Henry Peacham (born 1578) on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Henry Peacham (born 1578, d. in or after 1644) was an English poet and writer, known today primarily for his book, ''The Compleat Gentleman'', first printed in 1622.
Henry Peacham (born 1578, d. in or after 1644) was an English poet and writer, known today primarily for his book, ''The Compleat Gentleman'', first printed in 1622.
Biography
Son of Henry Peacham the Elder, a clergyman, Peacham was a graduate ofTrinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
. In 1603, at the age of twenty-five the younger Peacham was a schoolmaster
The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled afte ...
at Kimbolton Grammar School. In 1612 he published a book of printed emblems called ''Minerva Britanna'', based on a manuscript which is believed to have been presented to 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 Stua ...
, in 1610.Elizabeth Hageman, Katherine Conway, ''Resurrecting Elizabeth I in Seventeenth-century England'' (2007), p. 73
Peacham's ''The Compleat Gentleman'' is presented as a guidebook on the arts for young men of good birth. In it, he discusses what writers, poets, composers, philosophers, and artists gentlemen
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 r ...
should study in order to become well-educated. Because he mentions a large number of contemporary artistic figures, he is often cited as a primary source in studies of Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
artists.
A representative passage from ''The Compleat Gentleman'':
:"For composition
Composition or Compositions may refer to:
Arts and literature
*Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography
*Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...
, I prefer next Ludovico de Victoria, a most judicious and a sweet composer: after him Orlando di Lasso
Orlande de Lassus ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Pale ...
, a very rare and excellent Author, who lived some forty years since in the court of the Duke of Bavier."
Notes
References
*Further reading
* Edward Chaney, ''The Evolution of English Collecting'' (New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2003) * * *Alan R. Young, ''Henry Peacham'', Boston: Twayne, 1979. 1578 births Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English writers English male writers 1644 deaths {{england-writer-stub