Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland
Encyclopedia
Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland (24 January 1602 – 12 February 1666) was an English
nobleman, politician, and writer.
by his wife Mary, granddaughter of Sir Walter Mildmay
, Mildmay Fane was born in Kent and educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
(matriculated 1618). He became MP
for Peterborough
in 1620 and for Kent
in 1625. He succeeded his father as Earl of Westmorland and Lord le Despenser on 23 March 1629 [all dates new style
].
A friend of Robert Herrick
, he supported the Royalist party at the outbreak of the English Civil War
(King Charles I
had stood as godfather to Fane's eldest son in 1635). Following a brief period of imprisonment by Parliament, however, he retired to his estate at Apethorpe
in Northamptonshire
.
, Houghton Library
at Harvard University
, and the Westmorland papers preserved at the Northamptonshire Record Office.
Fane also wrote masques
and stage plays; six of these "politicized entertainments" were performed at Apethorpe during the decade of the 1640s by Fane's children and servants. For his 1641 masque Candia Restaurata, Fane designed sets and stage effects and composed some of the music used in the production. Virtue's Triumph features personifications of Ambition and Impudence, Lies and Deceits; Nobility and Learning are married and the parents of Truth. The protagonist of De Pugna Animi is Lord Mens (Mind), who is assisted by figures like Sir Ratio Prudens in resisting a revolt of the five senses. Fane wrote his play The Change during his imprisonment in the Tower of London
early in the Civil War. One of his plays, titled Ladrones, was known in manuscript in the 19th century and reportedly featured Sir Francis Drake
, Thomas Cavendish
, and Ferdinand Magellan
as characters; but the MS. has been lost. Fane's total extant literary output includes over 900 poems in English and Latin, and eight plays or entertainments.
who married firstly Francis Palmes of Ashwell, Rutland, grand-daughter of Sir Guy Palmes
, and was widowed with no children. She married secondly John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter (1628-1678), a widower, on January 24, 1670. His first son Charles, and his second son Vere, both succeeded to their father's title in turn (since Charles Fane, 3rd Earl left no descendants).
Mildmay Fane's younger brother Sir Francis Fane married Elizabeth West, daughter of William West of Firbeck Hall, Yorkshire, and widow of John, Lord Darcy of the North. Sir Francis Fane achieved some distinction as a writer, publishing poetry as well as three dramatic plays. He was made Knight of the Bath at the Coronation of Charles I, and served as governor of Doncaster Castle during the English civil war. Rachael Fane (1613–80), one of Mildmay Fane's seven sisters and a resident of Apethorpe, also wrote entertainments and a masque that were performed by the household. Her works survive in manuscript.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
nobleman, politician, and writer.
Life
One of seven sons of Francis FaneFrancis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland
Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland, KB head of the Fane family, of Mereworth in Kent, and then of Apethorpe in Northamptonshire, was first a Member of Parliament and then an English peer...
by his wife Mary, granddaughter of Sir Walter Mildmay
Walter Mildmay
Sir Walter Mildmay was an English statesman who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer of England under Queen Elizabeth I, and was founder of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.-Early life:...
, Mildmay Fane was born in Kent and educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
(matriculated 1618). He became MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Peterborough
Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally styled The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past...
in 1620 and for Kent
Kent (UK Parliament constituency)
Kent was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Kent in southeast England. It returned two "knights of the shire" to the House of Commons by the bloc vote system from the year 1290...
in 1625. He succeeded his father as Earl of Westmorland and Lord le Despenser on 23 March 1629 [all dates new style
Old Style and New Style dates
Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...
].
A friend of Robert Herrick
Robert Herrick (poet)
Robert Herrick was a 17th-century English poet.-Early life:Born in Cheapside, London, he was the seventh child and fourth son of Julia Stone and Nicholas Herrick, a prosperous goldsmith....
, he supported the Royalist party at the outbreak of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
(King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
had stood as godfather to Fane's eldest son in 1635). Following a brief period of imprisonment by Parliament, however, he retired to his estate at Apethorpe
Apethorpe
Apethorpe is a village and civil parish in East Northamptonshire district of the shire county of Northamptonshire, England. The 2001 census records a population of 133....
in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
.
Writing
137 poems by Fane appeared in his self-published collection Otia Sacra in 1648 — the first time a peer of England published his own verse. It was only at the end of the twentieth century that a larger body of Fane's verse was identified: some 500 poems by Fane, composed between 1621 and 1665, were published in 2001. The poems survived in manuscript collections preserved at Fulbeck Hall in LincolnshireLincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, Houghton Library
Houghton Library
Houghton Library is the primary repository for rare books and manuscripts at Harvard University. It is part of the Harvard College Library within the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Houghton is located on the south side of Harvard Yard, next to Widener Library.- History :Harvard's first...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and the Westmorland papers preserved at the Northamptonshire Record Office.
Fane also wrote masques
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
and stage plays; six of these "politicized entertainments" were performed at Apethorpe during the decade of the 1640s by Fane's children and servants. For his 1641 masque Candia Restaurata, Fane designed sets and stage effects and composed some of the music used in the production. Virtue's Triumph features personifications of Ambition and Impudence, Lies and Deceits; Nobility and Learning are married and the parents of Truth. The protagonist of De Pugna Animi is Lord Mens (Mind), who is assisted by figures like Sir Ratio Prudens in resisting a revolt of the five senses. Fane wrote his play The Change during his imprisonment in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
early in the Civil War. One of his plays, titled Ladrones, was known in manuscript in the 19th century and reportedly featured Sir Francis Drake
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
, Thomas Cavendish
Thomas Cavendish
Sir Thomas Cavendish was an English explorer and a privateer known as "The Navigator" because he was the first who deliberately tried to emulate Sir Francis Drake and raid the Spanish towns and ships in the Pacific and return by circumnavigating the globe...
, and Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
as characters; but the MS. has been lost. Fane's total extant literary output includes over 900 poems in English and Latin, and eight plays or entertainments.
Family
Fane married twice in his lifetime: first, in 1620, to Grace Thornihurst, daughter of Sir William Thornihurst of Kent, with whom he had a son and five daughters; and secondly to Mary, daughter of Horace Lord Vere of Tillsbury, who bore him a son and four daughters, one of which was Lady Mary FaneLady Mary Fane
Lady Mary Fane was the daughter of Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland who succeeded to the title in 1628 and died in 1666, and his second wife, Mary, daughter of Horace Vere, 1st Baron Vere of Tilbury, and widow of Sir Roger Townshend....
who married firstly Francis Palmes of Ashwell, Rutland, grand-daughter of Sir Guy Palmes
Guy Palmes
Sir Guy Palmes was MP for Rutland, High Sheriff of Yorkshire and Justice of the Peace for Yorkshire.- Early life :Palmes lived at Lindley, now part of Huddersfield, and at Ashwell, Rutland and married Anne, the daughter of Sir Edward Stafford....
, and was widowed with no children. She married secondly John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter (1628-1678), a widower, on January 24, 1670. His first son Charles, and his second son Vere, both succeeded to their father's title in turn (since Charles Fane, 3rd Earl left no descendants).
Mildmay Fane's younger brother Sir Francis Fane married Elizabeth West, daughter of William West of Firbeck Hall, Yorkshire, and widow of John, Lord Darcy of the North. Sir Francis Fane achieved some distinction as a writer, publishing poetry as well as three dramatic plays. He was made Knight of the Bath at the Coronation of Charles I, and served as governor of Doncaster Castle during the English civil war. Rachael Fane (1613–80), one of Mildmay Fane's seven sisters and a resident of Apethorpe, also wrote entertainments and a masque that were performed by the household. Her works survive in manuscript.
Plays and masques
- Raguaillo d'Oceano (1640)
- Candia Restaurata ("Candy Restored," 1641)
- Time's Trick Upon the Cards (1642)
- The Change (1642)
- Virtue's Triumph (1644)
- Don Phoebo's Triumph (1645)
- De Pugna Animi (1650)
- Ladrones, or the Robbers' Island (lost)
External links
- Otia Sacra text
- Link to English Heritage web-site for Apethorpe