The Poems of William Harbert, 1870. Nabu Press, 2012. Courtesy Amazon.com.
William Harbert (or Herbert) (1604-1606 fl.) was a Welsh poet and soldier.
Life[]
Harbert was probably the son of William Herbert of Glamorgan.[1]
He seems to have entered Christ Church, Oxford, on 17 Oct. 1600, aged 17.[1] He earned an M.A. in 1605.[2]
He was apparently in attendance on Prince Henry soon after James I's accession.[1]
A William Herbert or Harbert was a volunteer in Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition to Guiana in 1618, and he may be identical with the poet. Raleigh calls him his "cousin," and describes him as "a very valiant and honest gentleman".[3][1]
Care must be taken to distinguish the poet from Sir William Herbert (died 1593), with whom Ritson and others have confused him.[1] Grosart says of this confusion that Ritson
- has confounded this "William Harbert" with a Sir William Herbert, to whom is give (a) A letter to a pretended Roman Catholic (1585) and (b) Some wretched doggrel or cat-rel, entitled Sidney or Baripenthes, briefly shadowing out the rare and never-ending lauds of ... Sir Philip Sidney, knight (1586).
- I can very well suppose that it may have been to shield himself — alas! in vain — from being confounded with this rhymster-contemporary, that our youthful Singer spelled his name "Harbert" as pronounced.[4]
Writing[]
In 1604 Herbert published, as the fruit of his ‘infant labours’ and ‘unripened years,’ a long poem — now very rare — entitled A Prophesie of Cadwallader, last King of the Britaines, containing a comparison of the English kings with many worthy Romanes, from William Rufus till Henry the Fift. Henry the Fift his life and death. Foure Battels betweene the two houses of York and Lancaster. The Field of Banbury. The losse of Elizabeth. The praise of King Iames, and lastly a poeme to the young Prince, London (by Thomas Creede for Roger Iackson), 1604.’ In a dedication to Sir Philip Herbert, K.B., afterwards Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, the author bids him follow the guidance of Sir Philip Sidney, and at the close of the volume other verses to Sir Philip Herbert precede "the poem to the young prince." The section dealing with the battle of Banbury supplies a speech of William Herbert, earl of Pembroke (d. 1469) [q. v.] after being condemned to death, but the poet does not appear to claim relationship with the Pembroke family. The address to James I includes enthusiastic praises of Sidney and Spenser. The poem is, with rare exceptions, in seven-line stanzas, rhyming ababbcc, and is promising as the work of a young man.[1]
The author of Cadwallader contributed verses 'in laudem authoris' to Peter Erondelle's 'French Garden,' 1608, and lines by him addressed 'to his worthily-affected friend, Mr. W. Browne,' precede Browne's 'Britannia's Pastorals,' 1625. An epigram on him appears in Carnage's 'Linsie Woolsie,' 1613.[1]
Recognition[]
Cadwallader was reprinted in Grosart's Fuller Worthies' Miscellany, vol. i. Imperfect copies are in the British Museum and Bodleian Libraries; perfect copies are in the Huth and Britwell collections.[1]
Publications[]
- A Prophesie of Cadwallader, Last King of the Britaines: Containing a Comparison of the English Kings, with many worthy Romanes, from William Rufus, till Henry the fift.; Henry the fift, his life and death; Foure Battels betweene the two Houses of Yorke and Lancanster; The Field of Banbery; The losse of Elizabeth; The praise of King Iames; And lastly a Poeme to the yong Prince. London: Thomas Creede for Roger Iackson, 1604.
- Englands Sorrowe; or, A Farewell to Essex: With A commemoration of the famous liues, and vntimely Deaths of many woorthie personages which haue liued in England. London: Henry Rocket, for Valentine Simmes, 1606.
- "The Poems of W. Harbert" in Miscellanies of the Fuller Worthies' Library: Volume I (edited by Alexander Baloch Grosart). Blackburn, UK: Charles Tiplady, for the Fuller Worthies' Library, 1870.
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[5]
See also[]
References[]
Lee, Sidney (1891) "Herbert, William (fl. 1604)" in Lee, Sidney Dictionary of National Biography 26 London: Smith, Elder, p. 225. Wikisource, Web, July 6, 2015.
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Lee, 225.
- ↑ William Harbert (1570 ca.-1608 fl.), English Poetry, 1579-1830, Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Web, July 6, 2016.
- ↑ Edwards, Life of Ralegh, i. 567, ii. 353, 358, 372, 494.
- ↑ Alexander B. Grosart, "Memorial Introduction," Miscellanies of the Fuller Worthies Library 1 (1870-76), 5-14. English Poetry, 1579-1830, Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Web, July 6, 2016.
- ↑ Search results = au:William Harbert, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, July 6, 2016.
External links[]
- Poems
- "To the Majestie of King James, Monarch of all Britayne"
- "Englands Sorrowe; or, A farewell to Essex"
- About
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, the Dictionary of National Biography (edited by Leslie Stephen). London: Smith, Elder, 1885-1900. Original article is at: Herbert, William (fl. 1604)
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