Nathanael Richards
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Nathanael Richards (
fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...
1630–1654) was an English dramatist and poet, perhaps from
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
. He should not be confused with Nathaniel Richards (1611–1660), a cleric.


Background and possible connections to the Hammond family

A possible relative, Gabriel Richards, is mentioned in William Hammond's letters as a "cousin". Some unresolved issues remain about the putative family connection. *John Richards gave the manor of Rowling, a hamlet near
Goodnestone, Dover __NOTOC__ Goodnestone is a village and civil parish in the Dover district of Kent, England. The village is situated approximately east-southeast from the city of Canterbury, and west-southwest from Sandwich. The civil parish also contains the ...
, to William Hammond of St Alban's Court, on his death in 1661. The Richards family descended from John Richards, gent., who acquired the manor, with coat of arms ''sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent''. Goodnestone adjoins the parish of
Nonington Nonington () (variously, Nonnington, Nunyngton, Nonnyngton and Nunnington), is a civil parish and village in east Kent, halfway between the historic city of Canterbury and the English Channel, channel port town of Dover. The civil parish includes ...
, where the Hammond seat of St Alban's Court is located. *Gabriel Richards of Rowling left on his death in 1672 (reportedly at age 77) property to William Hammond the younger. George Charles Moore Smith concluded in 1909 that Nathanael Richards the dramatist had up to that point been misidentified, and was a Richards of Rowling, rather than from a Devon family. He pointed out the match of his coat of arms, as shown in the portrait engraving of 1640. *Tentatively, Moore Smith made Nathanael Richards the younger brother of Gabriel Richards, respectively the third and second sons of the Captain William Richards with a monument in
Brabourne Brabourne is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, England. The village centre is east of Ashford town centre. Geography The village originated around the village church and this area is now usually referred to as E ...
church. Gabriel Richards put up that monument, in 1672. *On the other hand, monumental inscriptions in Holy Cross Church, Goodnestone, taken down in the 18th century by
Bryan Faussett Bryan Faussett (30 October 1720 – 20 February 1776) was an English antiquary. Faussett formed a collection that was rich in Anglo-Saxon objects of personal adornment, such as pendants, brooches, beads and buckles. He discovered the Kingston B ...
, make Gabriel Richards (c.1595–1672) the son of John Richards and his wife Alice Austen. He married Elisabeth Smith; there was one son, Richard who died in 1661, and one daughter Elizabeth (1649–1670) who married Robert Brodnax. *Burke's ''General Armory'' for "Richards of Rowley" makes William Richards the Vice-Admiral a son of John Richards (died 1609); and so a possible brother of Gabriel Richards. Nathanael Richards wrote an
acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fre ...
poem, published in 1630, for Sir Thomas Stanley of Cumberlow on his marriage to Mary Hammond, relative of William Hammond. There was also a poem for Lady Mary, when with child. Richards was a friend of
Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...
, leading to the suggestion that the William Hammond to whom Middleton gave the manuscript of ''
A Game at Chess ''A Game at Chess'' is a comic satirical play by Thomas Middleton, first staged in August 1624 by the King's Men at the Globe Theatre. The play is notable for its political content, dramatizing a conflict between Spain and England. The plot t ...
'' in 1625 may have been of St Alban's Court (from the point of view of date, this would be the grandfather of William Hammond who died in 1685).


Works

Richards issued in 1630 ''The Celestiall Publican'', a religious poem. At the end are epitaphs on James I,
Sir Francis Carew Sir Francis Carew (1602–1649) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1624 and 1626. Carew was the son of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton of Beddington, Surrey who changed his name to Carew in 1611. He matriculated at Un ...
, and others, with an anagram on
Sir Julius Cæsar Sir Julius Caesar (1557/155818 April 1636) was an English lawyer, judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1622. He was also known as Julius Adelmare. Early life and education Caesar was born near T ...
and verses on the author's friend, Sir Henry Hart, K.B. These poems were reprinted, with some additions, in 1641, as ''Poems Sacred and Satyricall'', London, for H. Blunden, 1641. Richards's major work was the tragedy ''Messallina'' (1640), a historical play based on
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...
,
Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...
,
Pliny the younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo; 61 – ), better known in English as Pliny the Younger ( ), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and e ...
, and the sixth satire of
Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ; 55–128), was a Roman poet. He is the author of the '' Satires'', a collection of satirical poems. The details of Juvenal's life are unclear, but references in his works to people f ...
.Printed as ''The Tragedy of Messallina, the Roman Emperesse. As it has been acted with generall applause divers times, by the company of his Maiesties Revells'', London, for Daniel Frere. There are anachronisms, such as
firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...
, and a hundred
vestal virgins In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals (, singular ) were Glossary of ancient Roman religion#sacerdos, priestesses of Vesta (mythology), Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals ...
are gratuitously introduced. The work is dedicated to John Cary, Viscount Rochford, and there are complimentary verses by
Robert Davenport Robert Davenport may refer to: * Robert Davenport (dramatist) (fl. 1623–1639), English dramatist * Robert Davenport (Australian politician) (1816–1896), pioneer and politician in the Colony of South Australia * Robert Davenport (cricketer) (185 ...
, Thomas Jordan, Thomas Rawlins, and others. It is one of the few plays of the period that have a cast list: it includes William Cartwright senior (Claudius), John Robinson (Saufellus), Christopher Goad (Silius), John Barret (Messalina), and Thomas Jordan (Lepida). Some verses by Richards were prefixed to Thomas Middleton's ''
Women Beware Women ''Women Beware Women'' is a Jacobean tragedy written by Thomas Middleton, and first published in 1657. Date The date of authorship of the play is deeply uncertain. Scholars have estimated its origin anywhere from 1612 to 1627; 1623–24 has ...
''.


Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Nathaniel English dramatists and playwrights 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets