Thomas Allen (or Alleyn) (21 December 154230 September 1632) was an English mathematician and
astrologer
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 ...
. Highly reputed in his lifetime, he published little, but was an active private teacher of mathematics. He was also well connected in the English intellectual networks of the period.
Early life
He was born in
Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town in the East Staffordshire district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border. It is situated from Burton upon Trent, from Stafford, from Stoke-on-Trent, from De ...
, Staffordshire. He was admitted scholar of
Trinity College, Oxford
(That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody)
, named_for = The Holy Trinity
, established =
, sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge
, president = Dame Hilary Boulding
, location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH
, coordinates ...
, in 1561; and graduated as M.A. in 1567. In 1571 he left his college and fellowship, and moved to
Gloucester Hall
Gloucester College, Oxford, was a Benedictine institution of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, from the late 13th century until the Dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. It was never a typical college of the Universit ...
.
[ He became known for his knowledge of antiquity, philosophy, and mathematics.]
At Gloucester Hall
Gloucester Hall suited Allen, a sympathiser at least with Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, because there was no stringent religious observance required there; indeed there was no chapel in the Hall. Allen's beliefs have been classified as "church papist", but also his posture as "crypto-Catholic": a Catholic faith combined with outward conformity to the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
. He joined there his friends Edmund Reynolds, Miles Windsor, and George Napper
George Napper (Napier) (born at Holywell manor, Oxford, 1550; executed at Oxford 9 November 1610) was an English Roman Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929 by Pope Pius XI.
Life
George Napper was a son of Edward Napper (d ...
, who had also left their colleges at a time of increasing religious tensions on Oxford; Napper was to be a Catholic martyr. Trinity shed six more of its Fellows within a few years.
Allen encouraged other scholars to migrate there, such as John Budden
John Budden (1566–1620) was an English jurist, Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford, and Principal of Broadgates Hall.
Life
He was the son of John Budden of Canford, Dorset—his birthplace. He entered Merton College, Oxford, in Michaelmas ...
and William Burton. He had a wide range of pupils and followers: Kenelm Digby
Sir Kenelm Digby (11 July 1603 – 11 June 1665) was an English courtier and diplomat. He was also a highly reputed natural philosopher, astrologer and known as a leading Roman Catholic intellectual and Blackloist. For his versatility, he is d ...
[ and ]Brian Twyne
Brian Twyne (c. 25 July 1581 – 4 July 1644) was an antiquary and an academic at the University of Oxford. After being educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and becoming a Fellow of the college in 1606, he published his one main work, a ...
in natural philosophy
Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior throu ...
, with Theodore Haak
Theodore Haak (1605 in – 1690 in London) was a German Calvinist scholar, resident in England in later life. Haak's communications abilities and interests in the new science provided the backdrop for convening the "1645 Group", a precursor of t ...
coming later. The mathematical school of Allen included Thomas Harriot
Thomas Harriot (; – 2 July 1621), also spelled Harriott, Hariot or Heriot, was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator to whom the theory of refraction is attributed. Thomas Harriot was also recognized for his cont ...
and Walter Warner
Walter Warner (1563–1643) was an English mathematician and scientist.
Life
He was born in Leicestershire and educated at Merton College, Oxford, graduating B.A. in 1578. Andrew Pyle (editor), ''Dictionary of Seventeenth Century British Phi ...
, and Sir John Davies
Sir John Davies (16 April 1569 (baptised)8 December 1626) was an English poet, lawyer, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1621. He became Attorney General for Ireland and formulated many of the legal ...
(to whom Allen taught Catholic doctrine).
Mathematical geography was an important topical subject in which Allen was reputed, pursued by several groups in England, including another around Henry Briggs Henry Briggs may refer to:
*Henry Briggs (mathematician) (1561–1630), English mathematician
*Henry Perronet Briggs (1793–1844), English painter
*Henry George Briggs (1824–1872), English merchant, traveller, and orientalist
*Henry Shaw Briggs ...
: Allen may have taught the geographer Richard Hakluyt
Richard Hakluyt (; 1553 – 23 November 1616) was an English writer. He is known for promoting the English colonization of North America through his works, notably ''Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America'' (1582) and ''The Pri ...
. He did teach Robert Fludd
Robert Fludd, also known as Robertus de Fluctibus (17 January 1574 – 8 September 1637), was a prominent English Paracelsian physician with both scientific and occult interests. He is remembered as an astrologer, mathematician, cosmologis ...
and Sir Thomas Aylesbury. In the humanities there were Robert Hegge
Robert Hegge (1599–1629) was an English academic and antiquary.
Life
Born at Durham in 1599, he was the son of Stephen Hegge, notary public there, by Anne, daughter of Robert Swyft, LL.D., prebendary of Durham.
On 7 November 1614, he was admi ...
, and William Fulbecke
William Fullbecke (1560–1603?) was an English playwright, historian, lawyer and legal scholar, who did pioneering work in international law. He described himself as "maister of Artes, and student of the lawes of England."
Life
He was a younger ...
. When the Camden Chair of Ancient History was being set up in the early 1620s, Allen successfully supported the candidacy of Degory Wheare
Degory Wheare, also spelt Digory Whear (the first name can be Latinized as Degoreus or Digoreus) (1573 – 1 August 1647) was an historian, the first Camden Professor of Ancient History in the University of Oxford.
Life
He was born in Jacob ...
with William Camden
William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and the ''Annal ...
; and a few years later, in 1626, Wheare came to Gloucester Hall as Principal.
Allen died at Gloucester Hall.
Other associations
Allen corresponded with Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, KG (27 April 1564 – 5 November 1632) was an English nobleman. He was a grandee and one of the wealthiest peers of the court of Elizabeth I. Under James I, Northumberland was a long-term prisoner i ...
. Northumberland invited Allen to visit, and he spent some time with the Syon House
Syon House is the west London residence of the Duke of Northumberland. A Grade I listed building, it lies within the 200-acre (80 hectare) Syon Park, in the London Borough of Hounslow.
The family's traditional central London residence had be ...
group around the Earl; he became acquainted with Thomas Harriot
Thomas Harriot (; – 2 July 1621), also spelled Harriott, Hariot or Heriot, was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator to whom the theory of refraction is attributed. Thomas Harriot was also recognized for his cont ...
, John Dee
John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, teacher, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divinatio ...
, and other mathematicians. He also knew well Sir Robert Cotton, William Camden
William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and the ''Annal ...
, and their antiquarian associates. He pointed out the historian Æthelweard (Fabius Quaestor) to Camden.
Astrologer
Allen was noted as astrologer to Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years.
Dudley's youth was ov ...
, as Dee was for Queen Elizabeth. Foster believes Allen probably met Leicester through Lady Paulet, wife of Hugh Paulet
Sir Hugh Paulet (bef. 1510 – 6 December 1573) (or Poulet, his spelling) of Hinton St George in Somerset, was an English military commander and Governor of Jersey.
Origins
Born after 1500, he was the eldest son of Sir Amias Paulet of Hinton St ...
, née Elizabeth Blount, who was the widow of Sir Thomas Pope
Sir Thomas Pope (c. 150729 January 1559), was a prominent public servant in mid-16th-century England, a Member of Parliament, a wealthy landowner, and the founder of Trinity College, Oxford.
Early life
Pope was born at Deddington, near Ban ...
, the founder of Trinity College, Oxford.
There is a surviving 62-page horoscope
A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...
cast for the teenage Philip Sidney
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philip ...
in the Ashmole manuscripts in the Bodleian Library
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 second- ...
, in the period 1570–2 when he was studying at Oxford, where Leicester was Chancellor, and it has been attributed to Allen; the case has also been made that it was by Dee. A link between the two is that Edward Kelley
Sir Edward Kelley or Kelly, also known as Edward Talbot (; 1 August 1555 – 1597/8), was an English people, English Renaissance magic, Renaissance occultist and scryer. He is best known for working with John Dee (mathematician), John Dee in hi ...
is said to have worked briefly for Allen. Allen definitely cast a natal horoscope for Robert Pierrepont (1584), and cast also for William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (8 April 158010 April 1630) , of Wilton House in Wiltshire, was an English nobleman, politician and courtier. He served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford and together with King James I founded Pem ...
, a later Chancellor of Oxford, in 1626.
Reputation
Allen's skill in mathematics and astrology earned him the credit of being a magician. In an incident related in John Aubrey
John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the ''Brief Lives'', his collection of short biographical pieces. He was a pioneer archaeologist, ...
's ''Brief Lives
''Brief Lives'' is a collection of short biographies written by John Aubrey (1626–1697) in the last decades of the 17th century.
Writing
Aubrey initially began collecting biographical material to assist the Oxford scholar Anthony Wood, who ...
'', it was in a visit to Holme Lacy
Holme Lacy is a village in the English county of Herefordshire. The population of the civil parish was 466 at the 2011 Census.
Category
It is a primarily rural village.
Etymology
Holme Lacy is not from Old Norse ''holmr'' "island" like other pla ...
as the guest of Sir John Scudamore that the servants threw his ticking watch into the moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
, thinking it the Devil. The author of ''Leicester's Commonwealth
''Leicester's Commonwealth'' (originally titled ') (1584) is a scurrilous book that circulated in Elizabethan England and attacked Queen Elizabeth I's favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. The work was read as Roman Catholic propaganda agai ...
'' accuses him of employing the art of "figuring" to further the earl of Leicester's unlawful designs, and of endeavouring by the "black art" to bring about a match between his patron and the Queen. There Allen's name is coupled with Dee's as atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
s, in a series of claims that Leicester found physicians and other lackeys for his evil-doing at Oxford and elsewhere.
After his death, funeral orations praising Allen were given by William Burton and George Bathurst (1610–1644). Burton's retailed the story of how Leicester had offered a bishopric to Allen, who declined the offer. Allen in fact was, by choice, not in holy orders.
Works
He wrote a Latin commentary on the second and third books of Claudius Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
of Pelusium
Pelusium ( Ancient Egyptian: ; cop, /, romanized: , or , romanized: ; grc, Πηλουσιον, Pēlousion; la, Pēlūsium; Arabic: ; Egyptian Arabic: ) was an important city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to ...
, ''Concerning the Judgment of the Stars'', or, as it is commonly called, ''Of the Quadripartite Construction, with an Exposition''. He also wrote notes on John Bale
John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed ...
's ''De Scriptoribus M. Britanniae''.
Library and legacy
Allen collected manuscripts relating to history, antiquity, astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
and astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, 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 o ...
, philosophy, and mathematics. At least 250 items from his library can still be traced.[ He also acquired manuscripts from dissolved monasteries, such as ]Reading Abbey
Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, m ...
, for which his sources may have been Gerbrand Harkes
Gerbrand Harkes (also Garbrand Herks, Harks, Harcks, etc.) (fl. 1538–1593) was a Dutch Protestant who became a bookseller and dealer in manuscripts in England.
Life
Harks was born around 1510 in the Low Countries. He was an early convert to Calv ...
, the Protestant dealer, and Clement Burdett. While in Allen's possession, most of his manuscripts were unbound or had simple covers.
A considerable part of Allen's collection was presented to the Bodleian Library
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 second- ...
by Sir Kenelm Digby, to whom it had been left: over 200 manuscripts, which were rebound in calf. This bequest was strong in works by early English scientists, including Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon (; la, Rogerus or ', also '' Rogerus''; ), also known by the scholastic accolade ''Doctor Mirabilis'', was a medieval English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empiri ...
, Simon Bredon
Simon Bredon ( 1300 – 1372) was an English astronomer, mathematician, and physician and priest. He was a member of the Merton School, Oxford, elected a Fellow of Merton c. 1330, perhaps until the year 1342, having formerly been a member of Ba ...
, John Eschenden, Robert Grosseteste
Robert Grosseteste, ', ', or ') or the gallicised Robert Grosstête ( ; la, Robertus Grossetesta or '). Also known as Robert of Lincoln ( la, Robertus Lincolniensis, ', &c.) or Rupert of Lincoln ( la, Rubertus Lincolniensis, &c.). ( ; la, Rob ...
, John Sharp, and Richard Wallingford. But Allen's library was in flux during his lifetime, as he lent or gave items, and was consulted by others. He was a significant supporter of Sir Thomas Bodley
Sir Thomas Bodley (2 March 1545 – 28 January 1613) was an English diplomat and scholar who founded the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
Origins
Thomas Bodley was born on 2 March 1545, in the second-to-last year of the reign of King Henry VIII, ...
's effort to found the Library; and gave it a number of works. Some went to the Cottonian Library
The Cotton or Cottonian library is a collection of manuscripts once owned by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton MP (1571–1631), an antiquarian and bibliophile. It later became the basis of what is now the British Library, which still holds the collection. ...
, presumably via Richard James. Sir Thomas Aylesbury, another former pupil, was another one of Allen's major legatees. The Cuthbert Gospel of St John, seen in his library by James Ussher
James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ident ...
, appears to have left his possession by 1622, as it is not in a catalogue of that date. Ussher wrote to Camden in 1606 of the help he had had from Allen's collection, consulting William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a ...
, and a papal bull from Giraldus Cambrensis
Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taugh ...
via Johannes Rossus.Charles Richard Elrington
Charles Richard Elrington (1787–1850) was a Church of Ireland cleric and academic, regius professor of divinity in the Trinity College Dublin.
Life
The elder son of Thomas Elrington, Bishop of Ferns and Leighlin and Charlotte Preston, h ...
''The Whole Works of the Most. Rev. James Ussher D.D.'' vol. 15 (1864), pp. 5–18
archive.org
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Thomas
English astrologers
16th-century astrologers
17th-century astrologers
16th-century English mathematicians
17th-century English mathematicians
1542 births
1632 deaths
People of the Elizabethan era
Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford
People from Uttoxeter