Thomas Traherne
Thomas Traherne ( October 10, 1636 , † September 27, 1674 ) was an English poet, theologian , pastor and religious writer. He was a great metaphysical poet . Little is known about his life. Because of the poignant spirituality of his writings, parts of the Anglican Church commemorate his birthday on October 10th or his death on September 27th.
His writings were unknown for almost 200 years. Until 1888 they were privately owned by the Skipps family from Ledbury in Herefordshire . In the winter of 1896/97, two volumes of manuscripts with poems and meditations that were offered for sale in a kiosk were discovered by chance. Most of his works were not published until the beginning of the 20th century.
Today, Centuries of Meditations (The Centuries of Meditations) is the most famous work by Traherne, a collection of short texts dealing with Christian life, philosophy, happiness, longing and childhood. This book was first published in 1908.
Web links
- Literature by and about Thomas Traherne in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Traherne, Thomas |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English poet, theologian, pastor and religious writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 10, 1636 |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 27, 1674 |