Francis Vernon (c. 1637 – 1677) was an English traveller and writer. Serving as secretary to the Paris embassy, Vernon became a key link between French and English scholars, copying important works for the Royal Society. He was considered frivolous, sharing court gossip and cultural news. His final journey from
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
to
Safavid Persia
The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the beg ...
ended in his murder in 1677 after rediscovering
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...
's location.
Early life
Born about 1637, near Charing Cross, he was the son of Francis Vernon of London and brother of
James Vernon James Vernon may refer to:
*James Vernon (politician, born 1646) (1646–1727), English administrator and Whig politician
*James Vernon the Younger (1677–1756), British diplomat, civil servant, and briefly a Member of Parliament
*James Vernon (ch ...
. He was admitted in 1649 to
Westminster School
Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
. He matriculated on 10 November 1654 at
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
. He graduated B.A. on 28 January 1658, and M.A. on 17 July 1660.
Vernon began to travel before he had taken his master's degree. During one of his voyages, he was taken by pirates and sold. After his release, he seems to have returned to Oxford. In 1668, he was chosen because of his experience to accompany
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle (162824 February 1685) was an English military leader and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1653 and 1660 and was created Earl of Carlisle in 1661.
Biography
Howard was the ...
, ambassador-extraordinary to Sweden, and the king wrote to Christ Church requesting a leave of absence for him.
In Paris
Vernon was next appointed to go with
Ralph Montagu
Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu (24 December 1638 – 9 March 1709) was an English courtier, diplomat, politician and peer.
Background
Ralph Montagu was the second son of Edward Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton (1616–1684), and Anne ...
to Paris as secretary to the embassy. His letters fell below the required standard, but he remained there till the end of 1671.
He was, in fact, considered frivolous for filling correspondence with court and city gossip. He reported, for example, the first performances of plays by
Jean Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tr ...
and
Pierre Corneille
Pierre Corneille (; ; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great 17th-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine.
As a young man, he earned the valuable patronage ...
in 1670 (the rival ''
Bérénice
''Berenice'' () is a five-act tragedy by the French 17th-century playwright Jean Racine. ''Berenice'' was not played often between the 17th and the 20th centuries.
It was premiered on 21 November 1670 by the Comédiens du Roi at the Hôtel de ...
'' and ''
Tite et Bérénice
''Tite et Bérénice'' is a heroic comedy by the 17th-century French playwright Pierre Corneille.
It was premiered on 28 November 1670 by the troupe of Molière at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré), Palais Royal Theater in Par ...
'').
During this time, Vernon became a point of contact between the scholars of France and England. In 1670,
Christiaan Huygens
Christiaan Huygens, Halen, Lord of Zeelhem, ( , ; ; also spelled Huyghens; ; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor who is regarded as a key figure in the Scientific Revolution ...
, seriously ill, chose Vernon to carry out a donation of his papers to the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in London, should he die.
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...
controlled the
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...
closely; in particular, the circulation of publications of its academicians. Vernon copied the ''Mésure de la terre'' of
Jean Picard
Jean Picard (21 July 1620 – 12 July 1682) was a French astronomer and priest born in La Flèche, where he studied at the Jesuit Collège Royal Henry-Le-Grand.
He is principally notable for his accurate measure of the size of the Earth, ...
for the Royal Society, which therefore saw it in 1671, while Colbert communicated it officially in 1676.
Among Vernon's other correspondents was
Edward Pococke
Edward Pococke (baptised 8 November 160410 September 1691) was an English Orientalist and biblical scholar.
Early life
The son of Edward Pococke (died 1636), vicar of Chieveley in Berkshire, he was brought up at Chieveley and educated from a ...
, copies of whose son's Latin version of ''
Ibn-al-Tifail'' he presented to the
Sorbonne and to
Christiaan Huyghens
Christiaan Huygens, Halen, Lord of Zeelhem, ( , ; ; also spelled Huyghens; ; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor who is regarded as a key figure in the Scientific Revolution ...
. Another correspondent was
John Collins, for whom Vernon obtained books through
Jean Berthet, including works by
René Descartes
René Descartes ( , ; ; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and Modern science, science. Mathematics was paramou ...
and
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal (19June 162319August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer.
Pascal was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. His earliest ...
. He also sent
James Gregory a copy of
Fermat
Pierre de Fermat (; ; 17 August 1601 – 12 January 1665) was a French mathematician who is given credit for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus, including his technique of adequality. In particular, he is recognized for his d ...
's ''Diophantus''. Vernon's services were recognised by his election to the Royal Society on his return to England in 1672, his proposer being
Henry Oldenburg
Henry Oldenburg (also Henry Oldenbourg) (c. 1618 as Heinrich Oldenburg – 5 September 1677) was a German theologian, diplomat, and natural philosopher, known as one of the creators of modern scientific peer review. He was one of the foremos ...
.
Final voyage and death
Vernon's final journey was from
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, through
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
, Greece and the islands to
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
.
This expedition led in particular to the rediscovery of the location of
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...
, which was, at that time, unknown in western Europe.
Vernon set off with
George Wheler George Wheler may refer to:
* Sir George Wheler (travel writer) (1651–1724), English clergyman and travel writer
* George Wheler (politician)
George Wheler (September 2, 1836 – July 6, 1908) was a mill owner and political figure in Ontar ...
,
Jacob Spon
Jacob Spon (or Jacques; in English dictionaries given as James; 1647 – 25 December 1685) was a French doctor and archaeologist. He was a pioneer in the exploration of the monuments of Greece, and a scholar of international reputation in the dev ...
and Sir Giles Eastcourt on 20 June 1675. They were on the
galley
A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...
of the ''
bailo
''Bailo'' or ''baylo'' (plural ''baili'' or ''bayli'') is a Venetian title that derives from the Latin term '' baiulus'', meaning "porter, bearer". In English, it may be translated bailiff, or otherwise rendered as bailey, baili, bailie, bailli o ...
'' (Giovanni Morosini, appointed that year). At
Corfu
Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
, they were taken for spies, a recurring problem. The party broke up at
Zante
Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; ; ) or Zante (, , ; ; from the Venetian form, traditionally Latinized as Zacynthus) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands, with an area of , and a coastline in ...
. All four, as well as
Bernard Randolph, whom Vernon encountered later, left written records of these travels. An account of
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, ''Athènes Ancienne et nouvelle'', had appeared that year, written by George Guillet, who called himself Guillet de St Georges. It claimed to be based on first-hand experience but was in fact collated from published sources. Spon had seen a recent account by the Jesuit Jacques Babin and wanted to compare Guillet's book with the facts on the ground.
Vernon in fact anticipated Spon in checking Guillet's book. He landed in central Greece in August 1675, through
Domvrena. He travelled to Athens, and set up to tour the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...
on 2 September with Eastcourt as companion. Via
Mistra
Mystras or Mistras (), also known in the '' Chronicle of the Morea'' as Myzethras or Myzithras (Μυζηθρᾶς), is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Situated on Mount Taygetus, above ancient Sparta, ...
and
Kalamata
Kalamata ( ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece after Patras, and the largest city of the Peloponnese (region), homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regiona ...
, they turned north to
Patras
Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...
. At
Naupaktos
Nafpaktos () or Naupactus, is a town and a former municipality in Nafpaktia, Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mornos.
It is named for Naupaktos (, Lati ...
, Eastcourt fell ill, and he died at
Vitrinitza. Via
Salona
Salona (, ) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and near to Split, in Croatia. It was one of the largest cities of the late Roman empire with 60,000 inhabitants. It was the last residence of the final western ...
, Delphi and
Thebes, Vernon returned to Athens on 3 October.
Arriving alone in Persia, in the spring of 1677, Vernon was in a quarrel over a penknife and was murdered. He was buried at
Ispahan two days afterwards.
News of his fate was transmitted by
Robert Huntington
Robert Huntington (12February 16372September 1701) was an English churchman, orientalist, and manuscript collector who served as the 14th Provost of Trinity College Dublin from 1679 to 1683. He was later Bishop of Raphoe.
Early life and educ ...
in
Aleppo
Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
.
Works
Vernon's ''Journal'', which was begun at
Spalatro (Split) and finished at
Isfahan
Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...
, was found among the papers of
Robert Hooke
Robert Hooke (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an English polymath who was active as a physicist ("natural philosopher"), astronomer, geologist, meteorologist, and architect. He is credited as one of the first scientists to investigate living ...
. It contains notes and many inscriptions. A letter to Oldenburg, dated 10 January 1675, was printed in the ''
Philosophical Transactions
''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the second journ ...
'' of 1676 as ''Observations made during Travels from Venice through Dalmatia … to Smyrna''. It was translated into French by Jacob Spon, who incorporated it in his ''Réponses à la Critique publiée par M. Guillet'', 1679.
It contained the first description of Athens by an English visitor. In particular Vernon reported on the
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; ; ) is a former Ancient Greek temple, temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the Greek gods, goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of c ...
, some years before the damage caused by
Francesco Morosini
Francesco Morosini (26 February 1619 – 16 January 1694) was the Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694, at the height of the Great Turkish War. He was one of the many Doges and generals produced by the Venetian noble Morosini family.Encyclopæd ...
's bombardment. Combined with notes of
Jacques Carrey
Jacques Carrey (12 January 1649 – 18 February 1726) was a French painter and draughtsman, now remembered almost exclusively for the series of drawings he made of the Parthenon, Athens, in 1674.
Born in Troyes, Carrey was a pupil in the atelier ...
, the observations of Vernon were used by
William Bell Dinsmoor
William Bell Dinsmoor Sr. (July 29, 1886 – July 2, 1973) was an American architectural historian of classical Greece and a Columbia University professor of art and archaeology.
Biography
He was born on July 29, 1886, in Windham, New Hampshire. ...
in his Parthenon reconstruction, in relation to the south frieze.
A Latin poem entitled ''Oxonium Poema'', published in 1667, under the initials "F. V. ex æde Christi", has been identified as by Vernon. It is a description of Oxford and its environs.
Notes
References
*
Further reading
*
;Attribution
External links
The Correspondence of Francis Vernon i
EMLO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Francis
1630s births
1677 deaths
Expatriates from the Kingdom of England
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Fellows of the Royal Society