Theodore Bathurst (c. 1587–1652), also known as Theophilus Bathurst was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
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 ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...
and
translator
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
who wrote in the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
language. His most notable work is ''Calendarium Pastorale'' ( en, The Pastoral Calendar).
Life
Bathurst was descended from an ancient family of
Hothorpe in
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, and a relative of
Dr Ralph Bathurst, the famous English physician, scholar, and divine. He entered
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
in 1602, but graduated BA in 1606 from
Pembroke College,
the college to which
Edmund Spenser belonged.
Bathurst led a private life, and was a man of little ambition. So much the more, says one of his editors, he deserved honour as he desired it less.
Works
While at Pembroke, he executed his translation of Spenser's ''
The Shepheardes Calender
''The Shepheardes Calender'' was Edmund Spenser's first major poetic work, published in 1579. In emulation of Virgil's first work, the ''Eclogues'', Spenser wrote this series of pastorals at the commencement of his career. However, Spenser's ...
''. He wrote the first two ecologues at Pembroke, which were dedicated to Thomas Neville, master of Trinity College, Cambridge. This translation had the honour of being highly commended by
Sir Richard Fanshawe, who has himself left us specimens of Latin translations of English verse.
Bathurst's translation was edited first by
Dr William Dillingham of
Emmanuel College, and dedicated to Francis Lane. It was republished by
John Ball, who, in his address to the reader, says he had much and long labour in procuring a copy of Bathurst's work. It was then already rare among the booksellers.
Ball's edition is accompanied by the original
eclogue
An eclogue is a poem in a classical style on a pastoral subject. Poems in the genre are sometimes also called bucolics.
Overview
The form of the word ''eclogue'' in contemporary English developed from Middle English , which came from Latin , wh ...
s on the opposite pages. He speaks of Bathurst, in the address above mentioned, as
He added a Latin dissertation, ''De vita Spenseri et scriptis'' ( en, The Life and Writings of Spenser; Lond. 8vo, no date and 1732). The precise title of Bathurst's book is:
:Calendarium Pastorale sive Eclogæ duodecim totidem anni mensibus accommodatæ Anglicè olim scriptæ ab Edmundo Spenser Anglorum poetarum principe; nunc autem eleganti Latino carmine donatæ a Theodoro Bathurst Aulæ Pembrochianæ apud Cantabrigienses aliquando socio ( en, A pastoral Eclogue or twelve calendar months of the year as many had once written in England, adapted from English poets, principally Edmund Spenser, but now an elegant Latin poem given by Theodore Bathurst Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, a partner; Lond. 8vo, 1653).
In 1653 when the first edition of a parallel text was released, John Hacket offered some insights into its origins, which he passed to the reviser of the text William Dillingham, master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Emmanuel was at the forefront of the Puritan movement in intellectual circles, presenting the orthodox position on the doctrine of the trinity. Dillingham's text was included in the 1679 text of Spenser's ''Works'', which was reissued in 1732.
References
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bathurst, Theodore
1580s births
1652 deaths
17th-century English poets
17th-century English male writers
17th-century English writers
People from West Northamptonshire District
Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge
English translators
17th-century English translators
Theodore
Theodore may refer to:
Places
* Theodore, Alabama, United States
* Theodore, Australian Capital Territory
* Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia
* Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada
* Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saskatche ...
English male poets
People from Peterborough
17th-century Latin-language writers
Neo-Latin poets