
Sir Kenelm Digby (11 July 1603 – 11 June 1665) was an English
courtier
A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the offici ...
and diplomat. He was also a highly reputed
natural philosopher, astrologer and known as a leading
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
intellectual and
Blackloist. For his versatility, he is described in
John Pointer's ''Oxoniensis Academia'' (1749) as the "Magazine of all Arts and Sciences, or (as one stiles him) the Ornament of this Nation".
Early life and education
Digby was born at
Gayhurst,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...
, England. He was of
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 c ...
stock, but his family's adherence to
Roman Catholicism coloured his career. His father,
Sir Everard, was executed in 1606 for his part in the
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sought ...
. Kenelm was sufficiently in favour with
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
to be proposed as a member of
Edmund Bolton's projected Royal Academy (with
George Chapman,
Michael Drayton
Michael Drayton (1563 – 23 December 1631) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. He died on 23 December 1631 in London.
Early life
Drayton was born at Hartshill, near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Almost not ...
,
Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
,
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 learne ...
and Sir
Henry Wotton
Sir Henry Wotton (; 30 March 1568 – December 1639) was an English author, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1614 and 1625. When on a mission to Augsburg, in 1604, he famously said, "An ambassador is an honest gentlema ...
). His mother was Mary, daughter of
William Mushlo. His uncle,
John Digby, was the first Earl of Bristol.
He went to
Gloucester Hall, Oxford, in 1618, where he was taught by
Thomas Allen, but left without taking a degree.
[ In time Allen bequeathed to Digby his library, and the latter donated it to the ]Bodleian
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the secon ...
.
He spent three years on the Continent
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...
between 1620 and 1623, where Marie de Medici
Marie de' Medici (french: link=no, Marie de Médicis, it, link=no, Maria de' Medici; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, and Regent of the King ...
fell madly in love with him (as he later recounted). He was granted a Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
M.A. on the King's visit to the university in 1624.
Career
Around 1625, he married Venetia Stanley, whose wooing he cryptically described in his memoirs. He had also become a member of the Privy Council of Charles I of England. Because his Roman Catholicism hindered appointment to government office he converted to Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
.
Digby became a privateer in 1627.[ Sailing his flagship, the ''Eagle'' (later renamed '']Arabella
''Arabella'', Op. 79, is a lyric comedy, or opera, in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration.
Performance history
It was first performed on 1 July 1933 at the D ...
''), he arrived off Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = "Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gibr ...
on 18 January and captured several Spanish and Flemish vessels.[ From 15 February to 27 March he remained at anchor off ]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 ...
due to illness of his men, and extracted a promise from authorities of better treatment of the English ships:[ he persuaded the city governors to free 50 English slaves.] He seized a Dutch vessel near Majorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autono ...
, and after other adventures gained a victory over the French and Venetian ships in the harbour of Iskanderun on 11 June.[ His successes, however, brought upon the English merchants the risk of reprisals, and he was urged to depart. He returned to become a naval administrator][ and later Governor of ]Trinity House
"Three In One"
, formation =
, founding_location = Deptford, London, England
, status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity
, purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons
, h ...
.
His wife Venetia, a noted beauty, died suddenly in 1633, prompting a famous deathbed portrait by Van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh c ...
and a eulogy by Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
. (Digby was later Jonson's literary executor
The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed ...
. Jonson's poem about Venetia is now partially lost, because of the loss of the centre sheet of a leaf of papers which held the only copy.) Digby, stricken with grief and the object of enough suspicion for the Crown to order an autopsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any ...
(rare at the time) on Venetia's body, secluded himself in Gresham College
Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England. It does not enroll students or award degrees. It was founded in 1596 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, and hosts o ...
and attempted to forget his personal woes through scientific experimentation and a return to Catholicism. At Gresham College he held an unofficial post, receiving no payment from the College. Digby, alongside Hungarian chemist Johannes Banfi Hunyades, constructed a laboratory under the lodgings of Gresham Professor of Divinity where the two conducted botanical
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
experiments.
At that period, public servants were often rewarded with patents of monopoly; Digby received the regional monopoly of sealing wax
Sealing wax is a wax material of a seal (emblem), seal which, after melting, hardens quickly (to paper, parchment, ribbons and wire, and other material) forming a bond that is difficult to separate without noticeable tampering. Wax is used to veri ...
in Wales and the Welsh Borders. This was a guaranteed income; more speculative were the monopolies of trade with the Gulf of Guinea and with Canada. These were doubtless more difficult to police.
Marriage and children
Digby married Venetia Stanley in 1625.[
They had six sons:
*Kenelm Jr. (1625–1648), killed at the ]Battle of St Neots
The Battle of St Neots on 10 July 1648 was a skirmish during the Second English Civil War at St Neots in Cambridgeshire. A Royalist force led by the Earl of Holland and Colonel John Dalbier was defeated by 100 veteran troops from the New Model A ...
, 10 July 1648.
*John (1627–?), only son to survive Digby. He married and had two daughters.
*Everard (1629–1629), died in infancy.
*unnamed twins (1632), miscarriage.
*George (–1648), died of illness in school.
In addition, there was a daughter, Margery. Born c. 1625, who married Edward Dudley of Clopton and had at least one child. She is never mentioned by Digby in his writings. She may have been the daughter of Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset and Venetia Stanley prior to her marriage to Sir Kenelm. The Earl of Dorset settled an annuity on her.[ There is some controversy and confusion about whether or not Venetia had affairs with both the third and fourth Earls of Dorset and, consequently, which Earl was the father of Margery.]
Catholicism and Civil War
Digby became a Catholic once more in 1635. He went into voluntary exile in Paris, where he spent most of his time until 1660. There he met both Marin Mersenne
Marin Mersenne, OM (also known as Marinus Mersennus or ''le Père'' Mersenne; ; 8 September 1588 – 1 September 1648) was a French polymath whose works touched a wide variety of fields. He is perhaps best known today among mathematicians for ...
and Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book '' Leviathan'', in which he expounds an infl ...
.
Returning to support Charles I in his struggle to establish episcopacy in Scotland (the Bishops' Wars
The 1639 and 1640 Bishops' Wars () were the first of the conflicts known collectively as the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which took place in Scotland, England and Ireland. Others include the Irish Confederate Wars, the First an ...
), he found himself increasingly unpopular with the growing Puritan party. He left England for France again in 1641. Following an incident in which he killed a French nobleman, Mont le Ros, in a duel, he returned to England via Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Dutch language, Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, in ...
in 1642, and was jailed by 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. ...
. He was eventually released at the intervention of Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 un ...
, and went back again to France. He remained there during the remainder of the period of the English Civil War. Parliament declared his property in England forfeit.
Queen Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She w ...
had fled England in 1644, and he became her Chancellor. He was then engaged in unsuccessful attempts to solicit support for the English monarchy from Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in Janua ...
. His son, also called Kenelm, was killed at the Battle of St Neots
The Battle of St Neots on 10 July 1648 was a skirmish during the Second English Civil War at St Neots in Cambridgeshire. A Royalist force led by the Earl of Holland and Colonel John Dalbier was defeated by 100 veteran troops from the New Model A ...
, 1648. Following the establishment of the Protectorate
The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, refers to the period from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659 during which England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and associated territories were joined together in the ...
under Oliver Cromwell, who believed in freedom of conscience, Digby was received by the government as a sort of unofficial representative of English Roman Catholics, and was sent in 1655 on a mission to the Papacy
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 ...
to try to reach an understanding. This again proved unsuccessful.
At the Restoration, Digby found himself in favour with the new regime due to his ties with Henrietta Maria, the Queen Mother. However, he was often in trouble with Charles II, and was once even banished from Court. Nonetheless, he was generally highly regarded until his death, a month before his 62nd birthday, from "the stone", likely caused by kidney stones
Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the body in the urin ...
. He was buried in his wife's tomb (which was damaged in the great fire of 1666
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past t ...
), in Christ Church, Newgate Street, London.
Character and works
Digby published a work of apologetics
Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics an ...
in 1638, ''A Conference with a Lady about choice of a Religion''.[ In it he argued that the Catholic Church, possessing alone the qualifications of universality, unity of doctrine and uninterrupted ]apostolic succession
Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bisho ...
, is the only true church, and that the intrusion of error into it is impossible.[
Digby was regarded as an eccentric by contemporaries, partly because of his effusive personality, and partly because of his interests in scientific matters. ]Henry Stubbe
Henry Stubbe or Stubbes (1632–12 July, 1676) was an English Royal physician, Latinist, Historian, Dissident, Writer and Scholar.
Life
He was born in Partney, Lincolnshire, and educated at Westminster School. Given patronage as a child by the ...
called him "the very Pliny of our age for lying". He lived in a time when scientific enquiry had not settled down in any disciplined way. He spent enormous time and effort in the pursuits of astrology
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...
, and alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim worl ...
which he studied in the 1630s with Van Dyck.[ Richard Westfall. ''Science and Religion in Seventeenth-Century England'' (1973), p. 16.]
Notable among his pursuits was the concept of the powder of sympathy. This was a kind of sympathetic magic
Sympathetic magic, also known as imitative magic, is a type of magic based on imitation or correspondence.
Similarity and contagion
James George Frazer coined the term "sympathetic magic" in ''The Golden Bough'' (1889); Richard Andree, however ...
; one manufactured a powder using appropriate astrological techniques, and daubed it, not on the injured part, but on whatever had caused the injury. His book on this mythical salve went through 29 editions. Synchronising the effects of the powder, which allegedly caused a noticeable effect on the patient when applied, was actually suggested in 1687 as a means of solving the longitude problem.
In 1644 he published together two major philosophical treatises, ''The Nature of Bodies'' and ''On the Immortality of Reasonable Souls''.[ The latter was translated into Latin in 1661 by John Leyburn. These ''Two Treatises'' were his major natural-philosophical works, and showed a combination of ]Aristotelianism
Aristotelianism ( ) is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by deductive logic and an analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics. It covers the treatment of the soci ...
and atomism
Atomism (from Greek , ''atomon'', i.e. "uncuttable, indivisible") is a natural philosophy proposing that the physical universe is composed of fundamental indivisible components known as atoms.
References to the concept of atomism and its atoms a ...
.[ Andrew Pyle (editor), ''Dictionary of Seventeenth-Century British Philosophers'' (2000), article ''Digby, Kenelm'', pp. 258–261.]
He was in touch with the leading intellectuals of the time, and was highly regarded by them; he was a founding member of the Royal Society[ and a member of its governing council from 1662 to 1663. His correspondence with ]Fermat
Pierre de Fermat (; between 31 October and 6 December 1607 – 12 January 1665) was a French mathematician who is given credit for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus, including his technique of adequality. In particular, he ...
contains the only extant mathematical proof by Fermat, a demonstration, using his method of descent, that the area of a Pythagorean triangle cannot be a square. His ''Discourse Concerning the Vegetation of Plants'' (1661) proved controversial among the Royal Society's members. It was published in French in 1667. Digby is credited with being the first person to note the importance of "vital air", or oxygen, to the sustenance of plants. He also came up with a crude theory of photosynthesis.
Digby is known for the publication of a cookbook
A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes.
Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food.
Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cou ...
, '' The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie Kt. Opened,''[ but it was actually published by a close servant, from his notes, in 1669, several years after his death. It is currently considered an excellent source of period recipes, particularly for beverages such as mead. He tried out many of his recipes on his wife, Venetia, one of which was ]capon
A capon (from la, cāpō, genitive ''cāpōnis'') is a cockerel ( rooster) that has been castrated or neutered, either physically or chemically, to improve the quality of its flesh for food, and, in some countries like Spain, fattened by f ...
s fed on the flesh of viper
The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs ...
s.
Digby is also considered the father of the modern wine bottle. During the 1630s, Digby owned a glassworks and manufactured glass onions, which were globular in shape with a high, tapered neck, a collar, and a punt. His manufacturing technique involved a coal furnace, made hotter than usual by the inclusion of a wind tunnel, and a higher ratio of sand to potash
Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. and lime than was customary. Digby's technique produced wine bottles which were stronger and more stable than most of their day, and which due to their translucent green or brown color protected the contents from light. During his exile and prison term, others claimed his technique as their own, but in 1662 Parliament recognised his claim to the invention as valid.
In fiction
Digby and his wife are the subjects of the 2014 literary novel ''Viper Wine'' by Hermione Eyre.[London: Jonathan Cape.
]
He is mentioned in Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion.
He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that ...
's novel ''The Scarlet Letter
''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, ...
''. In the chapter titled "The Leech", the narrator describes the antagonist, Chillingworth, as having an impressive knowledge of medicine, remarking that Chillingworth claims to have been a colleague of Digby "and other famous men" in the study of natural philosophy. Digby's "scientific attainments" are called "hardly less than supernatural".
Digby also appears in Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of the ...
's novel "The Island of the Day Before
''The Island of the Day Before'' ( it, L'isola del giorno prima) is a 1994 historical fiction novel by Umberto Eco set in the 17th century during the historical search for the secret of longitude. The central character is Roberto della Griva, an ...
" as "Mr. d'Igby". He explains the principle of his sympathetic powder (unguentum armarium) to the main character.
See also
* Digby Mythographer
* '' The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie Kt. Opened'' – a 1669 cookery book supposedly based on Digby's writings
References
Further reading
* Bligh, E. W. ''Sir Kenelm Digby and his Venetia'', London: S. Low, Marston, 1932
* Fulton, John Farquhar. ''Sir Kenelm Digby: Writer, Bibliophile and Protagonist of William Harvey'', New York: Oliver, 1937
* Longueville, Thomas
''The Life of Sir Kenelm Digby''
Longmans, Green, and Co., 1896
* Peterson, Robert T. ''Sir Kenelm Digby, the Ornament of England, 1603–1665'', Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1956.
External links
*
*
* ttp://www.smith.edu/libraries/libs/rarebook/collections.htm Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College *
*A short extract from one of Digby's books on alchemy
* ''Medicina experimentalis Digbaeana, das ist: Außerlesene und bewährte Artzeney-Mittel : auß weiland Herrn Grafen Digby ... Manuscriptis zusammen gebracht; übers. und an Tag gegeben'' . Bd. 1–2 . Zubrodt, Franckfurt Nunmehro ... übersehen und ... verm. 167
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf
The University and State Library Düsseldorf (german: Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf, abbreviated ULB Düsseldorf) is a central service institution of Heinrich Heine University. Along with Bonn and Münster, it is also one of t ...
SIR KENELM DIGBY 1603-1665, Resources and References by John Sutton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Digby, Kenelm
1603 births
1665 deaths
17th-century alchemists
17th-century astrologers
17th-century philosophers
Alumni of Gloucester Hall, Oxford
Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism
Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism
English alchemists
English astrologers
English Roman Catholics
Knights Bachelor
Original Fellows of the Royal Society
People from the Borough of Milton Keynes
English duellists