Thomas Preston (writer)
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Thomas Preston (1537–1598) was an English master of
Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...
, and possibly a dramatist.


Life

Preston was born at Simpson, Buckinghamshire, in 1537, and was educated at Eton and at
King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...
, where he was elected scholar, 16 August 1553, and fellow, 18 September 1556. He graduated B.A. in 1557 and M.A. in 1561. When
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 ...
visited Cambridge in August 1564, he attracted the royal favour by his performance of a part in the tragedy of ''Dido'', and by disputing in philosophy with Thomas Cartwright in the royal presence. He also addressed the queen in a
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
oration on her departure, when she invited him to kiss her hand, and gave him a pension of 20''l.'' a year, with the title of "her scholar." He served as
proctor Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: # In law, a proctor is a historica ...
in the university in 1565. In 1572 he was directed by the authorities of his college to study civil law, and four years later proceeded to the degree of LL.D. In 1581 he resigned his fellowship. He seems to have joined the College of Advocates. In 1584 he was appointed master of Trinity Hall, and he served as vice-chancellor of the university in 1589–90. Preston died on 1 June 1598, and was buried in the chapel of Trinity Hall. A monumental brass near the altar, placed there by his wife Alice, bears a Latin inscription and a full-length effigy of him in the habit of a Cambridge doctor of laws.


Works


''Cambyses''

Preston was a pioneer of the English drama, and published in 1569 ''A lamentable tragedy mixed ful of pleaſant mirth, conteyning the life of CAMBISES King of PERCIA, from the beginning of his kingdome vnto his death, his one good deed of execution, after that many wicked deeds and tirannous murders, committed by and through him, and laſt of all, his odious death by Gods Juſtice appointed, Doon in ſuch order as foloweth. By Thomas Preston.'' There are two undated editions: one by John Allde, who obtained a license for its publication in 1569, and another by Edward Allde. It was reprinted in Hawkins's ''Origin of the English Drama'' (i. 143) and in Dodsley's ''Old English Drama'' (ed. Hazlitt, iv. 157 sq.). A reference to the death of Bishop Bonner in September 1569 shows that the piece was produced after that date. The play illustrates the transition from the
morality play The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...
to historical drama. The dramatis personae include
allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...
figures (e.g. Cruelty, Small Ability) as well as historical personages (such as the title character,
Cambyses II of Persia Cambyses II () was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning 530 to 522 BCE. He was the son of and successor to Cyrus the Great (); his mother was Cassandane. His relatively brief reign was marked by his conquests in North Afric ...
). The plot, characterisation, and language are rugged and uncouth. Murder and bloodshed abound. The play is largely written in rhyming
fourteener In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener (also spelled 14er) is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least . The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado Co ...
couplets, with some irregular
heroic verse Heroic verse is a term that may be used to designate epic poems, but which is more usually used to describe the meter(s) in which those poems are most typically written (regardless of whether the content is " heroic" or not). Because the meter typ ...
(as in the speeches of the comic character Ambidexter). The bombastic grandiloquence of the piece became proverbial, and
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 ...
is believed to allude to it when he makes
Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...
say "I must speak in passion, and I will do it in King Cambyses' vein" (''
Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the Battle of H ...
'', ii.4).


Preston's authorship

Critics objecting to the style of ''Cambyses'' have doubted whether the playwright may not have been a different Thomas Preston. M. Channing Linthicum lists some of these possibilities:
Those who dislike to think of ''Cambyses'' as even a puerile attempt of the Latin scholar Thomas Preston, may entertain Chambers' suggestion that it may have been composed by a popular writer of the same name. He mentions, (''Elizabethan Stage'', III, 469), a "quarterly waiter at Court" under
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
, and a choirmaster at Windsor. A "gentleman waiter" of this name was detailed to the service of the Princess of Castile in 1514 (see ''Letters & Papers of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
'', I, ii, entry 2656 ; a Thomas Preston was rewarded by Princess Mary Tudor, 1537 (see Madden, ''Privy Purse Expenses of Princess'' Mary, 59); in 1544, Thomas Preston—presumably the same person—was granted, as the King's "servant" a tenement "called le Crystofer in St Botulphs parishe without Aldrychgate" (see ''Letters & Papers of Henry VIII'', XIX, i, p. 644); "le messuage called le White Beare" was said in 1548, to have been "lately in tenure of Thomas Preston" (see '' Cal. Pat. Rolls'', July 25, 1548, m. 34). None of these—if they were different persons—is termed writer or "player," but the references show that the name was not uncommon in London, and the subject needs to be investigated.
On the other hand, Émile Legouis has noted, "The marked and yet artless bad taste of the style has thrown doubt on the authorship, yet the play shows signs of having been written by a
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 ...
, for
Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
is followed step by step, and there are many mythological reminiscences." But it has since been argued that the Herodotean account may have been mediated by a
chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...
such as Johann Carion's ''Chronica''; a more recent refinement of this theory suggests that Preston used Richard Taverner's 1539 ''The Garden of Wysedom'', which drew on Carion.


Ballads

Preston (or the author of ''Cambyses'') also wrote a
broadside ballad A broadside (also known as a broadsheet) is a single sheet of inexpensive paper printed on one side, often with a ballad, rhyme, news and sometimes with woodcut illustrations. They were one of the most common forms of printed material between the ...
entitled ''A Lamentation from Rome how the Pope doth bewayle the Rebelles in England cannot prevayle. To the tune of "Rowe well, ye mariners"'' (London by William Griffith, 1570; reprinted in Collier's ''Old Ballads'', edited for the
Percy Society The Percy Society was a British text publication society. It was founded in 1840 and collapsed in 1852. The Society was a scholarly collective, aimed at publishing limited-edition books of rare poems and songs. The president was Lady Braybrooke, ...
, and in the ''Borderer's Table Book'' by Moses Aaron Richardson, vii. 154). This ballad is written "in the person of a fly who happens to be lodged in
the pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...
's nose when news comes about the Catholic uprising in the north of England" and describes the pope raging and hurling furniture, to the fly's terror. Another ballad, titled ''A Ballad from the Countrie, sent to showe how we should Fast this Lente'' is extant and dated 1589.E.K. Chambers, ''The Elizabethan Stage'', vol. 3, p. 469. Both the surviving ballads, as well as ''Cambyses'', are subscribed at the end "Quod Thomas Preston". A third ballad by Preston, not now extant, ''A geliflower of swete marygolde, wherein the frutes of tyranny you may beholde'', was licensed for publication to William Griffith, 1569–70.Collier, i. 222.


Latin works

Besides the orations connected to the queen's 1564 Cambridge visit, Preston contributed Latin verses to the university collection on the restitution of
Martin Bucer Martin Bucer (; Early German: ; 11 November 1491– 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Anglican doctrines and practices as well as Reformed Theology. Bucer was originally a memb ...
and
Paul Fagius Paul Fagius (1504 – 13 November 1549) was a Renaissance scholar of Biblical Hebrew and Protestant reformer. Life Fagius was born at Rheinzabern in 1504. His father was a teacher and council clerk. In 1515 he went to study at the University o ...
(1560), and to Nicholas Carr's Latin translation of seven orations of
Demosthenes Demosthenes (; ; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide insight into the politics and cu ...
(London, 1571).


Notes


References

*


Editions of ''Cambyses''

* Craik, T.W. (1974) ''Minor Elizabethan tragedies'', new ed. London. Dent. * Creeth, E. (1966) ''Tudor plays: an anthology of early English drama''. Garden City. Anchor/Doubleday. * Fraser, R.A. and Rabkin, N.C. (1976) ''Drama of the English Renaissance'', vol. 1. New York. Macmillan. * Johnson, R.C. (1975) ''A critical edition of Thomas Preston's Cambises''. Salzburg. Institut für Englische Sprache und Literatur, Universität Salzburg.


External links

* Dodsley/Hazlitt edition of ''Cambyses''
Google Books copy 1Google Books copy 2archive.org

''Cambises''
, plaintext ed. Gerard NeCastro (closer to original spelling) in his collectio
Medieval and Renaissance Drama

Wynne's ''Growth of English Drama''
(gutenberg.org) – discusses the place of ''Cambyses'' in the tradition of Interludes (''intermedii'') and includes a summary of the play's grievous incidents, whose overabundance and comic touches the author sees as risking a "near caricature" of tragedy despite an element of "unaffected pathos." {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Thomas 1537 births 1598 deaths English Renaissance dramatists Masters of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Writers from Buckinghamshire People educated at Eton College Neo-Latin poets 16th-century writers in Latin 16th-century English male writers 16th-century English scholars 16th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge