot and an energetic supporter of the

Volunteer movement The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

for which he raised the 2nd (Sudbury) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps of two companies in 16 March 1860.

Italy

MS41rWMsmall George John Warren Vernon Ugolino Verno

As a youth, Vernon was taken to Italy, and later returned to live in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, where he studied the Italian language and history. His whole life was devoted to

, to whom he erected a noble

literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

monument. With the advice and help of friends and collaborators, he printed (though not for sale) some then unedited texts and two important works. The first of these was ''Le prime quattro Edizioni della Divina Commedia letteralmente ristampate'', London, 1858, a careful reprint of the first editions of Dante's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

'', edited by Sir Anthony Panizzi with a learned preface. This was followed by a remarkable publication, ''L' Inferno di Dante Alighieri disposto in ordine grammaticale e corredato di brevi dichiarazioni di G. G. Warren, Lord Vernon'', London, 1858–1865, 3 vols. folio, of which only a limited number of copies were issued for private circulation. The latter work was described by Henry Clark Barlow as one "which, for utility of purpose, comprehensiveness of design, and costly execution, has never been equalled in any country." Some of the most distinguished artists and men of letters in Italy were occupied for twenty years in its preparation. The first volume includes the text of the ''Inferno'' with many unpublished documents; and the third volume, which appeared after Lord Vernon's death, contains 112 original engravings of incidents in the ''Inferno'', views of towns,

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

s, and other localities mentioned therein, as well as portraits, paintings, plans, and historical monuments illustrating the history of the fourteenth century.

Membership

Vernon was a ''socio'' correspondent of the

Accademia della Crusca The Accademia della Crusca (; "Academy of the Bran"), generally abbreviated as La Crusca, is a Florence-based society of scholars of Italian linguistics and philology. It is one of the most important research institutions of the Italian language ...

, and was a member of many other literary societies. He was also created

Cavaliere di San Maurizio e Lazzaro The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus ( it, Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro) (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the wo ...

in May 1865, in recognition of his labours on behalf of the national poet.

Marriage and issue

Vernon married twice. On 30 October 1824, he married his first wife, Isabella Caroline, daughter of Cuthbert Ellison of

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It governed under the borough of South Tyneside; formerly governed under the county of Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south ...

, Durham, who bore him two sons and three daughters: *Hon. Caroline Maria Warren Venables-Vernon (1826–1918), married the Rev. Frederick Anson, canon of

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

and

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Sudbury * Augustus Henry Warren Venables-Vernon (1829–1883), succeeded as 6th Baron Vernon *Hon. Adelaide Louisa Warren Venables-Vernon (1831–1913), married Admiral Sir

Reginald Macdonald Admiral Sir Reginald John James George Macdonald (19 October 1820 – 15 December 1899) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station. Early life Macdonald was born in Westminster, the son of Reginald Ge ...

*Hon. William John Borlase Warren Venables-Vernon (1834–1919), married Agnes Lucy Boileau, daughter of John Boileau, 1st Bt. *Hon. Louisa Warren Venables-Vernon (1838–1898), married the Rev.

Thomas Parry Garnier Thomas Parry Garnier (22 February 1841 – 18 March 1898) was an English cleric. Also a first-class cricketer, he played as a right-handed Batsman (cricket), batsman. Early life He was the second son of Thomas Garnier (Dean of Lincoln), Thomas ...

He remarried on 14 December 1859, to his cousin, Frances Emma Maria, only daughter of the Rev. Brooke Boothby, who survived him but was childless. During his prolonged visits to Italy and Florence, Lord Vernon initiated a relationship to a young girl by the name of Louise Charlotte Anette Lavoignat and bore four daughters by her: Maria Louise born 1843, Vittoria Alice born 1845, Heloise Tommasine born 1846 and Georgina Jeanne Margheret, married with Augusto Agostini in Geneve on November 26, 1853. Georgina bore two sons: Corradina-Eugenia-Nelly, born in Cairo, and Paolo Alberto Raoul, born in Nizza, March 25, 1865.Etat Civil of Geneve After a long illness, Vernon died at

Sudbury Hall Sudbury Hall is a country house in Sudbury, Derbyshire, England. One of the country's finest Restoration mansions, it has Grade I listed building status. The National Trust Museum of Childhood is housed in the 19th-century servants' wing of Sudb ...

, the family seat, near

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

, on 31 May 1866 aged 62.

Publications

An engraved portrait of Vernon is in the album of his ''Inferno''. Besides the two works above mentioned, he also printed : *''L'Inferno, secondo il testo di B. Lombardi con ordine e schiarimento per uso dei forestieri di L. V.'', Florence, 1841, 8vo (only the first seven cantos; a foreshadowing of his great work on the 'Inferno'). *''Petri Allegherii super Dantis ipsius genitoris comoediam commentarium'', Florence, 1846, 8vo (edited by Vincenzo Nannucci). *''Chiose sopra Dante, testo inedito, ora per la prima volta pubblicato'', Florence, 1846, 8vo (commonly known as ''II falso Boccaccio''). *''II Febusso e Breusso, poema ora per la prima volta pubblicato'', Florence, 1847, 8vo (a ''romanzo cavalleresco''). *''Chiose alia Cantica dell' Inferno di Dante Allighieri attribuite a Jacopo suo figlio'', Florence, 1848, 8vo. *''Comento alia cantica di Dante Allighieri di autore anonimo'', Florence, 1848, 8vo (the oldest commentary on the ''Inferno'' in existence, probably written about 1328). He had intended to print the famous Latin commentary of

Benvenuto da Imola Benvenuto Rambaldi da Imola, or simply and perhaps more accurately Benvenuto da Imola ( la, Benevenutus Imolensis; 1330 – 1388), was an Italian scholar and historian, a lecturer at Bologna. He is now best known for his commentary on Dante's ' ...

, delivered as public lectures at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

about 1375; but this work was carried out by his second son, William Warren Vernon, in 1887, 5 vols. 4to, under the editorship of Sir J. P. Lacaita.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, George Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron 1866 deaths 1803 births People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People from Sudbury, Derbyshire Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Derbyshire UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs who inherited peerages Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies George 5