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Abraham Fleming (Flemyng, c. 1552–18 September 1607) was an English clergyman. He was a prolific writer and translator, who contributed to others' texts. He was also an editor and poet, serving as a chief to the second edition of ''
Holinshed's Chronicles ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', also known as ''Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland'', is a collaborative work published in several volumes and two editions, the first edition in 1577, and the second in 1587. It was a large, co ...
'' (1587). Fleming was a manuscript collector. By the 1730s, Fleming's collection was owned by
Francis Peck Francis Peck (1692–1743) was an English priest of the Church of England and antiquary, best known for his ''Desiderata Curiosa'' (1732–1735). Life He was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, the son of Robert, merchant, and baptised 4 May ...
. Its subsequent fate is unclear.


Life

Most likely to have been born in
Holborn Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...
, London, between 1548 and 1552, Fleming matriculated at
Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...
as a
sizar At Trinity College Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an Undergraduate education, undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in retur ...
(a poor student performing duties in return for his tuition) in November 1570, and graduated with a B.A. in 1582. It is likely that Fleming interspersed his studies at Cambridge with extended visits in London to write and translate popular texts on a range of themes, some of which remain in print today. He began his career in spectacular style, becoming the first person to translate a complete
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
ian text (the "Bucoliks" or ''Eclogues'') into English in 1575. He followed this the same year with another complete translation of "Bucoliks", this time in verse. Later in his career Fleming was called upon by other authors to write recommendations for their books and worked alongside notable authors such as George Whetston, Barnabe Googe and Reginald Scot; many of Elizabethan London's leading printers called on Fleming to edit or embellish pre-production texts and he established a network of contacts. He is best known for his once disputed but now acknowledged role as chief editor of and major contributor to the second edition of ''
Holinshed's Chronicles ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', also known as ''Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland'', is a collaborative work published in several volumes and two editions, the first edition in 1577, and the second in 1587. It was a large, co ...
'' (1587). Throughout his life Fleming was a godly Protestant. He took holy orders in August 1588 and was ordained deacon and priest by Dr
Richard Fletcher Richard Fletcher may refer to: Politicians * Richard Fletcher (American politician) (1788–1869), US Representative from Massachusetts *Richard Fletcher (died 1560), MP for Rye *Richard Fletcher (died c.1607), MP for Derby (UK Parliament constitue ...
at
Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, and formerly known as Peterborough Abbey or St Peter's Abbey, is a cathedral in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. The seat of the Church ...
. Almost as soon as he was ordained Fleming became chaplain to Charles Howard, Lord High Admiral of England, and not chaplain to Catherine Countess of Nottingham as previously thought, although among his papers were prayers said to the Howard family when they were together; in the 1590s Fleming was called as a witness in a court case and stated his occupation as chaplain to Lord Howard. Another error in previous articles about Fleming was that he was an antiquary; he was never a member of the Society of Antiquaries and while he did amass a collection of manuscripts, his motivation for collecting them was not consistent with those of an antiquary. As well as performing the duties of a private chaplain, Fleming was a curate at St Nicholas's Church, Deptford assisting Reverend Thomas Macander (who buried
Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...
on 1 June 1593, and possibly Fleming assisted with this burial). Between 1589 and 1606 he preached eight times at
St Paul's Cross Paul's Cross (alternatively "Powles Crosse") was a preaching cross and open-air pulpit in St Paul's Churchyard, the grounds of Old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London. It was the most important public pulpit in Tudor and early Stuart Englan ...
, further evidence that he was a trusted "establishment man"; the sermons are now lost. On 19 October 1593 he was collated by Archbishop
John Whitgift John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...
to the rectory of
St Pancras, Soper Lane St Pancras, Soper Lane, was a parish church in the City of London, in England. Of medieval origin, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt. History St Pancras, Soper Lane, was in the Ward of Cheap, City of London.
, London. He took his work as a rector as seriously as he did his writing; Fleming saw his parish through at least two plagues. Fleming died at Bottesford, Leicestershire, on 18 September 1607, while on a visit to his brother Samuel, the rector of that parish, and was buried under the chancel inside the church. Despite Fleming's humble origins, his coffin was interred with those of the earls of Rutland. A memorial plaque bearing an epitaph poem written by Fleming marks the approximate site. He was survived by his brother Reverend Samuel Fleming and his sister Hester. Perhaps Fleming's greatest legacy is the fifty known books that he wrote, translated or contributed to.


Selected works

Most of his manuscript collections were in 1732 in the possession of
Francis Peck Francis Peck (1692–1743) was an English priest of the Church of England and antiquary, best known for his ''Desiderata Curiosa'' (1732–1735). Life He was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, the son of Robert, merchant, and baptised 4 May ...
, who intended to print them in the second volume of his ''Desiderata Curiosa.'' They cannot now be traced. Fifty-nine titles are listed in Cooper's 'Athenae Cantabrigienses', including: *' 1589. *',' London, 1575. *',' London, 1576; a translation from the Latin. *',' from the Greek of Aelianus, London, 1576. *',' from the Latin of
John Caius John Caius (born John Kays ; 6 October 1510 – 29 July 1573), also known as Johannes Caius and Ioannes Caius, was an English physician, and second founder of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Scholar and physician to Edward VI and Mary I ...
, London, 1576. *',' London, 1577; reprinted, London, 1826. *',' from the Latin of Frederick Nause, bishop of Vienna, London, 1577. *',' written by Musaeus. Translation, published about 1577. *'Jerom of Ferrara his meditations, on the 51 & 31 Psalms; translated and augmented,' London, n. d., and 1588. Licensed in 1578. *', ' London, 1579. The tale of Hermetes is, with a few verbal changes, that which
George Gascoigne George Gascoigne (c. 15357 October 1577) was an English poet, soldier and unsuccessful courtier. He is considered the most important poet of the early Elizabethan era, following Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and leading to ...
presented to Queen Elizabeth. *',' translated, London, 1580. The translator has added a history of earthquakes in England from the time of William the Conqueror to the last earthquake on 6 April 1580. *',' London, 1580. *',' London, 1581, reprinted in 'The Diamond of Deuotion,' 1586. *',' newly Englished, London, 1582. *'Verborvm Latinorvm cvm Graecis Anglicisqve conivnctorvm locupletissimi Commentary,' London, 1583. *Poetical translations for
Reginald Scot Reginald Scot (or Scott) ( – 9 October 1599) was an Englishman and Member of Parliament, the author of '' The Discoverie of Witchcraft'', which was published in 1584. It was written against the belief in witches, to show that witchcraft ...
's 'Discoverie of Witchcraft,' 1584. *'A Shorte Dictionarie in Latine and English,' London, 1586 and 1594. *'The Diamond of Deuotion; cut and squared into sixe severall pointes: namelie (1) The Footpath of Felicitie; (2) A Guide to Godlines; (3) The Schoole of Skill; (4) A Swarme of Bees; (5) A Plant of Pleasure; (6) A Grove of Graces. Full of manie fruitfull lessons auailable vnto the leading of a godlie and reformed life,' London, 1586. *'.' In the first volume of Holinshed's 'Chronicles,' 1587. The third volume of the same edition was enlarged by Fleming with interpolations from the collections of
Francis Thynne Francis Thynne (c. 1544 – 1608) was an English antiquary and an officer of arms at the College of Arms. Family background and early life Francis Thynne was born in Kent, the son of William Thynne, who was Master of the Household of King He ...
, the abridgment of R. Grafton, and the summary of
John Stow John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of History of England, English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe C ...
. *',' London, 1589, dedicated to Archbishop
John Whitgift John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...
. This version of the 'Bucolics' is not the same as that published by Fleming in 1575. *Historical and miscellaneous articles in manuscript enumerated in Peck's ''Desiderata Curiosa.'' *'The conduit of comfort Containing sundrie comfortable prayers, to the strengthening of the faith of a weak Christian.' London
1579 Year 1579 ( MDLXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar, and a common year starting on Monday of the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 6 – The Union of Arras unites the s ...
an
1624
.


Notes


References

* *Painting-Stubbs, Clare, "Abraham Fleming: writer, cleric and preacher in Jacobethan London", (2010, unpublished). *Painting-Stubbs, Clare, "Abraham Fleming" entry in the "Blackwell Encyclopedia of Renaissance Literature".


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Abraham 1552 births 1607 deaths 16th-century English Anglican priests 17th-century English poets 17th-century English male writers 17th-century English writers Latin–English translators 16th-century English translators People from Holborn 16th-century English poets 16th-century English male writers 17th-century English translators English male poets English male non-fiction writers Writers from the London Borough of Camden English book editors Holinshed's Chronicles English book and manuscript collectors