Sir Gerard Herbert (died 6 or 17 September 1622), also spelt Gerrard and Garrett, was an English commander during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

and the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. He was knighted by King James at his palace in Royston in 1613. Herbert was killed in September 1622 at the Siege of Heidelberg, where he was fighting on behalf of King James' son-in-law

Frederick V of the Palatinate Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fr ...

. His defense of

Heidelberg Castle Heidelberg Castle () is a ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps. The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demolition in the 17th and 18th c ...

was destroyed by the Imperial-Spanish troops of

Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly (; ; ; February 1559 – 30 April 1632) was a field marshal who commanded the Catholic League's forces in the Thirty Years' War. From 1620 to 1631, he won an unmatched and demoralizing string of important victo ...

and Don

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (1 September 1453 – 2 December 1515) was a Spanish general and statesman. He led military campaigns during the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars, after which he served as Viceroy of Naples. For his e ...

. Horace Vere (DNB00) Sir

Simonds d'Ewes Sir Simonds d'Ewes, 1st Baronet (18 December 1602 – 18 April 1650) was an English antiquary and politician. He was bred for the bar, was a member of the Long Parliament and left notes on its transactions. D'Ewes took the Puritan side in the Civ ...

wrote of the account he received from Sir Dudley North, that Herbert "was slaine after three pikes first valiantlye brooken, being then shott in the head. This hapned through the cowardice of the Dutchmen in the outworkes, as he fullye dilated it to mee." Herbert was a kinsman of the

Earl of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...

. He was a courtier at the

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

and Jacobean

courts A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts gene ...

, where he was invited to entertainment events called "

masques The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masq ...

". In 1617–19, he wrote a series of letters to

Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester (10 March 1573 – 15 February 1632) was an English art collector, diplomat and Secretary of State. Early life He was the second son of Anthony Carleton of Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, and of Joyce ...

with detailed reports on the dramatic performances, including a first-hand account of Shakespeare's ''

Pericles Pericles (; ; –429 BC) was a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, and was acclaimed ...

'' performed in May 1617. Herbert described the destruction of the first Jacobean

Banqueting House The Banqueting House, on Whitehall in the City of Westminster, central London, is the grandest and best-known survivor of the architectural genre of banqueting houses, constructed for elaborate entertaining. It is the only large surviving comp ...

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...

by fire in June 1619, which he attributed to workmen setting fire to oily rags.

John Sherren Brewer John Sherren Brewer, Jr. (March 1809 – February 1879) was an English clergyman, historian and scholar. He was a brother of E. Cobham Brewer, compiler of ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable''. Birth and education Brewer was born in Norwic ...

, ''Court of King James'', 2 (London, 1839), 187–188.

References

External links

Zedlers Universallexicon, vol.47, p. 211

English military personnel of the Eighty Years' War English army officers Year of birth missing 1622 deaths English people of the Thirty Years' War

Gerard Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other Germanic name, early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful ...

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