Faithful Teate
Encyclopedia
Faithful Teate was a Protestant clergyman and poet from County Cavan
, Ireland. He is sometimes known as Faithful Tate or Faithfull Teate. He was the father of the poet laureate, Nahum Tate
.
, Co. Cavan. Reports that he had informed on the rebels during the 1641 Rebellion, resulted in his house being burned. Two or three (sources vary) of Teate's children are reported to have died as a result of hardships endured in that period.
. He moved to England and studied at Cambridge
before being appointed minister at Sudbury
in Suffolk
. He was back in Dublin by 1660 and was rector of St. Werburgh's church in Dublin, but his puritan principles did not allow him to accept the new restoration government's policy on episcopacy and he was sacked. He died at the age of forty in 1666.
While at Suffolk he composed a long meditative poem Ter Tria: or the Doctrine of the Three Sacred Persons, Father, Son and Spirit... (1658). The poem enjoyed considerable success in its day. It was reprinted in 1669 and a German edition and translation followed in 1699. He also wrote didactic prose including A Scripture Map of the Wilderness of Sin and Way to Canaan (1655). The first modern edition of his complete poetical works was published by Four Courts Press
in 2007.
, who went by 'Tate' rather than 'Teate' only in adulthood. Nahum was the second of seven children born to Faithful and his wife Katherine Kenetie. The eldest of these children was also called 'Faithful'. As noted above, there is considerable confusion in earlier accounts of the family, where it was stated that the first Faithful Teate was the father, instead of the grandfather, of Nahum. There are, in fact, three 'Faithful' Teates, the grandfather, father and brother of Nahum Tate.
Cavan
Cavan is the county town of County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. The town lies in the north central part of Ireland, near the border with Northern Ireland...
, Ireland. He is sometimes known as Faithful Tate or Faithfull Teate. He was the father of the poet laureate, Nahum Tate
Nahum Tate
Nahum Tate was an Irish poet, hymnist, and lyricist, who became England's poet laureate in 1692.-Life:Nahum Teate came from a family of Puritan clergymen...
.
Background
He was the son of Faithful Teate, a doctor of divinity with whom he has often been confused. The elder Teate was made rector at BallyhaiseBallyhaise
-See also:* List of towns and villages in Ireland* List of Market Houses in Ireland...
, Co. Cavan. Reports that he had informed on the rebels during the 1641 Rebellion, resulted in his house being burned. Two or three (sources vary) of Teate's children are reported to have died as a result of hardships endured in that period.
Career and poetry
Faithful Teate the younger entered Trinity College Dublin in 1641 at age fourteen and was later ordained into the Church of IrelandChurch of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
. He moved to England and studied at Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
before being appointed minister at Sudbury
Sudbury, Suffolk
Sudbury is a small, ancient market town in the county of Suffolk, England, on the River Stour, from Colchester and from London.-Early history:...
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. He was back in Dublin by 1660 and was rector of St. Werburgh's church in Dublin, but his puritan principles did not allow him to accept the new restoration government's policy on episcopacy and he was sacked. He died at the age of forty in 1666.
While at Suffolk he composed a long meditative poem Ter Tria: or the Doctrine of the Three Sacred Persons, Father, Son and Spirit... (1658). The poem enjoyed considerable success in its day. It was reprinted in 1669 and a German edition and translation followed in 1699. He also wrote didactic prose including A Scripture Map of the Wilderness of Sin and Way to Canaan (1655). The first modern edition of his complete poetical works was published by Four Courts Press
Four Courts Press
Four Courts Press is an Irish academic publishing house.It was founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, a managing director at the Irish Academic Press and a member of Opus Dei. Its early publications were primarily theological, notably the English translation of the Navarre Bible...
in 2007.
Family
This second Faithful Teate was the father of the poet laureate Nahum TateNahum Tate
Nahum Tate was an Irish poet, hymnist, and lyricist, who became England's poet laureate in 1692.-Life:Nahum Teate came from a family of Puritan clergymen...
, who went by 'Tate' rather than 'Teate' only in adulthood. Nahum was the second of seven children born to Faithful and his wife Katherine Kenetie. The eldest of these children was also called 'Faithful'. As noted above, there is considerable confusion in earlier accounts of the family, where it was stated that the first Faithful Teate was the father, instead of the grandfather, of Nahum. There are, in fact, three 'Faithful' Teates, the grandfather, father and brother of Nahum Tate.
Further reading
- Teate, Faithful, Ter Tria by Faithful Teate, ed. Angelina Lynch (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2007) ISBN 1846820359