Nicholas Fitzherbert
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Fitzherbert was an English
recusant gentleman who served as secretary to Cardinal William Allen and was found guilty of treason
due to his Catholicism. He was the second son of John Fitzherbert of Padley, Derbyshire
. Fitzherbert was the grandson of the judge Sir Anthony Fitzherbert
(1470–1538), and first cousin to the Jesuit Thomas Fitzherbert
. Whilst he was abroad, two priests were arrested at his father's house; they are now saints after becoming martyrs to their faith. Fitzherbert's lands were forfeit, and he was obliged to spend his life abroad. He was buried in Florence
.
, where his name appears in the matriculation register as a senior undergraduate member of the College in 1571 and 1572. However he would not have been able to obtain a degree because of his religion, and therefore like many he went abroad in order that he might practice his Catholic religion.
He finally matriculated in the University of Douai
before studying law at Bologna
in 1580. During his absence from England he was found guilty of treason on 1 January 1580, on account of his zeal for the Catholic cause, and especially for his activity in raising funds for the English College at Rheims.
Fitzherbert settled in Rome
, and received from Pope Gregory XIII
an allowance of ten golden scudi
a month. In 1587, Dr William Allen (who had founded the English College, Douai
, in 1568) became a cardinal, and Fitzherbert became his secretary and continued to reside in his household till the cardinal's death in 1594.
In 1595, Gilotti of Rome published Fitzherbert's translation into 'Anglo-Latin' of the poet Giovanni della Casa
's Italian language
treatise on manners, Il Galateo (1558).
Fitzherbert strenuously opposed the policy adopted by Robert Parsons, SJ, in reference to English Catholic affairs. An instance of this is recorded in the diary of Roger Baynes
, a former secretary to Cardinal Allen:
During his absence, his manor and hall at Padley had been seized in 1589 following the arrest of two priests who had been caught by chance when the manor was searched for Fitzherbert's father, John. The two priests would be held at Derby Gaol
before being hanged drawn and quartered for their faith. By February 1603-4, James I
had made a grant to Henry Butler and two others, and their heirs, to make use of the Fitzherbert properties at Padley.
Padley Hall eventually fell into ruin, but the part of the remains were restored into a chapel (pictured).
. When a proposal was made in 1607 to send a bishop to England, Fitzherbert was mentioned by Father Augustine, Prior of the English monks at Douay, as a worthy of becoming a bishop, but he considered himself unworthy of even the lowest ecclesiastical orders.
On Cardinal Allen's death, recommendations were made to Philip II of Spain
to note who should receive any of the King's generosity. The note records that:
Fitzherbert accidentally drowned while attempting to cross a brook, a few miles south of Florence
, on 6 November 1612 on his way to Rome. He was buried in the Benedictine abbey of the Badia
at Florence.
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...
recusant gentleman who served as secretary to Cardinal William Allen and was found guilty of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
due to his Catholicism. He was the second son of John Fitzherbert of Padley, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. Fitzherbert was the grandson of the judge Sir Anthony Fitzherbert
Anthony Fitzherbert
Sir Anthony Fitzherbert was an English judge, scholar and legal author, particularly known for his treatise on English law, New Natura Brevium .-Biography:...
(1470–1538), and first cousin to the Jesuit Thomas Fitzherbert
Thomas Fitzherbert
Thomas Fitzherbert was an English Jesuit.-Early life:His father having died whilst he was an infant, he was, even as a child, the head of an important family and the first heir born at Swynnerton, where his descendants have since flourished and still remain Catholics...
. Whilst he was abroad, two priests were arrested at his father's house; they are now saints after becoming martyrs to their faith. Fitzherbert's lands were forfeit, and he was obliged to spend his life abroad. He was buried in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
.
Biography
Fitzherbert matriculated at Exeter College, OxfordExeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
, where his name appears in the matriculation register as a senior undergraduate member of the College in 1571 and 1572. However he would not have been able to obtain a degree because of his religion, and therefore like many he went abroad in order that he might practice his Catholic religion.
He finally matriculated in the University of Douai
University of Douai
The University of Douai is a former university in Douai, France. With a Middle Ages heritage of scholar activities in Douai, the university was established in 1559 and lectures started in 1562. It closed from 1795 to 1808...
before studying law at Bologna
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
in 1580. During his absence from England he was found guilty of treason on 1 January 1580, on account of his zeal for the Catholic cause, and especially for his activity in raising funds for the English College at Rheims.
Fitzherbert settled in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and received from Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII , born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope from 1572 to 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, which remains the internationally-accepted civil calendar to this date.-Youth:He was born the son of Cristoforo Boncompagni and wife Angela...
an allowance of ten golden scudi
Italian scudo
The scudo was the name for a number of coins used in Italy until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from the Latin scutum . From the 16th century, the name was used in Italy for large silver coins...
a month. In 1587, Dr William Allen (who had founded the English College, Douai
English College, Douai
The English College, Douai was a Catholic seminary associated with the University of Douai . It was established in about 1561, and was suppressed in 1793...
, in 1568) became a cardinal, and Fitzherbert became his secretary and continued to reside in his household till the cardinal's death in 1594.
In 1595, Gilotti of Rome published Fitzherbert's translation into 'Anglo-Latin' of the poet Giovanni della Casa
Giovanni della Casa
Giovanni della Casa was an Italian poet and cleric.-Biography:He was born at Florence, in Tuscany. He studied at Bologna, Padua, Florence and Rome, and by his learning attracted the patronage of Alexander Farnese, who, as Pope Paul III, made him archbishop of Benevento and later nuncio to Venice,...
's Italian language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
treatise on manners, Il Galateo (1558).
Fitzherbert strenuously opposed the policy adopted by Robert Parsons, SJ, in reference to English Catholic affairs. An instance of this is recorded in the diary of Roger Baynes
Roger Baynes
Roger Baynes was secretary to Cardinal Allen and an author.Baynes, secretary to Cardinal Allen, was born in England in 1546. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth he abjured the Protestant religion and proceeded to the English college at Rheims, where he arrived on 4 July 1579. In that year he...
, a former secretary to Cardinal Allen:
Father Parsons returned from NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
to Rome, 5 October 1598. All the English in Rome came to the College to hear his reasons against Mr. Nicholas Fitzherbert.
Derby Gaol
The term Derby Gaol historically refers to the five gaols in Derby, England. Today, the term usually refers to one of two tourist attractions, the gaol which stood on Friar Gate from 1756 to 1846 and the cells of which still exist and are open to the public as a museum, and the 1843 to 1929 Vernon...
before being hanged drawn and quartered for their faith. By February 1603-4, James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
had made a grant to Henry Butler and two others, and their heirs, to make use of the Fitzherbert properties at Padley.
Padley Hall eventually fell into ruin, but the part of the remains were restored into a chapel (pictured).
Honours
Fitzherbert was never induced to take holy ordersHoly Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
. When a proposal was made in 1607 to send a bishop to England, Fitzherbert was mentioned by Father Augustine, Prior of the English monks at Douay, as a worthy of becoming a bishop, but he considered himself unworthy of even the lowest ecclesiastical orders.
On Cardinal Allen's death, recommendations were made to Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
to note who should receive any of the King's generosity. The note records that:
Nicholas Fierberti, copyist and servant from the beginning of the cardinaliate. A gentleman of very noble birth whose relatives have suffered much for their Catholic faith ... His father died in imprisonment of 26 years for the faith, and his uncle also left this life in prison for the same cause, after having been incarcerated for 32 years continuously.
Fitzherbert accidentally drowned while attempting to cross a brook, a few miles south of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, on 6 November 1612 on his way to Rome. He was buried in the Benedictine abbey of the Badia
Badia Fiorentina
The Badìa Fiorentina is an abbey and church now home to the Fraternity of Jerusalem situated on the Via del Proconsolo in the centre of Florence, Italy. Dante supposedly grew up across the street in what is now called the 'Casa di Dante', rebuilt in 1910 as a museum to Dante...
at Florence.
Publications
- Della Casa, GiovanniGiovanni della CasaGiovanni della Casa was an Italian poet and cleric.-Biography:He was born at Florence, in Tuscany. He studied at Bologna, Padua, Florence and Rome, and by his learning attracted the patronage of Alexander Farnese, who, as Pope Paul III, made him archbishop of Benevento and later nuncio to Venice,...
, Ioannis Casae Galathaeus, sive de Moribus, Liber Italicus. A Nicolao Fierberto Anglo-Latine expressus, Rome, Gilotti, 1595, 8vo. Dedicated to Didacus de Campo, chamberlain to Clement VIII. Reprinted in PaduaPaduaPadua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
, 1728, 8vo. - Oxoniensis in Anglia Academiae Descriptio, Rome, 1602, 8vo, dedicated to Bernardinus Paulinus, datary to Clement VIII. Reprinted by Thomas Hearne in vol. ix. of Leland's Itinerary, 1712.
- De Antiquitate et continuatione religionis in Anglia et de Alani Cardinalis vita libellus Rome, 1608 and 1638, 8vo, dedicated to Pope Paul VPope Paul V-Theology:Paul met with Galileo Galilei in 1616 after Cardinal Bellarmine had, on his orders, warned Galileo not to hold or defend the heliocentric ideas of Copernicus. Whether there was also an order not to teach those ideas in any way has been a matter for controversy...
. The biography was reprinted at Antwerp, 1621, 8vo, and in Thomas Francis KnoxThomas Francis KnoxFather Francis Knox Father Francis Knox Father Francis Knox (born as Thomas Francis Knox; 24 December 1822 — 20 March 1882, LondonKnox, whose profile in the claims he was born in County Armagh, not Brussels, was an Anglo-Irish ultramontane Roman Catholic priest and author, known for his historical...
, Letters and Memorials of Cardinal Allen, (London) 1882, pp. 3-20.