This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1540.

Events

July 22 Events Pre-1600 * 838 – Battle of Anzen: The Byzantine emperor Theophilos suffers a heavy defeat by the Abbasids. *1099 – First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of ...

–

Klemens Janicki Klemens Janicki (Janiciusz, Januszkowski, from Januszkowo) () (1516–1543) was one of the most outstanding Latin poets of the 16th century. Biography Janicki was born in Januszkowo, a village near Żnin, Poland, to a peasant family. He first wen ...

is appointed '' poeta laureatus'' by

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

. *

December 13 Events Pre-1600 * 1294 – Saint Celestine V resigns the papacy after only five months to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit. * 1545 – The Council of Trent begins as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation. * 1577 ...

– John Standish's religious work ' is printed by Elisabeth Pickering, the first work known to be printed in London by a woman. *''unknown dates'' **The first known book from the first printing press in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, set up in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, is published, ''Manual de Adultos''. **Sir

David Lyndsay Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount (c. 1486 – c. 1555; surname sometimes transcribed as Lindsay) was a Scottish knight, poet, and herald who gained the highest heraldic office of Lyon King of Arms. He remains a well regarded poet whose works ref ...

Middle Scots Middle Scots was the Anglic language of Lowland Scotland in the period from 1450 to 1700. By the end of the 15th century, its phonology, orthography, accidence, syntax and vocabulary had diverged markedly from Early Scots, which was virtual ...

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

morality play The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...

A Satire of the Three Estates ''A Satire of the Three Estates'' (Middle Scots: ''Ane Pleasant Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis''), is a satirical morality play in Middle Scots, written by the makar Sir David Lyndsay. The complete play was first performed outside in the playing ...

'' is given a private first performance. ** Lazare de Baif travels with

Pierre de Ronsard Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet known in his generation as a "Prince des poètes, prince of poets". His works include ''Les Amours de Cassandre'' (1552)'','' ''Les Hymnes'' (1555-1556)'', Les Disco ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

, where they meet northern humanists.

New books

Prose

Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo (; – 1505) was a Castilian people, Castilian author who arranged the modern version of the chivalric romance ''Amadís de Gaula'', originally written in three books in the 14th century by an unknown author. Montalv ...

– Book 1 (translated into French by Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts at request of

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

) *

Hector Boece Hector Boece (; also spelled Boyce or Boise; 1465–1536), known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and the first Ancient university governance in Scotland, Principal of King's College, Aberdeen, ...

– ''Historia Scotorum'' (translated into

John Bellenden John Bellenden or Ballantyne ( 1533–1587?) of Moray (why Moray, a lowland family) was a Scottish writer of the 16th century. Life He was born towards the close of the 15th century, and educated at St. Andrews and Paris. At the request of ...

at request of

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...

) * Rösslin – ''The Byrth of Mankynde'' (', translation attributed to Richard Jonas) *

Georg Joachim Rheticus Georg Joachim de Porris, also known as Rheticus (; 16 February 1514 – 4 December 1574), was a mathematician, astronomer, cartographer, navigational-instrument maker, medical practitioner, and teacher. He is perhaps best known for his Trigonometr ...

– '' De libris revolutionum Copernici narratio prima'' (abstract of

Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

' ''

De revolutionibus orbium coelestium ''De revolutionibus orbium coelestium'' (English translation: ''On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres'') is the seminal work on the heliocentric theory of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) of the Polish Renaissance. The book ...

'')

Poetry

*Tontada Siddhesavara – ''Shatsthala Jnanamrita'' *''

Souterliedekens The ''Souterliedekens'' (literal: Psalter-songs) is a Dutch metrical psalter, published in 1540 in Antwerp, and which remained very popular throughout the century. The metrical rhyming psalms were, probably, arranged by a Utrecht nobleman: Willem v ...

'' (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

metrical psalter A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation: a book containing a verse translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in a church. Some metrical psalters include melodies or harmonisa ...

dedicated to and perhaps compiled by Willem van Zuylen van Nijevelt) ''Approximate year'' *Sir

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

– ''Lady Fortune'' *Girolamo Schola –

Births

January 26 Events Pre-1600 * 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph. * 1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people. * 1564 – The Council of T ...

– Florent Chrestien, French satirist and

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 ...

poet (died

1596 Events January–March * January 6 – Drake's Assault on Panama: Sir Francis Drake, General Thomas Baskerville and an English force of 15 ships land at the Atlantic Ocean port of Nombre de Dios in an attempt to capture the Isthmus o ...

) *

June 11 Events Pre-1600 * 173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty ( 171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called "miracle ...

–

Barnabe Googe Barnabe Googe (11 June 15407 February 1594), also spelt Barnabe Goche and Barnaby Goodge, was a poet and translator, one of the earliest English pastoral poets. Early life Barnabe Googe, born 11 June 1540 ( St Barnabas Day), in Alvingham, Lin ...

, English pastoral poet and translator (died

1594 Events January–March * January 3 – Longvek, the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia, is conquered by the army of the Ayutthaya Kingdom (now Thailand), commanded by King Naresuan, after more than two years of war. King Che ...

) *''unknown dates'' **

Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme Pierre de Bourdeille (, – 15 July 1614), called the seigneur et abbé de Brantôme, was a French memoirist, soldier and biographer. Life Born at Bourdeilles in the Périgord, Brantôme was the third son of the baron François de Bourdei ...

, French soldier, historian and poet (died

1614 Events January–March * January 22 – Led by Hasekura Tsunenaga, Japan's trade expedition to New Spain (now Mexico) arrives on the Mexican coast with 22 samurai, 120 Japanese merchants, sailors and servants, and 40 Spaniards and Port ...

) ** Rhys Cain,

Welsh-language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). ...

poet (died 1614) **Frei Agostinho da Cruz (brother of Diogo Bernardes), Portuguese poet (died

1619 Events January– March * January 12 – James I of England's Banqueting House, Whitehall in London is destroyed by fire."Fires, Great", in ''The Insurance Cyclopeadia: Being an Historical Treasury of Events and Circumstances Co ...

)

Deaths

May 6 Events Pre-1600 * 1527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; many scholars consider this the end of the Renaissance. * 1536 – The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Sp ...

–

Juan Luis Vives Juan Luis Vives y March (; ; ; ; 6 March 6 May 1540) was a Spaniards, Spanish (Valencian people, Valencian) scholar and Renaissance humanist who spent most of his adult life in the southern Habsburg Netherlands. His beliefs on the soul, insigh ...

, Spanish humanist polymath (born

1493 Year 1493 ( MCDXCIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 19 – Treaty of Barcelona: Charles VIII of France returns Cerdagne and Roussillon to Ferdinand of Aragon. ...

) *

May 22 Events Pre-1600 * 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu. * 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt. ...

–

Francesco Guicciardini Francesco Guicciardini (; 6 March 1483 – 22 May 1540) was an Italian historian and politician, statesman. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli, he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance. In his maste ...

, Italian historian and statesman (born

1483 Year 1483 ( MCDLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 1 – The Jews are expelled from Andalusia. * February 11 – The ''General Council of the Inquisiti ...

) *

October 5 Events Pre-1600 * 610 – Heraclius arrives at Constantinople, kills Byzantine Emperor Phocas, and becomes emperor. * 816 – King Louis the Pious is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by the Pope. * 869 – The Fourth Co ...

–

Helius Eobanus Hessus Helius Eobanus Hessus (6 January 1488 – 5 October 1540) was a German Latin poet and later a Lutheran humanist. He was born at Halgehausen in Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel). His family name is said to have been Koch; Eoban was the name of ...

, German Latin poet (born

1488 __NOTOC__ Year 1488 ( MCDLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 8 – The Royal Netherlands Navy is formed, by the decree of Maximillian of Austria. * February 3 ...

) *October – Robert Redman, London printer

References

{{Year in literature article categories