1620 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1620 in literature involved some significant events.
Events
- The Book of Psalmes: Englished both in Prose and Metre with Annotations by Henry AinsworthHenry Ainsworth-Life:He was born of a farming family of Swanton Morley, Norfolk. He was educated at Caius College, Cambridge, and, after associating with the Puritan party in the Church, eventually joined the Separatists....
is the only book brought to New England by the pilgrim settlers. - Thomas MiddletonThomas MiddletonThomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
is appointed chronologer of the City of London. - Appearance of the second version of The Ballad of Chevy ChaseThe Ballad of Chevy ChaseThere are two extant English ballads known as The Ballad of Chevy Chase, both of which narrate the same story. As ballads existed within oral tradition before being written down, other versions of this once popular song may also have existed....
.
New books
- Francis Bacon - Novum OrganumNovum OrganumThe Novum Organum, full original title Novum Organum Scientiarum, is a philosophical work by Francis Bacon, written in Latin and published in 1620. The title translates as new instrument, i.e. new instrument of science. This is a reference to Aristotle's work Organon, which was his treatise on...
- John Bainbridge's translation of Ptolemy's De Planetarum Hypothesibus
- Standard Welsh Bible, translated by Bishop William MorganWilliam Morgan (Bible translator)William Morgan was Bishop of Llandaff and of St Asaph, and the translator of the first version of the whole Bible into Welsh from Greek and Hebrew.-Life:...
, Richard ParryRichard Parry (bishop)Richard Parry was a bishop of St. Asaph and translator of the Bible to the Welsh language. He was born in 1560, the son of John ap Harri, from Pwllhalog, Cwm, Flintshire, and Ruthin, and his wife, Elen ferch Dafydd ap John, a lady from Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, near Ruthin, North Wales.He was...
and John Davies (Mallwyd)John Davies (Mallwyd)Dr John Davies, Mallwyd was one of Wales's leading scholars of the late Renaissance. He wrote a Welsh grammar and dictionary. He was also a translator and editor and an ordained minister of the Church of England....
. - Salomon de CausSalomon de CausSalomon de Caus was a French engineer and once credited with the development of the steam engine.Salomon was the elder brother of Isaac de Caus. Being a Huguenot, he spent his life moving across Europe....
- Hortus PalatinusHortus PalatinusThe Hortus Palatinus, or Garden of the Palatinate, was a Baroque garden in the Italian Renaissance style attached to Heidelberg Castle, Germany. The garden was commissioned by Frederick V, Elector Palatine in 1614 for his new wife, Elizabeth Stuart, and became famous across Europe during the 17th... - Thomas Rowlands - The Night Raven
New drama
- Anonymous (Thomas HeywoodThomas HeywoodThomas Heywood was a prominent English playwright, actor, and author whose peak period of activity falls between late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre.-Early years:...
?) - Swetnam the Woman-HaterSwetnam the Woman-HaterSwetnam the Woman-Hater Arraigned by Women is a Jacobean era stage play, an anonymous comedy that was part of an anti-feminist controversy of the 1615–20 period.-Performance and publication:...
published - Francis BeaumontFrancis BeaumontFrancis Beaumont was a dramatist in the English Renaissance theatre, most famous for his collaborations with John Fletcher....
and John FletcherJohn Fletcher (playwright)John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
- PhilasterPhilaster (play)Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding is an early Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. One of the duo's earliest successes, the play helped to establish the trend for tragicomedy that was a powerful influence in early Stuart era drama.-Date and...
published - Thomas Dekker and Philip MassingerPhilip MassingerPhilip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
- The Virgin MartyrThe Virgin MartyrThe Virgin Martyr is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by Thomas Dekker and Philip Massinger, and first published in 1622. It constitutes a rare instance in Masssinger's canon in which he collaborated with a member of the previous generation of English Renaissance dramatists —... - Ben JonsonBen JonsonBenjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
- News from the New World Discovered in the MoonNews from the New World Discovered in the MoonNews from the New World Discovered in the Moon was a Jacobean era masque, written by Ben Jonson; it was first performed before King James I on January 7, 1620, with a second performance on February 29 of the same year...
(masqueMasqueThe masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
)- - Pan's AnniversaryPan's AnniversaryPan's Anniversary, or The Shepherd's Holiday was a Jacobean era masque, written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones. The date of the masque's performance at the English Court has long been in dispute: while the earliest text assigns it to 1625, mid-twentieth-century scholars placed it on June...
(masque)
- - Pan's Anniversary
- Thomas MiddletonThomas MiddletonThomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
& William RowleyWilliam RowleyWilliam Rowley was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626...
- The World Tossed at TennisThe World Tossed at TennisThe World Tossed at Tennis is a Jacobean era masque composed by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, first published in 1620. It was likely acted on 4 March 1620 at Denmark House....
(masque)
Births
- March 10 - Nikolaes Heinsius the ElderNikolaes Heinsius the ElderNikolaes Heinsius the Elder , Dutch classical scholar and poet, son of Daniel Heinsius, was born at Leiden.His boyish Latin poem Breda expugnata was printed in 1637, and attracted much attention. In 1642 he began his wanderings with a visit to England in search of manuscripts of the classics; but...
, philologist and theologian (died1667) (died 1681) - July 20 - Nikolaes HeinsiusNikolaes Heinsius the ElderNikolaes Heinsius the Elder , Dutch classical scholar and poet, son of Daniel Heinsius, was born at Leiden.His boyish Latin poem Breda expugnata was printed in 1637, and attracted much attention. In 1642 he began his wanderings with a visit to England in search of manuscripts of the classics; but...
, poet and scholar - October 31 - John EvelynJohn EvelynJohn Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
, diarist (d. 1706) - November 10 - Ninon de l'EnclosNinon de l'EnclosAnne "Ninon" de l'Enclos also spelled Ninon de Lenclos and Ninon de Lanclos was a French author, courtesan and patron of the arts.-Early life:...
, author and patron of the arts (d. 1705) - date unknown - Alexander BromeAlexander BromeAlexander Brome was an English poet.He was by profession an attorney, and was the author of many drinking songs and of satirical verses in favor of the Royalists and in opposition to the Rump Parliament...
, poet (d. 1666) - date unknown - Lucy HutchinsonLucy HutchinsonMrs. Lucy Hutchinson was an English biographer as well as the first translator into English of the complete text of Lucretius's De Rerum Natura during the years of the interregnum .-Biography:...
, biographer (d. 1681) - date unknown - Marchamont NeedhamMarchamont NeedhamMarchamont Needham was a journalist, publisher and pamphleteer during the English Civil War, who wrote official news and propaganda for both sides of the conflict....
, journalist and pamphleteer (d. 1678) - probable - Melchisédech ThévenotMelchisédech ThévenotMelchisédech Thévenot was a French author, scientist, traveler, cartographer, orientalist, inventor, and diplomat...
, polymath (died 1692)
Deaths
- February 1 - Mario di CalasioMario di CalasioMario di Calasio was an Italian Minorite friar.-Biography:Joining the Franciscans at an early age, he devoted himself to Oriental languages and became an authority on Hebrew. Once entering Rome he was appointed by Paul V, whose confessor he was to the chair of Scripture at Ara Coeli...
, author of a Hebrew concordance (born 1550) - February 19 - Roemer VisscherRoemer VisscherRoemer Pieterszoon Visscher was a successful Dutch merchant and writer in the period often called the Dutch Golden Age.-Life:...
, Dutch writer (b. 1547) - March 1 - Thomas CampionThomas CampionThomas Campion was an English composer, poet and physician. He wrote over a hundred lute songs; masques for dancing, and an authoritative technical treatise on music.-Life:...
, poet and composer (b. 1567) - date unknown - Richard Carew, author and translator (born 1555)
- date unknown - Nathan Field, dramatist (born 1587)