Sir Thomas Posthumus Hoby (1566 – 30 December 1640), also spelt Hobie, Hobbie and Hobby, Posthumous and Postumus, was an

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 ...

gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

and politician who sat in 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. ...

at various times between 1589 and 1629. 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 ...

, he has been claimed as the inspiration for

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's character

Malvolio Malvolio is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's comedy ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will''. His name means "ill will" in Italian, referencing his disagreeable nature. He is the vain, pompous, authoritarian steward of Olivia's househo ...

in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

''.J. L. Simmons, "A Source for Shakespeare's Malvolio: The Elizabethan Controversy with the Puritans", ''Huntington Library Quarterly'', vol. 36 (May 1973), pp. 181–201.

Life

Hoby was the younger son of Sir Thomas Hoby (1530–1566), the English Ambassador to France in 1557, by his wife, Elizabeth Cooke. Elizabeth was one of the daughters of the

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

Sir Anthony Cooke Sir Anthony Cooke (1504 – 11 June 1576) was an English people, English Renaissance humanism, humanist scholar. He was tutor to Edward VI of England, Edward VI. Family Anthony Cooke was the only son of John Cooke (died 10 October 1516), esqui ...

(1504–1576). Hoby was born after his father's death, which led to his gaining the additional name Posthumus.The Ghost of Lady Hoby
at britannia.com, accessed 17 March 2011 His sisters Elizabeth and Anne died within a few days of each other in February 1571. His elder brother was the diplomat and scholar Sir Edward Hoby (1560–1617). Hoby was also a nephew of Sir Philip Hoby,

Master-General of the Ordnance The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was ...

and an English ambassador to the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. Hoby was a very small boy and grew up to be nicknamed "the little knight" for his slightness and short stature.John William Walker, ed., ''Hackness Manuscripts and Accounts'' (Yorkshire Archaeological Society Record series: Volume 95, 1938), p. 5 He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and at

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 ...

, matriculating in 1574 at the age of eight. Also in 1574, some years after his father's death, Hoby's mother married John, Lord Russell, the eldest surviving son of the

Earl of Bedford Earl of Bedford is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England and is currently a subsidiary title of the Dukes of Bedford. The first creation came in 1138 in favour of Hugh de Beaumont. He appears to have been degraded fr ...

, and with him had three further children, Elizabeth, Anne and Francis. She was the sister-in-law of

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...

, Queen Elizabeth's Secretary of State, and Hoby was himself a first cousin of

Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612), was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart period, Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury s ...

, who succeeded his father as the Queen's principal minister. As his mother pursued favours for herself and her friends, Hoby became a protégé of Burghley. Among his many other first cousins were the philosopher and statesman

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

and the spy Anthony Bacon. In 1589 Hoby was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Appleby. He was re-elected MP for Appleby in 1593. History of Parliament Online - Hoby, Thomas Posthumous
/ref> In 1595, Hoby married Margaret Sidney (1571–1633), daughter and heiress of Arthur Dakins, a landed gentleman of Linton, already the widow of two men, of Walter Devereux, a younger brother of the

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

, and of Thomas Sidney, a brother of the poet

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 ...

. Hoby had been an unsuccessful suitor four years earlier, after Margaret had lost her first husband. They set up home at

Hackness Hackness is a village and civil parish in the Scarborough district of the county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies within the North York Moors National Park. The parish population rose from 125 in the 2001 UK census to 221 in the 2011 UK cens ...

, Yorkshire, but had no children. Margaret Hoby is notable as a diarist. In 1597 Hoby was elected MP for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, but was declared ineligible at Yorkshire. He was elected MP for Scarborough again in 1604. In 1614 he was elected MP for

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

and was re-elected MP for Ripon in 1621, 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1628. He was

Custos Rotulorum of the North Riding of Yorkshire This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of the North Riding of Yorkshire. * Sir Leonard Beckwith bef. 1544 – aft. 1547 * Sir Henry Gates bef. 1562–1589 * John Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope 1545–1621 * Sir ...

from 1621 to 1626.A. J. Fletcher,
Honour, Reputation, and Local Officeholding in Elizabethan and Stuart England
' online at ebooks.cambridge.org, accessed 17 March 2011 A

, in 1600 Hoby took legal action against

William Eure, 4th Baron Eure William Eure, 4th Baron Eure ( – 28 June 1646) was an English nobleman. Early life Eure was born around 1579. He was the only son of Ralph Eure, 3rd Baron Eure of Ingleby and Malton and, his first wife, the former Mary Dawnay. After his ...

(1579–1646) and several of his other neighbours, alleging that they had entered his house, taken drink, played cards, ridiculed Puritanism, and threatened to ravish his wife. In 1609 he alleged in the

Star Chamber The Star Chamber (Latin: ''Camera stellata'') was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judic ...

that Sir Richard Cholmley had twice spoken contemptuously to him in the hope of provoking a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

. One historian of the period has described Hoby as "that most overbearing, touchy, and resentful of Yorkshire

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

". It has been suggested that the character of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

'' is based on Hoby and that his legal action of 1600 inspired Scene III of Act 2 of ''Twelfth Night'', in which Malvolio is disturbed by drunken merry-making. As a magistrate, Hoby has been described as "exceptionally conscientious". On his mother's death in 1609 Hoby inherited from her "all my

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

s of the manor of Gyfford in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

", and in 1617 he inherited the estates of his brother, Sir Edward.

Death and memorials

Hoby died on 30 December 1640 and was entombed with the remains of his wife in the Hackness

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. By a will dated 28 March 1640, he left his manor of Hackness to

John Sydenham John Sydenham (born 15 September 1939) is an English former footballer who played as a striker, spending most of his career with Southampton. Early career Born in Southampton, John was educated at St. Mary's College, Southampton and, at 13, ...

of Brympton in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, the son of his first cousin Alice Hoby, daughter of Sir William Hoby of Hayles, who was Hoby's uncle. He made further bequests to other members of the Sydenham family, and he also left each of his servants three years' wages. A memorial to him was erected in the church at Hackness in 1682 by Sir John Posthumous Sydenham (1643–1696), the son of Hoby's principal heir and a

knight of the shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

for

. There is an even more impressive memorial to him in All Saints' Church, Bisham, where a painted statue of Hoby is among a family group on his mother's monument in the Hoby chapel. Although Hoby had no children, his brother Edward's natural son Peregrine Hoby (1602–1679) was the father of Sir Edward Hoby, 1st Baronet (1634–1675), whose baronetcy continued until the fifth Baronet died in 1766. at leighrayment.com, accessed 17 March 2011

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoby, Thomas Posthumus 1566 births 1640 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford People educated at Eton College 16th-century Puritans 17th-century English Puritans People from Hackness People from Ripon Knights Bachelor English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629