Gervase (or Jervis) Markham (ca. 1568 – 3 February 1637) 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 writer. He was best known for his work ''
The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman'', first published in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1615.
Life
Markham was the third son of Sir Robert Markham of
Cotham, Nottinghamshire, and his wife, and was probably born in 1568. He was a soldier of fortune in the
Low Countries
The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
, and later was a captain under the
Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...
's command in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. He was acquainted with
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and several modern languages, and had an exhaustive practical acquaintance with the arts of
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
and
agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
. He was a noted horse-breeder, and is said to have imported the first
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse ( , DIN 31635, DMG ''al-ḥiṣān al-ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse with historic roots on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easi ...
to England.
Very little is known of the events of his life. The story of the murderous quarrel between Gervase Markham and
Sir John Holles related in the ''Biographia'' (s.v. Holles) has been generally connected with him, but in the ''
Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Sir Clements R. Markham, a descendant from the same family, refers it to another contemporary of the same name, whose monument is still to be seen in
Laneham church. Gervase Markham was buried at St Giles's,
Cripplegate
Cripplegate was a city gate, gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London, England.
The Cripplegate gate lent its name to the Cripplegate Wards of the City of London, ward of the City, which encompasses the area where the gat ...
, London, on 3 February 1637.
[Chisholm, 1911]
Works
Markham was a voluminous writer on many subjects, but repeated himself, and sometimes reprinted books under other titles. His booksellers procured from him a declaration in 1617 that he would produce no more on certain topics.
[
Markham's writings include:
* 1593: ''A Discourse of Horsemanship'', followed by other popular treatises on horsemanship and ]farrier
A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adju ...
y;
* 1595: ''The most Honorable Tragedy of Sir Richard Grinvile'' (1595), reprinted (1871) by Professor E. Arber, a prolix and euphuistic poem in eight-lined stanzas on Sir Richard Grenville;
* 1595: ''The Poem of Poems, or Syon's Muse'', dedicated to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney (30 November 1554 – 17 October 1586) was an English poet, courtier, scholar and soldier who is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan era, Elizabethan age.
His works include a sonnet sequence, ' ...
;
* 1597: ''Devoreux, Virtue's Tears'';
* 1600: ''The Teares of the Beloved'' and ''Mary Magdalene's Tears'' (1601), long and rather commonplace poems on the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, both reprinted by Dr. A. B. Grosart in the ''Miscellanies of the Fuller Worthies Library'' (1871);
* 1602: A translation of the satires of Lodovico Ariosto;
* 1607: ''Cavelarice, or The English Horseman'', featuring secrets of William Bankes, master of the performing horse Marocco;cockfighting
Cockfighting is a blood sport involving domesticated roosters as the combatants. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1634, after the term ...
. The first known instructional publication in the English language on raising and fighting gamecocks.
* 1615: '' The English Huswife'';
* 1621: ''Hungers Preuention: or The Whole Art of Fowling By Water and Land'' London, Anne Holme and Thomas Langley
* 1622: ''Herod and Antipater, a Tragedy'', written with William Sampson;
* 1624: ''Honor in his Perfection'', in praise of the earls of Oxford, Southampton and Essex;
* 1625: ''Soldier's Accidence'' turns his military experiences to account;
* 1634: ''The Art of Archerie, Shewing how it is most necessary in these times for this Kingdom, both in Peace and War, and how it may be done without Charge to the Country, Trouble to the People, or any Hindrance to Necessary Occasions. Also, of the Discipline, the Postures, and whatsoever else is necessary for the attaining to the Art'' (London, Ben Fisher, at the Signe of the Talbot without Alders Gate, 1634)
Markham edited the '' Book of Saint Albans'' sometimes attributed to Juliana Berners
Juliana Berners, O.S.B., (or Barnes or Bernes) (born 1388), was an English writer on heraldry, hawking and hunting, and is said to have been prioress of the St Mary of Sopwell, near St Albans in Hertfordshire.
Life and work
Very little is k ...
, under the title of ''The Gentleman's Academy'' (1595). He produced numerous books on husbandry
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. ...
, many of which are catalogued in William Thomas Lowndes's ''Bibliographer's Manual'' (Bohn's ed., 1857–1864).[
]
References
Sources
*
* Michael R. Best (editor), ''The English Housewife,'' Toronto: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1986. .
* Frederick Noël Lawrence Poynter, ''A Bibliography of Gervase Markham, 1568?-1637,'' Oxford: Oxford Bibliographical Society, 1962.
External links
* (''The English Husbandman'')
*
Markham, Gervase, ''Countrey Contentments, or The English Huswife'', LSE Digital Library
Biography.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markham, Gervase
1560s births
1637 deaths
17th-century English poets
17th-century English male writers
16th-century English poets
16th-century English male writers
English male poets