Bartholomew Clerke

Bartholomew Clerke (* around 1537 in Surrey ; † March 15 or 16, 1590 in Clapham ) was an English lawyer , politician and diplomat .

Family and education

Clerke was born the son of the notary John Clerke and his wife Anne Grantoft. The paternal family came from Livermere , Suffolk . Clerke had at least one brother. After 1575 he married Eleanor Haselrigge, widow of a Thomas Smith. Eleanor brought several children into the marriage. The couple also had two children of their own, a son and a daughter. Clerke received his education at Eton College , where he was a student between 1550 and 1554. On 23 August 1554 he was at the King's College of Cambridge University added. There he received the Bachelor of Arts in 1559 . In 1572 he finally received his doctorate in law .

Professional background

After graduating Clerke received 1563 a reputation as a professor of rhetoric at his alma mater . As a professor, he did research not only in the field of modern languages , but also in law . In the course of a research trip to France he was offered the opportunity to teach in Angers , which he refused. After the death of Roger Aschams beat William Cecil and Robert Dudley Clerke for office at the court of Elizabeth I suggested. However, this was already taken elsewhere. With the help of Thomas Sackville , Clerke was sent to parliament as a representative of the Bramber constituency . In 1571 he accompanied Sackville on a trip to France to the court of Charles IX. In January 1573, Clerke joined the Doctors' Commons and was named Dean of Arches four months later to succeed Thomas Yale . Initially, the appointment was to be canceled at the request of the Queen, as she thought Clerke was too young. After he vehemently resisted this and argued that there were still younger people in this office, he was allowed to keep the post. Clerke undertook several diplomatic missions on behalf of the queen. So he traveled to Flanders in December 1585 and in April 1587 he was in The Hague to negotiate a peace treaty with Spain . After retiring from professional life, Clerke bought a house in what is now the London borough of Clapham.

plant

After his return from France in 1571, Clerke worked on a Latin translation of Baldassare Castiglione's Il Libro del Cortegiano . After it was first published in 1572 under the title Balthasaris Castilionis Comitis De Curiali siue Aulico , it was so popular among English aristocrats that three further editions appeared between 1577 and 1585. The translation was with introductory notes from Edward de Vere , John Caius, and Sackville.

Legacies

At his death, Clerke owned several properties and properties. He left the property in Clapham, as well as several properties in Grantchester and Vauxhall , to his son, with his wife having a lifelong right of use. He also left a considerable amount of jewelry and donated a chapel in Clapham. While the chapel itself no longer exists, the furnishings are kept in St Paul's Cathedral to this day .

literature

• POG White: Clerke, Bartholomew (c.1537-1590) . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, doi : 10.1093 / ref: odnb / 5625 ( oxforddnb.com [accessed May 21, 2014]).