Pasquill ("the renowned Cavaliero") is the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

adopted by a defender of the

Anglican 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 ...

hierarchy in an English political and theological controversy of the 1580s known as the " Marprelate controversy" after "

Martin Marprelate Martin Marprelate (sometimes printed as Martin Mar-prelate and Marre–Martin) was the name used by the anonymous author or authors of the seven Marprelate tracts that circulated illegally in England in the years 1588 and 1589. Their principal f ...

", the ''

nom de plume A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

'' of a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

critic of the Anglican establishment. The names of Pasquill and his friend "Marforius", with whom he has a dialogue in the second of the tracts issued in his name, are derived from those of "

Pasquino Pasquino or Pasquin (Latin: ''Pasquillus'') is the name used by Romans since the early modern period to describe a battered Hellenistic-style statue perhaps dating to the third century BC, which was unearthed in the Parione district of Rome i ...

" (in Latin ''Pasquillus'') and "

Marforio Marphurius or Marforio ( it, Marforio; Medieval la, Marphurius, ) is one of the talking statues of Rome. Marforio maintained a friendly rivalry with his most prominent rival, Pasquin. As at the other five "talking statues", pasquinades—irreveren ...

", the two most famous of the

talking statues of Rome The talking statues of Rome ( it, statue parlanti di Roma) or the Congregation of Wits () provided an outlet for a form of anonymous political expression in Rome. Criticisms in the form of poems or witticisms were posted on well-known statues in ...

, where from the early 16th century on it was customary to paste up anonymous notes or verses commenting on current affairs and scandals.

Tracts

Three tracts critical of Martin Marprelate were issued under the name of Pasquill in 1589 and 1590: *''A Countercuffe Given to Martin Junior'' (1600 words), dated Aug 6 or 8, 1589 "from Gravesend Barge" – a customary point of departure from London to the Continent or Mediterranean *''The Return of Pasquill'' (otherwise ''Pasquill and Marforius'') (9600 words) with a postscript "from

London Stone London Stone is a historic landmark housed at 111 Cannon Street in the City of London. It is an irregular block of oolitic limestone measuring 53 × 43 × 30 cm (21 × 17 × 12"), the remnant of a once much larger object that had stood f ...

" dated Oct 20, 1589 *''The First Part of Pasquill's Apology'' (8300 words), dated July 2, 1590

Attribution

The three tracts were attributed to

Thomas Nashe Thomas Nashe (baptised November 1567 – c. 1601; also Nash) was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel ''The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including ''Pierce Penniless,'' a ...

. However, Ronald McKerrow, the leading Nashe scholar of the early 20th century, in 1910 expressed strong doubts about the attribution. Although he included the tracts in his definitive ''Works of Thomas Nashe'', he conceded not only that "external evidence of Nashe's authorship...is of the vaguest" but that "against the attribution, there is internal evidence which seems to me to be of far more weight than the external evidence for it." Another possible author is

Anthony Munday Anthony Munday (or Monday) (1560?10 August 1633) was an English playwright and miscellaneous writer. He was baptized on 13 October 1560 in St Gregory by St Paul's, London, and was the son of Christopher Munday, a stationer, and Jane Munday. He ...

, who, like Nashe, was apparently active as an anti-Martinist agent. This attribution has not received widespread support.

References

External links

Transcript of "Countercuffe"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasquill, Cavaliero Anglicanism 16th-century pseudonymous writers Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown Year of death unknown Place of death unknown 16th-century English writers 16th-century male writers English religious writers

Tracts

Attribution

See also

References

Further reading

External links