Giles Fletcher, the Elder (c. 1548,
WatfordWatford is a town and district in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south, by the urban parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District...
,
HertfordshireHertfordshire , abbreviated Herts, is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford....
- 1611) was an English poet and diplomat, member of the English Parliament.
Giles Fletcher was the son of Richard Fletcher, vicar of
Bishop's StortfordBishop's Stortford is a market town in east Hertfordshire, England, on the county boundary with Essex. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, is the closest town to London Stansted Airport, and is part of the London commuter belt. Bishop's Stortford is 29 miles north east of Charing Cross in...
. He spent his early life at Cranbrook before entering
Eton CollegeEton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent boarding school for boys aged approx. 13 to 19. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
about 1561. From there, Fletcher continued his education at
King's College, CambridgeKing's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.Founded in 1441, the college's formal name is "The King's College of Our Lady and St. Nicholas in Cambridge". It is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the university.- History :King's was founded in 1441 by...
, where he was appointed a fellow in 1568 and gained his B.A. in the academic year 1569-70.
Giles Fletcher, the Elder (c. 1548,
WatfordWatford is a town and district in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south, by the urban parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District...
,
HertfordshireHertfordshire , abbreviated Herts, is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford....
- 1611) was an English poet and diplomat, member of the English Parliament.
Giles Fletcher was the son of Richard Fletcher, vicar of
Bishop's StortfordBishop's Stortford is a market town in east Hertfordshire, England, on the county boundary with Essex. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, is the closest town to London Stansted Airport, and is part of the London commuter belt. Bishop's Stortford is 29 miles north east of Charing Cross in...
. He spent his early life at Cranbrook before entering
Eton CollegeEton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent boarding school for boys aged approx. 13 to 19. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
about 1561. From there, Fletcher continued his education at
King's College, CambridgeKing's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.Founded in 1441, the college's formal name is "The King's College of Our Lady and St. Nicholas in Cambridge". It is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the university.- History :King's was founded in 1441 by...
, where he was appointed a fellow in 1568 and gained his B.A. in the academic year 1569-70. Studying Greek and poetry, Fletcher contributed to the translation of several of
DemosthenesDemosthenes was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide an insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece during the 4th century BC. Demosthenes learned rhetoric by...
' orations. On 22 March 1572, Fletcher became a lecturer in King's and held this position until March the following year, until he became a lecturer in Greek, a position which he held until Michaelmas term 1579. Continually rising within the academia, Fletcher rose to dean of arts, the highest position he was to attain at Kings, in 1580-81. However, this would not last long, for he decided to marry, forcing him to give up his fellowship. On 16 January, in his father's church, he married Joan Sheafe. Returning to Cambridge later, he received his Doctor of Civil Law degree. After attaining his law degree, the family settled back in Cranbrook, where once again the family was united. On 8 April 1582, Giles and Joan's first child,
PhineasPhineas Fletcher was an English poet, elder son of Dr Giles Fletcher, and brother of Giles the younger. He was born at Cranbrook, Kent, and was baptized on 8 April 1582.-Life:...
, was baptized. During the same year, Giles was made chancellor of the diocese of Sussex. In 1584, Fletcher was elected to the parliament which began on 23 November, from Winchelsea, one of the Cinque Ports. It was at this point that the Fletchers would permanently call London home. During his stint in Parliament, Fletcher served on three committees. In 1588 he was an ambassador to
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
to reestablish the treaty with
tsarTsar or czar , occasionally spelled csar or Tzar in English, is a Slavic term with Bulgarian origins used to designate certain monarchs...
Feodor I of RussiaFyodor I Ivanovich was the last Rurikid Tsar of Russia , son of Ivan the Terrible and Anastasia Romanovna. In English he is sometimes called Feodor the Bellringer in consequence of his strong faith and inclination to travel the land and ring the bells at churches...
. Fletcher published a treatise,
Of the Russe Common Wealth (1591). The treaty to be reestablished was primarily concerning the English trade, but before he departed
Queen ElizabethElizabeth I was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called the Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
made him a Master of Requests. The account of Russia Fletcher portrayed gives a vivid description into the Russian world pre-1600. He is best known for his sonnet
Licia. He is the father of the poet Giles Fletcher the younger, although the two have commonly been confused as the other.