Kenelm Henry Digby (c. 1797 – 1880) was an Anglo-Irish writer, whose reputation rests chiefly on his earliest publication, '' The Broad-Stone of Honour, or Rules for the Gentlemen of England'' (1822), which contains an exhaustive survey of medieval customs. The work was subsequently enlarged and issued (1828–29) in four volumes, entitled ''Godefridus'', ''Tancredus'', ''Morus'' and ''Orlandus''. Digby's exposure to

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

's ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...

'' novels as a youth encouraged him to romanticize the Middle Ages. ''Broad-Stone'' contributed to the Young England movement's feudalist ideology and influenced many of Digby's Cambridge contemporaries. The book inculcated readers with ideas of chivalry and staunch Catholicism and stressed the importance of the heart’s knowledge over intellectual learning by presenting historical figures as role models. Digby's revival of medieval principles helped young men of his day construct their idea of what being a "gentleman" means. Born at

Clonfert Clonfert () is a small village in east County Galway, Ireland, halfway between Ballinasloe and Portumna. The village gives its name to the Diocese of Clonfert. Clonfert Cathedral is one of the eight cathedral churches of the Church of Ireland ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, he was 15 when his father died in 1812. He moved to England to attend Petersham High School near London. From 1816 to 1819, he went to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where some members of the university advocated reform and even republicanism; Digby, however, favoured a strong monarchy, the Church, and chivalry. At Cambridge, he read

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of hi ...

and Arthur Hallam; his close friends there were George Darby, Julius Hare,

William Whewell William Whewell ( ; 24 May 17946 March 1866) was an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, and historian of science. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved ...

, and

Adam Sedgwick Adam Sedgwick (; 22 March 1785 – 27 January 1873) was a British geologist and Anglican priest, one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Cambrian and Devonian period of the geological timescale. Based on work which he did on ...

. In summer, he travelled across Europe sketching old castles and writing. Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, a massive medieval fortification in Germany, gave him the title ''The Broad-Stone of Honour''. He published the book in a single volume in 1822, and the beliefs he explored while writing it seem to have contributed to his conversion to Catholicism in 1825. After that, he rewrote and expanded the one volume into four, published in 1828–29: ''Godfridus'', containing a general introduction (named after

Godfrey of Boulogne Godfrey of Bouillon (, , , ; 18 September 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a French nobleman and pre-eminent leader of the First Crusade. First ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100, he avoided the title of king, preferring that of prince ...

, a Crusade hero); ''Tancredus'', discussing chivalry’s discipline and applauding Christianity (for

Tancred, Prince of Galilee Tancred (1075 – December 5 or December 12, 1112) was an Italo- Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch. Tancred came from the house of Hauteville and was the great-grands ...

, another Crusade hero); ''Morus'', bashing the Reformation as the death of chivalry and religion (after

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, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord H ...

); and ''Orlandus'', which detailed Digby's idea of chivalric behaviour (after Ariosto's ''

Orlando Furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was ...

''). From 1831 to 1841, Digby published ''Mores Catholici, or Ages of Faith'', an eleven-volume " panegyric" on the medieval period. It was often referred to by Catholic writers, and sections of it were reprinted as late as 1942.

References

* *''Memoir of Kenelm Digby'' by Bernard Holland, first published 1919; paperback, Fisher Press, 1992

External links

* * Kenelm Henry Digby Collection. James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Digby, Kennelm Henry 1790s births 1880 deaths Date of birth unknown Place of death missing 19th-century Anglo-Irish people English writers Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge