Jasper Fisher ( 1639), was an English

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

and dramatist.

Life

Fisher was born in 1591, the son of William Fisher of Carleton, Bedfordshire, deputy-auditor for the

county of York Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

(descended from a

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

family), by Alice Roane of

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

. Fisher matriculated at

Magdalen Hall, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colleg ...

, 13 November 1607; he was admitted B.A. 28 January 1610-11, M.A. 27 January 1613-14, B.D. and D.D. 1639. Fisher held at Magdalen College the post of divinity or philosophy reader (Wood). The exact date of Fisher's death is 1643. According to Oldys's manuscript notes to

Gerard Langbaine Gerard Langbaine (15 July 1656 – 23 June 1692) was an English dramatic biographer and critic, best known for his ''An Account of the English Dramatic Poets'' (1691), the earliest work to give biographical and critical information on the playwrig ...

he became blind, whether from old age or an accident is not known. He married Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. William Sams of Burstead,

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 ...

. Gideon Fisher, who went to Oxford in 1634 and succeeded to the estate at Carleton, was the son, not of Jasper, but of Jasper's elder brother GideonVisitation of Bedfordshire, 1634, Harl. Soc. 107

Works

About 1631 (according to Anthony Wood) he became rector of Wilden, Bedfordshire, and in 1633 published his one considerable work, a play, entitled '' Fuimus Troes, the True Trojans, being a story of the Britaines valour at the Romanes first invasion. Publickly presented by the gentlemen students of Magdalen College in Oxford'', London, 1633, 4to. The drama is written in blank verse, interspersed with lyrics; Druids, poets, and a harper are introduced, and it ends with a masque and chorus. He also published some sermons, one on Malachi 2 v. 7, 1636, and 'The Priest's Duty and Dignity, preached at the Triennial Visitation in

Ampthill Ampthill () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population estimate of 8,100 (Mid year estimate 2017 from the ONS). It is administered bAmpthill Town Council The ward of Ampthill which also i ...

18 August 1635, by J. F., presbyter and rector of Wilden in Bedfordshire, and published by command,' London, 1636.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Jasper 1591 births 17th-century deaths 17th-century English male writers 17th-century English writers English Renaissance dramatists Alumni of Magdalen Hall, Oxford 17th-century English Anglican priests 17th-century English dramatists and playwrights People from the Borough of Bedford