Sir Thomas Posthumus Hoby (1566 – 30 December 1640), also spelt Hobie, Hobbie and Hobby, Posthumous and Postumus, was an English

gentleman ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

at various times between 1589 and 1629. A

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

, he has been claimed as the inspiration for

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 ...

's character

Malvolio Malvolio is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's comedy '' Twelfth Night, or What You Will''. His name means "ill will" in Italian, referencing his disagreeable nature. He is the vain, pompous, authoritarian steward of Olivia's househ ...

in ''

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 ...

''.J. L. Simmons, "A Source for Shakespeare's Malvolio: The Elizabethan Controversy with the Puritans", ''Huntington Library Quarterly'', vol. 36 (May 1973), pp. 181–201.

Life

Hoby was the younger son of Sir Thomas Hoby (1530–1566), the English Ambassador to France in 1557, by his wife, Elizabeth Cooke. Elizabeth was one of the daughters of the

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

Sir Anthony Cooke (1504–1576). Hoby was born after his father's death, which led to his gaining the additional name Posthumus.The Ghost of Lady Hoby
at britannia.com, accessed 17 March 2011 His sisters Elizabeth and Anne died within a few days of each other in February 1571. His elder brother was the diplomat and scholar Sir Edward Hoby (1560–1617). Hoby was also a nephew of Sir Philip Hoby,

Master-General of the Ordnance The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was ...

and an English ambassador to the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Hoby was a very small boy and grew up to be nicknamed "the little knight" for his slightness and short stature.John William Walker, ed., ''Hackness Manuscripts and Accounts'' (Yorkshire Archaeological Society Record series: Volume 95, 1938), p. 5 He was educated at Eton and at

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

, matriculating in 1574 at the age of eight. Also in 1574, some years after his father's death, Hoby's mother married John, Lord Russell, the eldest surviving son of the

Earl of Bedford Earl of Bedford is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England and is currently a subsidiary title of the Dukes of Bedford. The first creation came in 1138 in favour of Hugh de Beaumont. He appears to have been degraded ...

, and with him had three further children, Elizabeth, Anne and Francis. She was the sister-in-law of

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (England), Secretary of State (1550–1553 and ...

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

's Secretary of State, and Hoby was himself a first cousin of

Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612) was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart period, Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury ser ...

, who succeeded his father as the Queen's principal minister. As his mother pursued favours for herself and her friends, Hoby became a protégé of Burghley. Among his many other first cousins were the philosopher and statesman

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

and the spy Anthony Bacon. In 1589 Hoby was elected Member of Parliament for Appleby. He was re-elected MP for Appleby in 1593. History of Parliament Online - Hoby, Thomas Posthumous
/ref> In 1595, Hoby married Margaret Sidney (1571–1633), daughter and heiress of Arthur Dakins, a

landed gentleman The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is th ...

of Linton, already the widow of two men, of Walter Devereux, a younger brother of the

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

, and of Thomas Sidney, a brother of the poet

Philip Sidney Sir Philip Sidney (30 November 1554 – 17 October 1586) was an English poet, courtier, scholar and soldier who is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan era, Elizabethan age. His works include a sonnet sequence, ' ...

. Hoby had been an unsuccessful suitor four years earlier, after Margaret had lost her first husband. They set up home at

Hackness Hackness is a village and civil parish in the district and county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies within the North York Moors National Park. The parish population rose from 125 in the 2001 UK census to 221 in the 2011 UK census. From 19 ...

, Yorkshire, but had no children. Margaret Hoby is notable as a diarist. In 1597 Hoby was elected MP for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

, but was declared ineligible at Yorkshire. He was elected MP for Scarborough again in 1604. In 1614 he was elected MP for

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

and was re-elected MP for Ripon in 1621, 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1628. He was Custos Rotulorum of the North Riding of Yorkshire from 1621 to 1626.A. J. Fletcher,
Honour, Reputation, and Local Officeholding in Elizabethan and Stuart England
' online at ebooks.cambridge.org, accessed 17 March 2011 A

, in 1600 Hoby took legal action against William Eure, 4th Baron Eure (1579–1646) and several of his other neighbours, alleging that they had entered his house, taken drink, played cards, ridiculed Puritanism, and threatened to ravish his wife. In 1609 he alleged in the

Star Chamber The court of Star Chamber () was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (), and was composed of privy counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judicial activities of the ...

that Sir Richard Cholmley had twice spoken contemptuously to him in the hope of provoking a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

. One historian of the period has described Hoby as "that most overbearing, touchy, and resentful of Yorkshire

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

". It has been suggested that the character of

William 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 nation ...

's ''

'' is based on Hoby and that his legal action of 1600 inspired Scene III of Act 2 of ''Twelfth Night'', in which Malvolio is disturbed by drunken merry-making. As a magistrate, Hoby has been described as "exceptionally conscientious". On his mother's death in 1609 Hoby inherited from her "all my

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

s of the manor of Gyfford in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

", and in 1617 he inherited the estates of his brother, Sir Edward.

Death and memorials

Hoby died on 30 December 1640 and was entombed with the remains of his wife in the Hackness

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

. By a will dated 28 March 1640, he left his manor of Hackness to

John Sydenham John Sydenham (born 15 September 1939) is an English former footballer who played as a striker, spending most of his career with Southampton. Early career Born in Southampton, John was educated at St. Mary's College, Southampton and, at 13, ...

of Brympton in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, the son of his first cousin Alice Hoby, daughter of Sir William Hoby of Hayles, who was Hoby's uncle. He made further bequests to other members of the Sydenham family, and he also left each of his servants three years' wages. A memorial to him was erected in the church at Hackness in 1682 by Sir John Posthumous Sydenham (1643–1696), the son of Hoby's principal heir and a

knight of the shire Knight of the shire () was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ...

for

. There is an even more impressive memorial to him in All Saints' Church, Bisham, where a painted statue of Hoby is among a family group on his mother's monument in the Hoby chapel. Although Hoby had no children, his brother Edward's natural son

Peregrine Hoby Peregrine Hoby (1 September 1602 – 6 May 1679), was an English landowner and member of parliament who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1679. Early life Hoby was the illegitimate son an ...

(1602–1679) was the father of Sir Edward Hoby, 1st Baronet (1634–1675), whose baronetcy continued until the fifth Baronet died in 1766. at leighrayment.com, accessed 17 March 2011

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoby, Thomas Posthumus 1566 births 1640 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford People educated at Eton College 16th-century Puritans 17th-century English Puritans People from Hackness People from Ripon Knights Bachelor English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629