Henry Cuffe
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry Cuffe was an English author and politician, executed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England
, for treason
.
, Somerset
, he was the youngest son of Robert Cuffe of Donyatt in that county. Of the same family, although the relationship does not seem to have been definitely settled, was Hugh Cuffe, who in 1598 was granted large estates in the county of Cork, and whose grandson Maurice wrote an account of the defence of Ballyalley Castle, co. Clare, when besieged in the rebellion of 1641. Maurice Cuffe's journal was printed by the Camden Society
in 1841, and the writer's grandnephew John was created Baron Desart in the Irish peerage in 1733 (the first baron's grandson, Otway Cuffe, became viscount in 1781, and Earl of Desart in 1793, and these titles are still extant). To another branch of the Somerset family of Cuffe belonged Thomas Cuffe of Crych, who went to Ireland in 1641, and whose son James was knighted by Charles II
and granted land in Mayo and Galway. In 1797 James Cuffe (d. 1821), in direct line of descent from this Sir James Cuffe, was made Baron Tyrawley
of Ballinrobe
, County Mayo.
, Oxford
(25 May 1578) by the interest of Lady Elizabeth Powlett of Hinton, who always showed a kindly regard for his welfare. At Oxford, Cuffe exhibited a conspicuous ability, and became a finished Greek scholar. He attracted the attention of Sir Henry Savile
, who aided him in his studies, and about 1582 made the acquaintance of John Hotman, a learned French Protestant in the service of the Earl of Leicester
. In 1582 and 1583 he corresponded regularly with Hotman, and some of these letters, which prove strong affection between the writers, are printed in 'Francisci et Joannis Hotomanxorum...Epistolae' (Amsterdam, 1700). Cuffe proceeded B.A. 13 June 1580, and was elected fellow of his college 30 May 1583, but a severe remark about the practical jokes which the founder of Trinity, Sir Thomas Pope
, was fond of playing on his friends, led to his expulsion from the college. In 1586, Sir Henry Savile offered him a tutorship at Merton
, and there Cuffe pursued his Greek studies with conspicuous success. On 20 Feb 1588/9 he graduated M.A., and after proving his capacity as a teacher of Greek by holding a lectureship at Queen's College
, he was in 1590 elected Regius Professor of Greek
in the university. This post he held for seven years. He addressed the queen in a Latin speech at Carfax when she visited Oxford in 1592, and was chosen junior proctor 15 April 1594. Very soon afterwards Cuffe abandoned Oxford for London
, where he obtained the post of secretary to the Earl of Essex
.
in 1596, and wrote an account of it on his return for publication, but this was prohibited by order of the queen and her council. Anthony Bacon, to whom Cuffe confided the manuscript, succeeded, however, in distributing a few copies. On Essex's acceptance of the lord-lieutenancy of Ireland, Cuffe sailed to Dublin in the earl's company in April 1599. In the following August he visited London to deliver to the queen those important dispatches in which Essex excused himself for his delay in suppressing Tyrone's Rebellion. 'Mr Cuffe,' wrote Rowland White to Sir Robert Sidney
(12 Sept. 1599), 'hath had access to the queen, who came of purpose marvelously well instructed to answer such objections as her majesty could lay to his [i.e. Essex's] charge, and I hear that Cuffe hath wisely behaved himself to her majesty's better satisfaction' (Sidney Papers). But the royal letter which Cuffe carried back to Essex was not conciliatory, and on 28 Sept, Cuffe accompanied by his master on his sudden visit to London which ended in Essex's imprisonment. During the latter months of the earl's confinement Cuffe appears to have been in continual intercourse with him, and after his release (26 Aug. 1600) definitely re-entered his service. He was deeply interested in Essex's reinstatement at court, both on grounds of personal ambition and of affection for his employer, and, now that few friends had access to the earl, was much in his confidence.
. Cuffe had no clear ideas as to the details of his policy, and did not take part in the secret meetings of Essex's friends, whom he had helped to bring together, at Drury House
, in November and December 1600. Meanwhile some of Essex's relatives perceived the evil effect on Essex of Cuffe's maladroit counsels, and they induced him in November to dismiss him from his service. Sir Gilly Merrick, Essex's steward, was ordered to remove him from Essex House
. But Cuffe appealed to the good nature of his master's friend, the Earl of Southampton
, who readily obtained from Essex a rescission of the order (see Wotton). Cuffe's work was, however, done. He opposed the appeal to force and took no part in the riot in the city of London on Sunday, 8 Feb. 1600/1 (see Devereux, Robert, second Earl of Essex
), but with Essex and all his allies was thrown into the Tower
. When Essex, just before his execution, requested to be confronted with Cuffe in the Tower (21 Feb 1600/1) in the presence of witnesses, he used the words: 'You have been one of the chiefest instigators of me to all these my disloyal courses into which I have fallen.'
, an ambassador to Elizabeth from James, with the object of so poisoning Mar's mind against Cecil and his friends that Mar might communicate suspicion of them to the queen. On 2 March 1600/1 Cuffe was twice re-examined, and explained his negotiation with Sir Henry Neville. Three days later he was put on his trial, with Sir Christopher Blount, Sir Charles Danvers
, Sir John Davis, and Sir Gilly Merrick. Cuffe and Merrick were not indicted, like the rest, for open acts of violence. Coke, the attorney-general and prosecuting counsel, denounced Cuffe in the strongest terms, and began his address to the court with the remark that he 'was the arrantest traitor that ever came to that bar,' 'the very seducer of the earl,' and 'the cunning coiner of all plots.' Cuffe replied that he had wished to see his master recalled to the queen's favour, but that was the limit of his desire and action. On the day of the rebellion he never left Essex House. Coke thereupon said that he would give him 'a cuff that should set him down,' and read extracts from Essex's and Sir Henry Neville's confessions. Sir Charles Danvers' confession was also put in, and it was stated that, in case of the plot succeeding, Cuffe had been promised the speakership in the next parliament. The jury returned a verdict of guilty against all the prisoners. Cuffe asked for the companionship of a divine before he was executed. On 13 March Merrick and Cuffe were drawn to Tyburn
. Cuffe began a speech admitting his guilt, but denying many of the charges brought against him. The authorities twice interrupted him, and on the second occasion he 'began to apply himself to his devotions, which he managed with a great deal of fervor,' and was 'dispatched by the executioner' (State Trials, i. 1410-1451). Bacon in the official 'Declaration of the Treasons,' 1601, describes Cuffe as 'a base fellow by birth, but a great scholar, and indeed a noble traitor by the book, being otherwise of a turbulent and mutinous spirit against all superiors.' Francis Osborn, in his 'Advice to a Son,' illustrates by Cuffe's career his warning 'Mingle not your interest with a great one's.'
, a short philosophical and scientific tract by Cuffe. Cuffe here shows wide reading in the writings of the Greek philosophers; a belief in astrology, and faith in a divine providence. In Cott. MS. Nero D. x. is 'De Rebus Gestis in sancto concilio Nicaeno,' a translation attributed to Cuffe from the Greek of Gelasius Cyzicenus. In Harl. MS. 1327, fol. 58, are to be found Aphorismes Political, gathered out of the Life and End of that most noble Robert Devereux, Earle of Essex, not long before his death, a work which is also ascribed to Cuffe. Cuffe assisted Columbanus
in his edition (p. 2, Florence, 1598) of Longus
's Pastoral of Daphnis and Chloe, and contributed six Greek elegiacs to William Camden
's Britannia.
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and 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...
, for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
.
Family connections
Born in 1563 at Hinton St GeorgeHinton St George
Hinton St George is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated outside of Crewkerne, south west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 404....
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, he was the youngest son of Robert Cuffe of Donyatt in that county. Of the same family, although the relationship does not seem to have been definitely settled, was Hugh Cuffe, who in 1598 was granted large estates in the county of Cork, and whose grandson Maurice wrote an account of the defence of Ballyalley Castle, co. Clare, when besieged in the rebellion of 1641. Maurice Cuffe's journal was printed by the Camden Society
Camden Society
The Camden Society, named after the English antiquary and historian William Camden, was founded in 1838 in London to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books....
in 1841, and the writer's grandnephew John was created Baron Desart in the Irish peerage in 1733 (the first baron's grandson, Otway Cuffe, became viscount in 1781, and Earl of Desart in 1793, and these titles are still extant). To another branch of the Somerset family of Cuffe belonged Thomas Cuffe of Crych, who went to Ireland in 1641, and whose son James was knighted by Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
and granted land in Mayo and Galway. In 1797 James Cuffe (d. 1821), in direct line of descent from this Sir James Cuffe, was made Baron Tyrawley
James Cuffe, 1st Baron Tyrawley
James Cuffe, 1st Baron Tyrawley was an Irish peer and politician. His father was James Cuff of Elmhall and Ballinrobe Castle and his mother was Elizabeth, sister of Arthur Gore, 1st Earl of Arran....
of Ballinrobe
Ballinrobe
-Early history:Dating back to 1390, Ballinrobe is said to be the oldest town in South Mayo. The registry of the Dominican friary of Athenry mentions the monastery de Roba, an Augustinian friary whose recently restored ruins are one of the historical landmarks of the town today...
, County Mayo.
Early life
After receiving his early education at the grammar school of Hinton St. George, Henry Cuffe was elected at the age of fifteen a scholar of Trinity CollegeTrinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
(25 May 1578) by the interest of Lady Elizabeth Powlett of Hinton, who always showed a kindly regard for his welfare. At Oxford, Cuffe exhibited a conspicuous ability, and became a finished Greek scholar. He attracted the attention of Sir Henry Savile
Sir Henry Savile
Sir Henry Savile was an English scholar, Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and Provost of Eton.-Life:He was the son of Henry Savile of Bradley, near Halifax in Yorkshire, England, a member of an old county family, the Saviles of Methley, and of his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Ramsden.He was...
, who aided him in his studies, and about 1582 made the acquaintance of John Hotman, a learned French Protestant in the service of the Earl of Leicester
Earl of Leicester
The title Earl of Leicester was created in the 12th century in the Peerage of England , and is currently a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1837.-Early creations:...
. In 1582 and 1583 he corresponded regularly with Hotman, and some of these letters, which prove strong affection between the writers, are printed in 'Francisci et Joannis Hotomanxorum...Epistolae' (Amsterdam, 1700). Cuffe proceeded B.A. 13 June 1580, and was elected fellow of his college 30 May 1583, but a severe remark about the practical jokes which the founder of Trinity, Sir Thomas Pope
Thomas Pope
Sir Thomas Pope , founder of Trinity College, Oxford, was born at Deddington, near Banbury, Oxfordshire, probably in 1507, for he was about sixteen years old when his father, a yeoman farmer, died in 1523....
, was fond of playing on his friends, led to his expulsion from the college. In 1586, Sir Henry Savile offered him a tutorship at Merton
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
, and there Cuffe pursued his Greek studies with conspicuous success. On 20 Feb 1588/9 he graduated M.A., and after proving his capacity as a teacher of Greek by holding a lectureship at Queen's College
The Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College, founded 1341, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Queen's is centrally situated on the High Street, and is renowned for its 18th-century architecture...
, he was in 1590 elected Regius Professor of Greek
Regius Professor of Greek (Oxford)
The Regius Professorship of Greek is a professorship at the University of Oxford in England.Henry VIII founded the chair by 1541. He established five Regius Professorships in the University , the others being the Regius chairs of Divinity, Medicine, Civil Law and Hebrew.-List of holders:* John...
in the university. This post he held for seven years. He addressed the queen in a Latin speech at Carfax when she visited Oxford in 1592, and was chosen junior proctor 15 April 1594. Very soon afterwards Cuffe abandoned Oxford for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he obtained the post of secretary to the Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
.
With Essex
Essex employed a number of educated men, who were chiefly engaged in a voluminous foreign correspondence. At the time that Cuffe entered his service, Edward Reynolds, Sir Henry Wotton, Anthony Bacon, and Temple were already members of Essex's household, and the newcomer was described as a 'great philosopher' who could 'suit the wise observations of ancient authors to the transactions of modern times.' He accompanied Essex in the expedition to CadizCádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
in 1596, and wrote an account of it on his return for publication, but this was prohibited by order of the queen and her council. Anthony Bacon, to whom Cuffe confided the manuscript, succeeded, however, in distributing a few copies. On Essex's acceptance of the lord-lieutenancy of Ireland, Cuffe sailed to Dublin in the earl's company in April 1599. In the following August he visited London to deliver to the queen those important dispatches in which Essex excused himself for his delay in suppressing Tyrone's Rebellion. 'Mr Cuffe,' wrote Rowland White to Sir Robert Sidney
Robert Sidney
Robert Sidney may refer to:*Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester , English nobleman and statesman*Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester , son of the above*Robert Sidney, 4th Earl of Leicester -See also:...
(12 Sept. 1599), 'hath had access to the queen, who came of purpose marvelously well instructed to answer such objections as her majesty could lay to his [i.e. Essex's] charge, and I hear that Cuffe hath wisely behaved himself to her majesty's better satisfaction' (Sidney Papers). But the royal letter which Cuffe carried back to Essex was not conciliatory, and on 28 Sept, Cuffe accompanied by his master on his sudden visit to London which ended in Essex's imprisonment. During the latter months of the earl's confinement Cuffe appears to have been in continual intercourse with him, and after his release (26 Aug. 1600) definitely re-entered his service. He was deeply interested in Essex's reinstatement at court, both on grounds of personal ambition and of affection for his employer, and, now that few friends had access to the earl, was much in his confidence.
Rebellion
For a man of Essex's temperament he was the worst possible counsellor. He urged him to seek at all hazards an interview with the queen, and argued that Elizabeth would be unable to withhold her favour from him after she had heard from his mouth the story of his grievances and of the animosity with which the Cecils, Raleigh, and others regarded him. He deprecated all compromise with those he regarded as the earl's enemies; taunted Essex with having already submitted voluntarily to many degradations; advised Essex's friends to form an alliance with all political malcontents in order to make themselves a party to be feared; laid his plans before Sir Henry Neville, who had just been recalled from the French embassy and had grievances against the government; and obtained Essex's consent to communicate with his old friend Sir Charles DanversCharles Danvers
Sir Charles Danvers , was an English soldier who plotted against Elizabeth I of England.He was born the eldest son of Sir John Danvers of Dauntsey, Wiltshire and Elizabeth, fourth daughter and coheiress of John Neville, Baron Latimer...
. Cuffe had no clear ideas as to the details of his policy, and did not take part in the secret meetings of Essex's friends, whom he had helped to bring together, at Drury House
Drury House
Drury House was a historic building on Wych Street, London. It was the house of Sir Robert Drury, who Drury Lane was named after. It was a meeting place for Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex and his accomplices in 1601, when they were plotting against Elizabeth I.It was later rebuilt as Craven...
, in November and December 1600. Meanwhile some of Essex's relatives perceived the evil effect on Essex of Cuffe's maladroit counsels, and they induced him in November to dismiss him from his service. Sir Gilly Merrick, Essex's steward, was ordered to remove him from Essex House
Essex House (London)
Essex House was a house in London, built around 1575 for Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and originally called Leicester House.The property occupied the site where the Outer Temple, part of the London headquarters of the Knights Templar, had previously stood , and was immediately adjacent to the...
. But Cuffe appealed to the good nature of his master's friend, the Earl of Southampton
Earl of Southampton
Earl of Southampton was a title that was created three times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1537 in favour of the courtier William Fitzwilliam. He was childless and the title became extinct on his death in 1542. The second creation came in 1547 in favour of the politician...
, who readily obtained from Essex a rescission of the order (see Wotton). Cuffe's work was, however, done. He opposed the appeal to force and took no part in the riot in the city of London on Sunday, 8 Feb. 1600/1 (see Devereux, Robert, second Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
), but with Essex and all his allies was thrown into the Tower
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. When Essex, just before his execution, requested to be confronted with Cuffe in the Tower (21 Feb 1600/1) in the presence of witnesses, he used the words: 'You have been one of the chiefest instigators of me to all these my disloyal courses into which I have fallen.'
Trial and execution
At the end of February Cuffe answered several questions respecting Essex's negotiations with King James of Scotland which the lords of the council put to him. He appears to have told the truth, but his replies show that he had not managed that part of Essex's correspondence, which was mainly in the hands of Anthony Bacon. Some days before his execution, however, he wrote to Sir Robert Cecil enclosing a copy of instructions which Essex had prepared for presentation to the Earl of MarEarl of Mar
The Mormaer or Earl of Mar is a title that has been created seven times, all in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation of the earldom was originally the provincial ruler of the province of Mar in north-eastern Scotland...
, an ambassador to Elizabeth from James, with the object of so poisoning Mar's mind against Cecil and his friends that Mar might communicate suspicion of them to the queen. On 2 March 1600/1 Cuffe was twice re-examined, and explained his negotiation with Sir Henry Neville. Three days later he was put on his trial, with Sir Christopher Blount, Sir Charles Danvers
Charles Danvers
Sir Charles Danvers , was an English soldier who plotted against Elizabeth I of England.He was born the eldest son of Sir John Danvers of Dauntsey, Wiltshire and Elizabeth, fourth daughter and coheiress of John Neville, Baron Latimer...
, Sir John Davis, and Sir Gilly Merrick. Cuffe and Merrick were not indicted, like the rest, for open acts of violence. Coke, the attorney-general and prosecuting counsel, denounced Cuffe in the strongest terms, and began his address to the court with the remark that he 'was the arrantest traitor that ever came to that bar,' 'the very seducer of the earl,' and 'the cunning coiner of all plots.' Cuffe replied that he had wished to see his master recalled to the queen's favour, but that was the limit of his desire and action. On the day of the rebellion he never left Essex House. Coke thereupon said that he would give him 'a cuff that should set him down,' and read extracts from Essex's and Sir Henry Neville's confessions. Sir Charles Danvers' confession was also put in, and it was stated that, in case of the plot succeeding, Cuffe had been promised the speakership in the next parliament. The jury returned a verdict of guilty against all the prisoners. Cuffe asked for the companionship of a divine before he was executed. On 13 March Merrick and Cuffe were drawn to Tyburn
Tyburn
Tyburn is a former village just outside the then boundaries of London that was best known as a place of public execution.Tyburn may also refer to:* Tyburn , river and historical water source in London...
. Cuffe began a speech admitting his guilt, but denying many of the charges brought against him. The authorities twice interrupted him, and on the second occasion he 'began to apply himself to his devotions, which he managed with a great deal of fervor,' and was 'dispatched by the executioner' (State Trials, i. 1410-1451). Bacon in the official 'Declaration of the Treasons,' 1601, describes Cuffe as 'a base fellow by birth, but a great scholar, and indeed a noble traitor by the book, being otherwise of a turbulent and mutinous spirit against all superiors.' Francis Osborn, in his 'Advice to a Son,' illustrates by Cuffe's career his warning 'Mingle not your interest with a great one's.'
Works
In 1607 an editor who signed himself R.M. dedicated to Robert, lord Willoughby and EresbyRobert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey
Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey was an English peer, soldier and courtier.-Early life:...
, a short philosophical and scientific tract by Cuffe. Cuffe here shows wide reading in the writings of the Greek philosophers; a belief in astrology, and faith in a divine providence. In Cott. MS. Nero D. x. is 'De Rebus Gestis in sancto concilio Nicaeno,' a translation attributed to Cuffe from the Greek of Gelasius Cyzicenus. In Harl. MS. 1327, fol. 58, are to be found Aphorismes Political, gathered out of the Life and End of that most noble Robert Devereux, Earle of Essex, not long before his death, a work which is also ascribed to Cuffe. Cuffe assisted Columbanus
Columbanus
Columbanus was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries on the European continent from around 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil and Bobbio , and stands as an exemplar of Irish missionary activity in early medieval Europe.He spread among the...
in his edition (p. 2, Florence, 1598) of Longus
Longus
Longus, sometimes Longos , was the author of an ancient Greek novel or romance, Daphnis and Chloe. Very little is known of his life, and it is assumed that he lived on the isle of Lesbos during the 2nd century AD...
's Pastoral of Daphnis and Chloe, and contributed six Greek elegiacs to William Camden
William Camden
William Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and officer of arms. He wrote the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.- Early years :Camden was born in London...
's Britannia.