Richard Martin (1570–1618) was an English lawyer,
orator
An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled.
Etymology
Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...
, and supporter of the
Virginia Company
The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the objective of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day ...
who was appointed Recorder of the
City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
at the recommendation of
James I of England
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...
in 1618 but died shortly thereafter.
[Brown 1890, p. 645]
Lawyer and tavern wit
Martin studied at
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
and was admitted to the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...
, one of the
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple.
All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...
providing legal training in
Elizabethan
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...
London, on 7 November 1587. He was a member of a group of intellectual men, poets, and playwrights including
John Donne
John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...
and
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...
who met the first Friday of every month at the
Mermaid Tavern
The Mermaid Tavern was a tavern on Cheapside in London during the Elizabethan era, located east of St. Paul's Cathedral on the corner of Friday Street and Bread Street. It was the site of the so-called "Fraternity of Sireniacal Gentlemen", a dri ...
in
Bread Street
Bread Street is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London, wards of the City of London, the name deriving from its principal street, which was anciently the city's bread marketplace, market; already named ''Bredstrate'' (to at least 1180) for by ...
.
Martin was "universally well regarded for his warmth of nature, personal beauty, and graceful speech",
[Miles 1986, p. 58] and was elected "prince of Love" to preside over the
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
grand
revels
''Revels'' is a contemporary series of American seasonal stage performances, incorporating singing, dancing, recitals, and theatrics loosely organized around a central theme or narrative. The folk-tradition-based performances started in 1957, w ...
of the Middle Temple in the winter of 1597/98.
[O'Callaghan 2007, p. 14] Michelle O'Callaghan points out that those elected to oversee the grand revels had to be skilled in "singing, dancing, and music", and well-versed in "rhetoric, law and other scholastic exercises travestied" in the revels.
The poet
John Davies dedicated his 1596 collection "Orchestra, or a Poeme of Dauncing" to Martin, but they fell out soon after, and Davies was disbarred and briefly thrown in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
in February 1598 "for thrashing his friend, another roysterer of the day, Mr. Richard Martin, in the Middle Temple Hall" with a cudgel.
(Davies publicly apologized to Martin in 1601 and was
readmitted to the English Bar. He went on to have a brilliant legal career.)
Martin defended Jonson and his controversial 1602 play "The Poetaster" to the
Lord Chief Justice
The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales.
Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English a ...
Sir
John Popham. Later, Jonson acknowledged Martin in the dedication of the 1616 folio edition of "The Poetaster" "for whose innocence as for the author's you were once a noble and kindly undertaker to the greatest justice
ophamof this kingdom."
[Gifford 1826, p. 206]
Martin is mentioned in, and was perhaps a co-author of, the
poetic libel "The Parliament Fart", one of the most popular and malleable comic poems of the early Stuart era, which originated in the circle of tavern wits of which Martin was a part.
Parliament and the Virginia Company
Martin was elected member of Parliament for
Barnstaple
Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...
in 1601. Following the death of
Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to:
Queens regnant
* Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland
* Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms
* Queen B ...
in 1603, Martin was chosen to give a speech
welcoming the new King James to London on behalf of the
Sheriffs of London
Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...
and
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
as part of the celebrations of the
royal entry
The ceremonies and festivities accompanying a formal entry by a ruler or their representative into a city in the Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe were known as the royal entry, triumphal entry, or Joyous Entry. The entry centred on ...
on 7 May. In his speech, Martin reminded the king of the breadth of his new kingdom and warned of the dangers of
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...
. The speech was printed that same year.
Martin was M.P. for
Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
in James's first Parliament (1604–11) and Counsel to the Virginia Company from 1612. In February 1613, Richard Martin helped produce ''
The Memorable Masque of the Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn'' at
Whitehall Palace
The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...
for the
. The masque represented Virginian peoples on the stage, and introduced the theme of gold mining from
Guiana
The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, are a geographical region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guianas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, formerly British, Dutch, and French Guiana respectiv ...
.
In May 1614, Martin was invited to speak before the
Addled Parliament
The Parliament of 1614 was the second Parliament of England of the reign of James VI and I and sat between 5 April and 7 June 1614. Lasting only two months and two days, it saw no bills pass and was not even regarded as a parliament by contemp ...
on the
Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776.
The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...
as lawyer for the company. From 1611 Martin had taken an active interest in the colonization of the
Bermuda Islands
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
or Somers Isles, and in 1615 was a founding shareholder of the
Somers Isles Company
The Somers Isles Company (fully, the Company of the City of London for the Plantacion of The Somers Isles or the Company of The Somers Isles) was formed in 1615 to operate the English colony of the Somers Isles, also known as Bermuda, as a commer ...
chartered to manage the colony.
On the death of Sir
Anthony Benn, 29 September 1618, King James recommended Martin to the City of London for their recorder or chief counsel to the
Lord Mayor
Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...
, and he was chosen to the position, but died about a month after, of
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
, on Sunday morning 2 November 1618, and was buried in the
Temple Church
The Temple Church, a royal peculiar in the Church of England, is a church in the Inner Temple, Inner and Middle Temple, Middle Temple, London, Temples located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar for their En ...
, London.
In 1617, when the treasury of the Virginia Company was exhausted, societies of private adventurers were authorized to settle plantations in Virginia under the style of "hundreds." One of the first of these societies, organized in 1618 as the Society of Martin's Hundred, was named in honour of Richard Martin who had so eloquently defended Virginia before Parliament in 1614.
Martin's Hundred
Martin's Hundred was an early 17th-century plantation located along about of the north shore of the James River in the Virginia Colony east of Jamestown in the southeastern portion of present-day James City County, Virginia. The Martin's Hundred ...
, containing some , was about below
Jamestown, Virginia
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent British colonization of the Americas, English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about southwest of present-day Willia ...
, on the north side of the
James River
The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
.
[Harrison 1920, p. 595]
Notes
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Richard
1570 births
1618 deaths
Alumni of the University of Oxford
Members of the Middle Temple
Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Barnstaple
Recorders of London
16th-century English people
English MPs 1601
English MPs 1604–1611
Deaths from smallpox