John Harington, 2nd Baron Harington of Exton (1592 – 27 February 1614), of Burley-on-the-Hill, Rutland was a young

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

peer and politician. He was the

Lord Lieutenant of Rutland The ancient position of Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland was abolished on 31 March 1974. Between 1 April 1974 and its reestablishment on 8 April 1997 Rutland came under the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. Since 1690, all lord-lieutenants have also bee ...

and Baron Harington of Exton.

Early life

He was the surviving son of Sir John Harington (later created Baron Harington of Exton in 1603) and his wife,

Anne Keilway Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

, daughter of

Robert Keilway Robert Keilway (''alias'' Kellway, Keylway, Kaylway, Kelloway, etc.) (1497–1581) of Minster Lovell Hall in Oxfordshire, was an English politician and court official. He was the son of Robert Keilway of Salisbury and educated at Oxford Univ ...

, Surveyor of the

Court of Wards and Liveries The Court of Wards and Liveries was a court established during the reign of Henry VIII in England. Its purpose was to administer a system of feudal dues; but as well as the revenue collection, the court was also responsible for wardship and l ...

, and was born at Combe Abbey, near

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

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 ...

, in April 1592. He was admitted in 1607 to

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

, which had been founded by Frances Sidney, his father's aunt, and to which he and his father were benefactors. He was educated with the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

and they remained close friends until the prince's death. He succeeded his father as

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

in August 1613. The actor

Kit Harington Christopher Catesby Harington (born 26 December 1986) is an English actor who is widely known for his role as Jon Snow in the HBO epic fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019). After studying at the Royal Central School o ...

is descended from Sir John's uncle, Sir James Harington, 1st Baronet Harington of Ridlington.

On tour

Friend and companion of

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (19 February 1594 – 6 November 1612), was the eldest son and heir apparent of James VI and I, King of England and Scotland; and his wife Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuar ...

, on 5 January 1604 he was created, along with

The Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was D ...

and others, a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

. In September he went a foreign tour with John Tovey, a master of the free school at

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

. While abroad he corresponded in French and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

with Prince Henry. After seven weeks in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

, where he visited the universities, courts of three princes, and military fortifications, Harington went to

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 ...

in 1608. He wrote from

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

(28 May 1609) announcing his intention of returning through

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to spend the rest of his life with his royal friend. Henry's death (6 November 1612) greatly grieved him.

Return to England

On his return to Coventry Harington became the Member of Parliament for

for a brief period (1610–1611) when the incumbent John Rogerson was taken ill. He was also appointed

in 1613 on the death of his father, a position he held until his own death the following year. In August 1613 21-year-old Harington succeeded to his father's title and a heritage of debts, and vainly attempted to retrieve the family fortunes by obtaining a royal patent on the minting of lead farthings from the mint under a scheme proposed by

Gerard de Malynes Gerard de Malynes (fl. 1585–1627) was an independent merchant in foreign trade, an English commissioner in the Spanish Netherlands, a government advisor on trade matters, assay master of the mint, and commissioner of mint affairs. His dates of b ...

on 10 April. After the farthings proved unpopular, the young Lord Harington of Exton died at

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

on 27 February 1614 and was buried at Exton. On 18 February he had sold the lordship of Exton to Sir Baptist Hicks, and by his will, made at the same time, left the overplus of the estates, after the creditors had been paid (according to his mother the debts amounted to £40,000), to his two sisters, two-thirds to

Lucy, Countess of Bedford Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford ( Harington; 1580–1627) was a major aristocratic patron of the arts and literature in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, the primary non-royal performer in contemporary court masques, a letter-writer, and a ...

, and one-third to Frances, Lady Chichester (d. 1615), whose kneeling effigy exists in Pilton Church in Devon, first wife of Sir Robert Chichester (1578–1627) of

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

. The Countess of Bedford eventually sold the remaining family estates in

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

Reputation

Harington's contemporaries wrote of him in the highest terms. His funeral sermon was preached by

Richard Stock Richard Stock (1569 – 1626) was an English clergyman and one of the Puritan founders of the Feoffees for Impropriations. He was minister at All Hallows, Bread Street in London, from 1611 to 1626. Life He was born in York, according to the ''W ...

, pastor of

All Hallows, Bread Street All Hallows Bread Street was a parish church in the Bread Street ward of the City of London, England. It stood on the east side of Bread Street, on the corner with Watling Street. First mentioned in the 13th century, the church was destroyed in ...

, and published as "The Church's Lament for the Loss of the Godly" (London, 1614), with a small woodprint portrait."John Harington, Second Baron Harington of Exton", Oxford DNB. Appended to this publication were an epitaph and elegies by F. Herring and

Sir Thomas Roe Sir Thomas Roe ( 1581 – 6 November 1644) was an English diplomat of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Roe's voyages ranged from Central America to India; as ambassador, he represented England in the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Empi ...

. At the same time a poem entitled "Sorrows Lenitive, written upon occasion of the death of that hopeful and noble young gentleman, &c.", was written by Abraham Jackson, and dedicated to Harington's mother and sister Lucy.

John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...

took leave of poetry in a funeral ode on Harington (published after his death in hia volume of ''Poems'', London, 1633), and

Thomas Gataker Thomas Gataker (* London, 4 September 1574 – † Cambridge, 27 June 1654) was an English clergyman and theologian. Life He was born in London, the son of Thomas Gatacre. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge. From 1601 to 1611 he h ...

, in his "Discours Apologetical", London, 1654, p. 36, styles him a "mirror of nobility". A portrait is in Henry Holland's ''Herωologia''.

References

; Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Harington Of Exton, John Harington, 2nd Baron 1592 births 1614 deaths Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Barons Harington of Exton English MPs 1604–1611 Lord-Lieutenants of Rutland Members of Parliament for Coventry

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...