Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet PC (June 1608 – 16 June 1666) was an English

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

. He was a

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

from 1661 to 1666. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

he supported the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

cause and served

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

in battle and in exile.

Early life

Fanshawe was the fourth and youngest son of Sir Henry Fanshawe, of Ware Park,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

and his wife Elizabeth Smythe, daughter of

Thomas Smythe Sir Thomas Smythe (or Smith, c. 1558 – 4 September 1625) was an English merchant, politician and colonial administrator. He was the first governor of the East India Company and treasurer of the Virginia Company from 1609 to 1620 until envelo ...

, of Ostenhanger Kent and was baptised at Ware on 12 June 1608. His father, who was Remembrancer of the Exchequer, died in 1616.George Edward Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage, Volume III, 1649-1664'' 1902
/ref> Fanshawe was admitted at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

in November 1623 and was admitted to

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

on 22 January 1626. He travelled on

the Continent Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland 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 so ...

, and in 1635 was Secretary to the Embassy at the Court of Spain. In 1638, he was Chargé d'Affaires there. He was an accomplished linguist, whose knowledge of "modern languages" like Spanish and Italian is said to have been a great advantage to him in his diplomatic career.

Civil War

When the Civil War broke out, Fanshawe sided with the King. He was Secretary of War to the Prince of Wales in 1644 and in 1648 had credentials for Spain, where he was sent to obtain money for the cause. From 1648 to 1650, he was Treasurer of the Navy under

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 2 September 1650, and soon afterwards was Secretary of State in Scotland to the young King Charles II. He was captured at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

on 3 September 1651. He was knighted at

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

in April 1660, and made Latin Secretary and Master of Requests for King Charles when in

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

Restored monarchy

After the Restoration Fanshawe held various appointments. He represented

James, Duke of York James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

at the Coronation on 23 April 1661. In 1661 he was elected Member of Parliament for

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

for the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

and sat until his death. History of Parliament Online – Fanshawe, Sir Richard
/ref> From 1662 to 1666, he was Ambassador to Portugal and from 1664 to 1666 was also ambassador to Spain. In 1666 Fanshawe was making preparations to return to England when he died suddenly at ''Siete Chimeneas'', his house in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

at the age of 58.

Memorials

His body was returned to England from Spain. He was initially buried at Allhallows,

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...

, and a few years later removed to

St Mary's Church, Ware St Mary's Church is a grade I listed parish church in Ware, Hertfordshire, England. History There has been a church on the site since the Norman Conquest. The Domesday Book mentions the presence of a priest at Ware, and the existence of a church ...

, where there is a monument (a marble

aedicule In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (: ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ''O ...

). A portrait of Richard Fanshawe is on display with other portraits of the family at

Valence House Museum Valence House Museum is the only surviving of the five manor houses of Dagenham. The timber-framed museum building, partially surrounded by a moat, is situated in Valence Park off Becontree Avenue, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, L ...

in east London.

Works

Fanshawe translated

Giovanni Battista Guarini Giovanni Battista Guarini (10 December 1538 – 7 October 1612) was an Italian poet, dramatist, and diplomat. Courtier at Ferrara, diplomat and secretary to several ruling families, he served also at Florence and Urbino. He is best known as the a ...

's ''

Il pastor fido ''Il pastor fido'' (''The Faithfull Shepherd'' in Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet, Richard Fanshawe's 1647 English translation) is a pastoral tragicomedy set in Arcadia (utopia), Arcadia by Giovanni Battista Guarini, first published in 1590 ...

'', '' Selected Parts of Horace'', and '' The Lusiad'' of Camoens, the first English translation of the latter work (circulated from 1655 or earlier).

Family

Fanshawe married at Wolvercot, Oxfordshire on 18 May 1644, his second cousin Anne Harrison daughter of Sir John Harrison, of Ball's Park, Ware and Margaret Fanshawe, daughter of Robert Fanshawe of Fanshawe Gate in Holmesfield, Derbyshire. His wife, described as "devoted and able", wrote

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

s of her own life. They had fourteen children, but only five reached adulthood. The baronetcy became extinct on the death of their son Richard. His brother

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

was created Viscount Fanshawe.

References

External links

*
Richard Fanshawe, The Online Books Page, University of Pennsylvania

The Fanshawe archives
at the

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fanshawe, Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet 1608 births 1666 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland Ambassadors of England to Spain Ambassadors of England to Portugal English MPs 1661–1679 17th-century English translators Portuguese–English translators 17th-century English poets 17th-century English male writers Cavaliers People from Ware, Hertfordshire Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge 17th-century English diplomats English male poets Fanshawe family