Geoffrey Whitney
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey Whitney (c. 1548 – c. 1601) was an English poet, now best known for the influence on Elizabethan writing of the Choice of Emblemes that he compiled.
in Cheshire, where his family had been settled on a small estate since 1388. Educated at the neighbouring school of Audlem
, he afterwards proceeded to Oxford University, and then for a longer period to Magdalene College, Cambridge
. He seems to have left the university without a degree, going on to legal studies in London, where he was addressed in a poem by his sister dated 1573. Having entered the legal profession, he became in time under-bailiff of Great Yarmouth
, a post he held from at least 1580, retaining it until 1586. In 1584 the Earl of Leicester
, high steward of the borough, made an unsuccessful attempt to procure the under-stewardship for Whitney but the place was bestowed on someone else the following year. After some litigation with the corporation, by which he seems to have been badly treated, the dispute was settled by a compensatory payment.
During his residence at Yarmouth, Whitney appears to have had much contact with the Netherlands
, and to have made the acquaintance of many scholars there. On the termination of his connection with the town, he followed his patron into Holland and settled in Leyden, where 'he was in great esteem among his countrymen for his ingenuity'. On 1 March 1586 he became a student in the town's newly founded university and later in the year he brought out his Choice of Emblemes. This contains many commendatory poems that make much of his connection with the Earl. There is no evidence of how much longer he stayed abroad. He subsequently returned to England and rented a farm in the neighbourhood of his birthplace at Ryles (or Royals) Green, near Combermere Abbey
. There he made his will on 11 Sept. 1600, describing himself as ‘sick in bodie but of sounde and perfect memorie’. The will was proved on 28 May 1601 and he seems to have died unmarried.
His sister Isabella Whitney
was likewise a writer of verses. Her principal work, A Sweet Nosegay, or Pleasant Posye, contayning a Hundred and Ten Phylosophicall Flowers, appeared in 1573.
, the full title of which was A Choice of Emblemes and other Devises, for the moste parte gathered out of sundrie writers, Englished and moralised, and divers newly devised, by Geffrey Whitney. A worke adorned with varietie of matter, both pleasant and profitable: wherein those that please maye finde to fit their fancies: Because herein, by the office of the eie and the eare, the minde maye reape dooble-delighte throughe holsome preceptes, shadowed with pleasant devises: both fit for the vertuous, to their incoraging; and for the wicked, for their admonishing and amendment. It was published in a two-part quarto edition from the Plantin Press
in Leyden and dedicated to the Earl of Leicester
from London, 28 November 1585, with an epistle to the reader dated Leyden, 4 May 1586.
The work was the first of its kind to give to Englishmen an adequate example of the emblem books from the great continental presses. It was mainly from this book, representing the greater part of emblem literature preceding it, that Shakespeare gained knowledge of the great foreign emblematists of the 16th century. There are 248 emblems, each accompanied by a woodcut
with a motto
and a poem in English. 202 of the illustrations were chosen from the stock held at the Plantin Press and are the work of Andrea Alciato
, Claude Paradin, Johannes Sambucus, Hadrianus Junius
, and the illustrator of Gabriele Faerno
's Centum Fabulae. Twenty-three more are suggested by the work of others and a further 23 are original.
The poems are for the most part in six-line stanzas; a few are in quatrains or are even two-line epigrams. They are addressed to Whitney's kinsmen or friends, or to a notable contemporary, and give information of persons, places, and things rarely to be found elsewhere. The verses are often of great merit and always show extensive learning. Some are translations or adaptations of Classical authors such as Horace
(p.59), Ovid
(p.121) and Anacreon
(p.182). It is noteworthy that there are a higher proportion of fables in the collection than are usual in other emblem books. While most are the fables of Aesop
to be found in Faerno's Centum Fabulae, which had been issued from the Plantin Press in 1567, there are rarer items like The Dog in the Manger
and Washing the Ethiopian white
.
Anthony Wood
's Athenae Oxonienses credits Whitney with another collection of Fables or Epigrams 'printed much about the same time', but no evidence of it has been found. The title sounds more like a description of the contents of Choice of Emblemes. Two other poems were printed in his friend Jan Dousa's Odae Brittanicae, also printed by the Plantin Press in 1586. One is a translation of complimentary verses addressed to the Earl of Leicester; the other is a 90-line commendation of the book of odes, very much in the style of his own emblem book:
More recently it has been argued that the two commendatory sonnets that preface Edmund Spenser
's Amoretti (1595) were written by Whitney and his father.
Life
Geoffrey Whitney, the eldest son of a father of the same name, was born in or about 1548 at Coole Pilate, a township in the parish of Acton, four miles from NantwichNantwich
Nantwich is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The town gives its name to the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich...
in Cheshire, where his family had been settled on a small estate since 1388. Educated at the neighbouring school of Audlem
Audlem
Audlem is a large village and civil parish located in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in the north west of England, approximately south of Nantwich. Close to the border with the neighbouring county of Shropshire, the village is eight miles east of...
, he afterwards proceeded to Oxford University, and then for a longer period to Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
. He seems to have left the university without a degree, going on to legal studies in London, where he was addressed in a poem by his sister dated 1573. Having entered the legal profession, he became in time under-bailiff of Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
, a post he held from at least 1580, retaining it until 1586. In 1584 the Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
, high steward of the borough, made an unsuccessful attempt to procure the under-stewardship for Whitney but the place was bestowed on someone else the following year. After some litigation with the corporation, by which he seems to have been badly treated, the dispute was settled by a compensatory payment.
During his residence at Yarmouth, Whitney appears to have had much contact with the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and to have made the acquaintance of many scholars there. On the termination of his connection with the town, he followed his patron into Holland and settled in Leyden, where 'he was in great esteem among his countrymen for his ingenuity'. On 1 March 1586 he became a student in the town's newly founded university and later in the year he brought out his Choice of Emblemes. This contains many commendatory poems that make much of his connection with the Earl. There is no evidence of how much longer he stayed abroad. He subsequently returned to England and rented a farm in the neighbourhood of his birthplace at Ryles (or Royals) Green, near Combermere Abbey
Combermere Abbey
Combermere Abbey is a former monastery in Combermere Park, between Nantwich and Whitchurch in Cheshire, England, near the border with Shropshire.-Topomony:...
. There he made his will on 11 Sept. 1600, describing himself as ‘sick in bodie but of sounde and perfect memorie’. The will was proved on 28 May 1601 and he seems to have died unmarried.
His sister Isabella Whitney
Isabella Whitney
Isabella Whitney is the earliest identified woman to have published secular poetry in the English language. She has been called "the first professional woman poet in England."-Biography:...
was likewise a writer of verses. Her principal work, A Sweet Nosegay, or Pleasant Posye, contayning a Hundred and Ten Phylosophicall Flowers, appeared in 1573.
Poetry
Whitney's reputation depends upon his celebrated emblem bookEmblem book
Emblem books are a category of mainly didactic illustrated book printed in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, typically containing a number of emblematic images with explanatory text....
, the full title of which was A Choice of Emblemes and other Devises, for the moste parte gathered out of sundrie writers, Englished and moralised, and divers newly devised, by Geffrey Whitney. A worke adorned with varietie of matter, both pleasant and profitable: wherein those that please maye finde to fit their fancies: Because herein, by the office of the eie and the eare, the minde maye reape dooble-delighte throughe holsome preceptes, shadowed with pleasant devises: both fit for the vertuous, to their incoraging; and for the wicked, for their admonishing and amendment. It was published in a two-part quarto edition from the Plantin Press
Plantin Press
The Plantin Press at Antwerp was one of the focal centers of the fine printed book in the 16th century.Christophe Plantin of Touraine, trained as a bookbinder, fled from Paris, where at least one printer had recently been burned at the stake for heresy, for Antwerp, where he bound books, became a...
in Leyden and dedicated to the Earl of Leicester
Earl of Leicester
The title Earl of Leicester was created in the 12th century in the Peerage of England , and is currently a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1837.-Early creations:...
from London, 28 November 1585, with an epistle to the reader dated Leyden, 4 May 1586.
The work was the first of its kind to give to Englishmen an adequate example of the emblem books from the great continental presses. It was mainly from this book, representing the greater part of emblem literature preceding it, that Shakespeare gained knowledge of the great foreign emblematists of the 16th century. There are 248 emblems, each accompanied by a woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
with a motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
and a poem in English. 202 of the illustrations were chosen from the stock held at the Plantin Press and are the work of Andrea Alciato
Andrea Alciato
Andrea Alciato , commonly known as Alciati , was an Italian jurist and writer. He is regarded as the founder of the French school of legal humanists.-Biography:...
, Claude Paradin, Johannes Sambucus, Hadrianus Junius
Hadrianus Junius
Hadrianus Junius , also known as Adriaen de Jonghe, was a Dutch physician, classical scholar, translator, lexicographer, antiquarian, historiographer, emblematist, school rector, and Latin poet. He is not to be confused with several namesakes...
, and the illustrator of Gabriele Faerno
Gabriele Faerno
Gabriele Faerno, also known by his Latin name of Faernus Cremonensis, was born in Cremona about 1510 and died in Rome on November 17, 1561. He was a scrupulous scholar and an elegant Latin poet who is best known now for his collection of Aesop's Fables in Latin verse.-Life:Gabriele Faerno was born...
's Centum Fabulae. Twenty-three more are suggested by the work of others and a further 23 are original.
The poems are for the most part in six-line stanzas; a few are in quatrains or are even two-line epigrams. They are addressed to Whitney's kinsmen or friends, or to a notable contemporary, and give information of persons, places, and things rarely to be found elsewhere. The verses are often of great merit and always show extensive learning. Some are translations or adaptations of Classical authors such as Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
(p.59), Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
(p.121) and Anacreon
Anacreon
Anacreon was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and hymns. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets.- Life :...
(p.182). It is noteworthy that there are a higher proportion of fables in the collection than are usual in other emblem books. While most are the fables of Aesop
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
to be found in Faerno's Centum Fabulae, which had been issued from the Plantin Press in 1567, there are rarer items like The Dog in the Manger
The Dog in the Manger
The story and metaphor of The Dog in the Manger derives from an old Greek fable which has been transmitted in several different versions. Interpreted variously over the centuries, it is used now of those who spitefully prevent others from having something that they themselves have no use for...
and Washing the Ethiopian white
Washing the Ethiopian white
Washing the Ethiopian White is one of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 393 in the Perry Index. The fable is only found in Greek sources and the impossibility of such an attempt became proverbial at an early date. It was given greater currency in Europe during the Renaissance by being included in...
.
Anthony Wood
Anthony Wood
Anthony Wood or Anthony à Wood was an English antiquary.-Early life:Anthony Wood was the fourth son of Thomas Wood , BCL of Oxford, where Anthony was born...
's Athenae Oxonienses credits Whitney with another collection of Fables or Epigrams 'printed much about the same time', but no evidence of it has been found. The title sounds more like a description of the contents of Choice of Emblemes. Two other poems were printed in his friend Jan Dousa's Odae Brittanicae, also printed by the Plantin Press in 1586. One is a translation of complimentary verses addressed to the Earl of Leicester; the other is a 90-line commendation of the book of odes, very much in the style of his own emblem book:
-
- There needes no bushe, wheare nectar is to drinke;
- Nor helpes by arte, wheare bewtie freshe doth bloome;
- Wheare sonne doth shine, in vayne wee lyghte the linke;
- Wheare sea dothe swelle, the brookes do loose their roome;
- Let Progne cease, wheare Philomela singes,
- And oaten pipe, wheare Fame her trompet ringes.
More recently it has been argued that the two commendatory sonnets that preface Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
's Amoretti (1595) were written by Whitney and his father.