Barnabe Rich (also Barnaby Riche) (c. 1540 – 10 November 1617) was an English writer and soldier, and a distant relative of Lord Chancellor Rich.

Life

He fought 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 ...

, rising to the rank of captain, and afterwards served in Ireland. He shared in the colonization of

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

, and spent the latter part of his life near

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. In the intervals of his campaigns he produced many pamphlets on political questions and romances. In 1606 he was in receipt of a pension of half a crown a day, and in 1616 he was presented with a gift of £100 as being the oldest captain in the service.

Works

His best-known work is ''Riche His Farwell to the Militarie Profession , Riche his Farewell to Militarie Profession conteining verie pleasaunt discourses fit for a peaceable tyme'' (1581). Of the eight stories contained in it, five, he says, are forged only for delight, neither credible to be believed, nor hurtful to be perused. The three others are translations from the Italian. He claims as his own invention the story of Apolonius and Silla, the second in the collection, from which

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

took the plot of ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

''. It is, however, founded on the tale of Nicuola and Lattantio as told by Matteo Bandello. The eighth, Phylotus and Emilia, a complicated story arising from the likeness and disguise of a brother and sister, is identical in plot with the anonymous play, ''Philotus'', printed in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in 1603. Both play and story were edited for the Bannatyne Club in 1835, by

David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, especially Nazi Germany. He was found to be a Holocaust denier in a British court ...

. In the conclusion to his collection Rich tells a story of a devil named Balthasar, who possesses a king of Scots, prudently changed after the accession of James I to the Grand Turk. ''The Strange and Wonderful Adventures of Don Simonides, a Gentleman Spaniard'' (1581), with its sequel ''The Second Tome of the Travels and Adventures of Don Simonides'' (1584), is written in imitation of Lyly. Among his other romances should be mentioned ''The Adventures of Brusanus, Prince of Hungaria'' (1592). His authenticated works number twenty-four, and include works on Ireland, the troubles of which were, according to him, due to the religion of the people and to the lack of consistency and firmness on the part of the English government. Such are: ''Allarme to England'' (1578); '' A New Description of Ireland'' (1610); and ''The Irish Hubbub, or the English Hue and Crie'' (1617), in which he also inveighs against the use of tobacco.

References

* ''Barnabe Riche His Farewell to Military Profession''. Edited with Introduction and Notes by Donald Beecher. Ottawa: Dovehouse Editions/ Binghamton, New York: Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 1992
Publications of the Barnabe Riche Society
no. 1 ; *Introductions to the Shakespeare Society's reprint of ''Riche his Farewell'' (1846) * Peter Cunningham, ''Introductions to Rich's Honesty of this Age'' (reprinted for the Percy Society, 1844) *the life by

Sidney Lee Sir Sidney Lee (5 December 1859 – 3 March 1926) was an English biographer, writer, and critic. Biography Lee was born Solomon Lazarus Lee in 1859 at 12 Keppel Street, Bloomsbury, London. He was educated at the City of London School and ...

in the ''Dictionary of National Biography'' * Norbert Kind, ''Barnabe Riche, "Don Simonides", Teil I (1581), Teil II (1584): kritische Edition mit Einleitung, Kommentar und Glossar'', Köln, Phil. Diss., 1989. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Barnabe 1540s births 1617 deaths English short story writers English non-fiction writers 16th-century English soldiers 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers 16th-century English novelists 16th-century English male writers Barnabe English male short story writers English male novelists