1660 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1660 in literature involved some significant events.
Events
- January 1 - Samuel PepysSamuel PepysSamuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
starts his diary. - February - John Rhodes reopens the old Cockpit TheatreCockpit TheatreThe Cockpit was a theatre in London, operating from 1616 to around 1665. It was the first theatre to be located near Drury Lane. After damage in 1617, it was christened The Phoenix....
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, forms a company of young actors and begins to stage plays. His production of PericlesPericles, Prince of TyrePericles, Prince of Tyre is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio...
will be the first Shakespearean performance of the Restoration era; Thomas BettertonThomas BettertonThomas Patrick Betterton , English actor, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London.-Apprentice and actor:...
makes his stage debut in the title rôle. - May - The English RestorationEnglish RestorationThe Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
: a host of royalist exiles return to England; Richard BaxterRichard BaxterRichard Baxter was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymn-writer, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he made his reputation by his ministry at Kidderminster, and at around the same time began a long...
is among them. - August 21 - King Charles II of EnglandCharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
issues a royal grant for two theatre companies: a King's CompanyKing's CompanyThe King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682.-History:...
under his own patronage, led by Thomas KilligrewThomas KilligrewThomas Killigrew was an English dramatist and theatre manager. He was a witty, dissolute figure at the court of King Charles II of England.-Life and work:...
, and a Duke's CompanyDuke's CompanyThe Duke's Company was one of the two theatre companies that were chartered by King Charles II at the start of the English Restoration era, when the London theatres re-opened after their eighteen-year closure during the English Civil War and the Interregnum.The Duke's Company had the patronage of...
under the patronage of his brother, the Duke of YorkDuke of YorkThe Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
and future King James IIJames II of EnglandJames II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, led by Sir William DavenantWilliam DavenantSir William Davenant , also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned both the Caroline and Restoration eras and who was active both before and after the English Civil...
. On 8 November, the King's Company moves from the old Red Bull TheatreRed Bull TheatreThe Red Bull was a playhouse in London during the 17th century. For more than four decades, it entertained audiences drawn primarily from the northern suburbs, developing a reputation for rowdy, often disruptive audiences...
to the new Vere St. TheatreGibbon's Tennis CourtGibbon's Tennis Court was a building off Vere Street and Clare Market, near Lincoln's Inn Fields in London, England. Originally built as a real tennis court, it was used as a playhouse from 1660 to 1663, shortly after the English Restoration...
. - September 5 - Roger BoyleRoger Boyle, 1st Earl of OrreryRoger Boyle redirects here. For others of this name, see Roger Boyle Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery was a British soldier, statesman and dramatist. He was the third surviving son of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork and Richard's second wife, Catherine Fenton. He was created Baron of Broghill on...
receives the title of Earl of OrreryEarl of OrreryEarl of Orrery is a title in the Peerage of Ireland that has been united with the earldom of Cork since 1753 . It was created in 1660 for the soldier, statesman and dramatist Roger Boyle, 1st Baron Boyle, third but eldest surviving son of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork...
. - December 8 - First actress to appear on the professional stage in England, as DesdemonaDesdemonaDesdemona is a character in William Shakespeare's play Othello.Desdemona may also refer to:People* Desdemona , a soprano role in the 1816 opera Otello by Gioachino Rossini...
in OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, variously considered to be Margaret HughesMargaret HughesMargaret Hughes , also Peg Hughes or Margaret Hewes, is often credited as the first professional actress on the English stage...
, Anne MarshallAnne MarshallAnne Marshall , also Mrs. Anne Quin, was a leading English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of women performers to appear on the public stage in England....
or Katherine CoreyKatherine CoreyKatherine Corey was an English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of female performers to appear on the public stage in Britain. Corey played with the King's Company and the United Company, and had one of the longest careers of any actress in her generation...
. - The Klencke AtlasKlencke AtlasKlencke Atlas is one of the world's largest atlases. It is 1.75 metres tall by 1.9 metres wide when open , and so heavy the British Library reportedly had six people to carry it. It is a world atlas, made up of 37 maps on 39 sheets. The maps were intended to be removed and displayed on the wall...
is commissioned by Dutch merchants as a gift to King Charles II of England; it remains to this day the world's largest book ever made. - Blaise PascalBlaise PascalBlaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
's Lettres Provinciales is burned as a heretical work on the orders of King Louis XIV of FranceLouis XIV of FranceLouis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
.
New books
- Nicolas Boileau-DespreauxNicolas Boileau-DespréauxNicolas Boileau-Despréaux was a French poet and critic.-Biography:Boileau was born in the rue de Jérusalem, in Paris, France. He was brought up to the law, but devoted to letters, associating himself with La Fontaine, Racine, and Molière...
- Satires - John DrydenJohn DrydenJohn Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
- Astraea ReduxAstraea ReduxAstraea Redux, written by John Dryden in 1660, is a full-blown royalist panegyric in which Dryden welcomes the new regime of King Charles II. It is a vivid emotional display that overshadows the cautious Heroique Stanzas that Dryden composed for Oliver Cromwell’s death... - Richard FlecknoeRichard FlecknoeRichard Flecknoe , English dramatist and poet, the object of Dryden's satire, was probably of English birth, although there is no corroboration of the suggestion of Joseph Gillow, that he was a nephew of a Jesuit priest, William Flecknoe, or more properly Flexney, of Oxford.The few known facts of...
- Heroick Portraits - John MiltonJohn MiltonJohn Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
- The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free CommonwealthThe Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free CommonwealthThe Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth was published by John Milton at the end of February 1660. In the tract, Milton warns against the dangers inherent in a monarchical form of government... - Thomas PlowdenThomas PlowdenThomas Plowden was an English Jesuit to whom has been traditionally attributed an important translation under the name of Thomas Salusbury.-Life:...
, S.J. (trans.) - The Learned Man Defended and Reform'd (Daniello BartoliDaniello Bartolithumb|right| Daniello Bartoli "Obiit Romae, die 13 Januarii, anno 1685, aet. 77"Daniello Bartoli was an Italian Jesuit writer and historiographer, celebrated by Francesco de Sanctis as the "Dante of Italian prose".-Ferrara:He was born in Ferrara. His father, Tiburzio was a chemist associated with...
's L'huomo di lettereL'huomo di lettere.L'huomo di lettere difeso ed emendato by the Ferrarese Jesuit Daniello Bartoli is a two-part treatise on the man of letters bringing together material he had assembled as a teacher of rhetoric and a preacher...
) - Jeremy TaylorJeremy TaylorJeremy Taylor was a clergyman in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression and was often presented as a model of prose writing...
- Ductor Dubitantium, or the Rule of Conscience
New drama
- Anonymous (mis-attributed to James ShirleyJames ShirleyJames Shirley was an English dramatist.He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly...
) - AndromanaAndromanaAndromana, or The Merchant's Wife is a mid-seventeenth-century stage play, a tragedy first published in 1660. It has attracted scholarly attention for the questions of its auhorship and the influence of its sources....
published - Anonymous - Cromwell's Conspiracy
- Anonymous (mis-attributed to Beaumont and FletcherBeaumont and FletcherBeaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I ....
) - The Faithful FriendsThe Faithful FriendsThe Faithful Friends is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a tragicomedy associated with the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators...
registered - Thomas Ford - Love's Labyrinth, or the Royal Shepherdess published
- William Lower - The Amorous Fantasm (adapted from Philippe QuinaultPhilippe QuinaultPhilippe Quinault , French dramatist and librettist, was born in Paris.- Biography :Quinault was educated by the liberality of François Tristan l'Hermite, the author of Marianne. Quinault's first play was produced at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in 1653, when he was only eighteen...
's Le Fantôme Amoreux) - MolièreMolièreJean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
- Sganarelle, ou le Cocu imaginaire - John TathamJohn TathamJohn Tatham was an English dramatist of the mid-seventeenth century.Little is known of him. He was a Cavalier who hated the Puritans — and the Scots;he invented a dialect which he claimed was their vernacular tongue...
- London's Glory staged at the Guildhall, July 5; The Rump published
Poetry
- Rachel Jevon - Exultationis Carmen
- Robert WildRobert Wild (poet)Robert Wild was an English clergyman and poet, ejected from his living in 1662. Despite presbyterian views, Wild was a royalist in politics. John Dryden called him 'the Wither of the city.' He wrote extensively, often anonymously and controversially.-Life:Wild was the son of Robert Wild, a...
- Iter Boreale
Births
- January - Pierre HelyotPierre HelyotFriar Hippolyte Hélyot, T.O.R., was a Franciscan friar and priest of the Third Order of St. Francis and a major scholar of Church history. He was born at Paris in January 1660, supposedly of English ancestry....
(died 1716) - March 28 - Arnold HoubrakenArnold HoubrakenArnold Houbraken was a Dutch painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of artists from the Dutch Golden Age. He had ten children. His son Jacobus Houbraken was an engraver of portraits and book illustrations, including books by his father...
, writer and painter (died 1719) - September - Daniel DefoeDaniel DefoeDaniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
(died 1731) - date unknown
- Edward LhuydEdward LhuydEdward Lhuyd was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also known by the Latinized form of his name, Eduardus Luidius....
, naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary (died 1709) - Thomas SoutherneThomas SoutherneThomas Southerne , Irish dramatist, was born at Oxmantown, near Dublin, in 1660, and entered Trinity College, Dublin in 1676. Two years later he was entered at the Middle Temple, London....
, dramatist (died 1749)
- Edward Lhuyd
Deaths
- April 30 - Petrus ScriveriusPetrus ScriveriusPetrus Scriverius, the Latinized form of Peter Schrijver or Schryver was a Dutch writer and scholar on the history of Holland and Belgium....
, Dutch scholar and writer (born 1576) - October 6 - Paul ScarronPaul ScarronPaul Scarron was a French poet, dramatist, and novelist. His precise birthdate is unknown, but he was baptized on July 4, 1610...
, dramatist and novelist (born c.1610) - December 31 - Thomas PowellThomas Powell (cleric)Thomas Powell was a Welsh cleric and writer.-Life:Powell was born in about 1608 Cantref, Breconshire, Wales where his father was the rector from 1601 to 1626. He attended Jesus College, Oxford, matriculating in 1628. He was awarded a BA degree in 1629, with further degrees of MA in 1632 and DD...
, clergyman and writer (born c.1608) - date unknown - Sir Thomas UrquhartThomas UrquhartSir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty was a Scottish writer and translator, most famous for his translation of Rabelais.-Life:...
(born 1611)