Sidney Godolphin was an English poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, courtier

Courtier

A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...

 and politician who sat in the House of Commons

House of Commons of England

The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...

 between 1628 and 1643. He died fighting in the Royalist army in the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

.

Biography

Godolphin was the second son of Sir William Godolphin (died 1613) of Godolphin

Godolphin Estate

The Godolphin Estate is a National Trust property situated in Godolphin Cross, a few miles north-west of Helston in Cornwall, United Kingdom....

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, by his wife, Thomasin, and was baptised on 15 January 1610. He was admitted a commoner of Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...

, 25 June 1624, aged 18, remained there for three years, and afterwards entered one of the inns of court

Inns of Court

The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All such barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional...

, and travelled abroad. He was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 MP for Helston

Helston (UK Parliament constituency)

Helston, sometimes known as Helleston, was a parliamentary borough centred on the small town of Helston in Cornwall.Using the bloc vote system of election, it returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and...

 in 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years.

Godolphin was elected again as MP for Helston to the Short parliament

Short Parliament

The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....

 in March 1640, and to the Long parliament

Long Parliament

The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...

 in October 1640. He was known as an adherent of Strafford

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1632 to 1639 he instituted a harsh rule as Lord Deputy of Ireland...

, and was one of the last royalist members to leave the house. When the civil war broke out, he made a final speech of warning, and left to raise a force in Cornwall. He joined the army commanded by Sir Ralph Hopton, which crossed the Tamar

River Tamar

The Tamar is a river in South West England, that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall . It is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the River Thames.The...

 and advanced into Devon. Their declaration signed by Godolphin is in ‘Lismore Papers’. Godolphin, whose advice, according to Clarendon, was highly valued by the commanders in spite of his lack of military experience, was shot in a skirmish at Chagford

Chagford

Chagford is a small town and civil parish on the north-east edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England, close to the River Teign. It is located off the A382, about 4 miles west of Moretonhampstead. The name Chagford is derived from the word chag, meaning gorse or broom, and the ford suffix indicates its...

.

Godolphin was buried in the chancel of Okehampton

Okehampton

Okehampton is a town and civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and has an estimated population of 7,155.-History:...

 Church on 10 February 1643. His will, dated 23 June 1642, containing a bequest of £200 to Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...

. He gave some plate to Exeter College, Oxford.

Poems

Godolphin left several poems, which were never collected in a separate volume. ‘The Passion of Dido for Æneas, as it is incomparably expressed in the fourth book of Virgil,’ finished by Edmund Waller

Edmund Waller

Edmund Waller, FRS was an English poet and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1624 and 1679.- Early life :...

, was published in 1658 and 1679, and is in the fourth volume of Dryden

Dryden

-People:* Dave Dryden, retired Canadian ice hockey goaltender* David Owen Dryden, renowned San Diego builder-architect*Erasmus Dryden * Helen Dryden, American artist and designer* Hugh L. Dryden, NASA Deputy Director...

's ‘Miscellany Poems’. He was one of ‘certain persons of quality’ whose translation of Pierre Corneille

Pierre Corneille

Pierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine...

's The La Mort de Pompée was published in 1664. A song is in Ellis's ‘Specimens’, and one in the ‘Tixall Poetry’. Other poems in manuscript are in the Harleian MSS. (6917) and the Malone MSS. in the Bodleian Library

Bodleian Library

The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...

. Commendatory verses by him are prefixed to Sandys's ‘Paraphrase’ (1638), and an ‘epitaph upon the Lady Rich’ is in John Gauden

John Gauden

John Gauden was an English bishop of Exeter then bishop of Worcester and writer, and the reputed author of the important Royalist work Eikon Basilike.-Life:...

's ‘Funerals made Cordials’ (1658).

Haunting

It is alleged that Godolphin's ghost haunts The Three Crowns Hotel

The Three Crowns Hotel

The Three Crowns Hotel, also Three Crowns Chagford, is a historical hotel in Chagford, Devon, England. The building dates to the 13th century and was several centuries was a manor house before becoming an inn. The hotel, noted for its 13th century granite facade, has 16 en suite rooms...

in Chagford. He is said to stride the corridors in full uniform.