John Bargrave (1610 – 11 May 1680), was an

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author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and collector and a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

.''Under the Sign: John Bargrave as Collector, Traveler, and Witness'' by

Stephen Bann Stephen Bann CBE, British Academy, FBA (born 1 August 1942 in Manchester, England) is the Emeritus Professor of History of Art at the University of Bristol. He attended Winchester College and King's College, Cambridge, attaining his Doctor of ...

, Michigan, 1995

Early life

Bargrave was born in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in 1610, the son of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

John Bargrave and Jane Crouch. His father had fought in the war between the English and the

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and had returned to

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

to raise a family. The Bargraves had recently come to be considered local

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...

and this had resulted in the marriage of Bargrave Snr. and the daughter of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

haberdasher In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a retailer who sells men's clothing, ...

, Giles Crouch, who later built and impressive family home known as ''Bifrons'' at nearby

Patrixbourne Patrixbourne is a rural English village south-east of Canterbury in Kent. It is mostly taken up by agricultural hills and along with almost contiguous Bekesbourne to the north it makes up the civil parish of Bekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne in the ...

.The Bargrave Collection
by

(2009) Bargrave (Jnr.) was a nephew of

Isaac Bargrave Isaac Bargrave (1586 – January 1643) was an English royalist churchman, Dean of Canterbury from 1625 to 1643. Life Early life Isaac was the sixth son of Robert Bargrave, of Bridge, Kent, and was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge, where he ...

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the Canterbury Cathedral.

Education

Bargrave was first educated at

The King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...

and then at St. Peter's College at Cambridge. Bargrave became

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

there and then a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the college in 1637. Bargrave's uncle Isaac was a strong supporter of the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

and thus the

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

s and at the outbreak of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

in 1642 he was imprisoned. He was released the following year but died soon after and John Bargrave was ejected from the fellowship of the college.

In Europe

Thereafter, Bargrave devoted his time chiefly to travelling across the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an continent. In 1646 and 1647 he was in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

with his nephew, John Raymond, author of an itinerary in which Bargrave is supposed to have had a considerable hand. He was again at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1650, 1655, and 1659–60 and observed the mechanisations (though not in any official capacity) of the papal conclave of 1655. He experienced, first-hand, the power of the

Roman Inquisition The Roman Inquisition, formally the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, was a system of partisan tribunals developed by the Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church, during the second half of the 16th century, respons ...

and was privy to the goings-on of the

papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

court in Rome; its

cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

leaders and scandals.

Later life

After the

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he obtained several

preferment A ferment (also known as bread starter) is a fermentation starter used in ''indirect'' methods of bread making. It may also be called mother dough. A ferment and a longer fermentation in the bread making, bread-making process have several benefi ...

s in Kent and in 1662 was made a

of Canterbury. Immediately after this promotion he departed with Archdeacon Selleck on the dangerous errand of ransoming English captives at

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, for whose redemption ten thousand pounds had been subscribed by the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

s and

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. He acquitted himself successfully of his mission, and spent the rest of his life at home, dying at Canterbury on 11 May 1680. In 1665 Bargrave married the well-connected widow, Frances Osborne.

Written work

Bargrave's sole contribution to literature is a curious account called ''"Pope Alexander the Seventh and the College of Cardinals''",''Pope Alexander the Seventh and the College of Cardinals''
by John Bargrave, edited by James Craigie Robertson (reprint; 2009) originally written in 1660 while Bargrave was in Rome and not originally intended for publication. The work consists of scraps selected from three anonymous contemporary Italian publications (''La Giusta Statura de'Porporati'', ''Il Nipotismo di Roma'' and ''Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa''; the last two by Gregorio Leti), with considerable additions of his own. The profiles were originally designed to illustrate a collection of

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

s of the pope and cardinals published by

Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi (1627 – 1691) was an Italian engraver and printer, active in Rome in the second half of the 17th century. His father, Giuseppe de Rossi (1570-1639), was the founder of the most important and active printing press ...

in 1657 called ''The Effigies''. Bargrave's work was edited by

James Craigie Robertson James Craigie Robertson (1813 – 9 July 1882) was a Scottish Anglican churchman, canon of Canterbury Cathedral, and author of a ''History of the Christian Church''. Life Robertson was born at Aberdeen, where his father was a merchant; his mother ...

for the

Camden Society The Camden Society was a text publication society founded in London in 1838 to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books. It was named after the 16th-century antiquary a ...

in 1867, with a memoir of Bargrave and a descriptive catalogue of the curiosities he had acquired in his travels. His cabinet of curiosities, complete with riding boots and a miniature of him and his young travelling tutees, Raymond and Alexander Chapman, by Matteo Bolgnini, survives intact in the

Library.

Early life

Education

In Europe

Later life

Written work

References

Further reading