Robert Barret
Encyclopedia
Robert Barret was a British military writer, and poet
.
His first work was entitled The Theorike and Practike of Modern Warres. Discourses in Dialogue wise, wherein is disclosed the neglect of Martiall discipline: the inconvenience thereof, and more to like effect. It was published in London in 1598, with two dedicatory addresses, the one to the Earl of Pembroke
and the other to his son William, Lord Herbert of Cardiff
, for whose instruction the book was professedly prepared. A prefatory poem is signed "William Sa——".Barret deals largely with military tactics, and many interesting diagrams may be found among his pages.
Some eight years later he completed a more ambitious production. After three years' labour he finished, "26 March, anno 1606," the longest epic poem in the language, numbering more than 68,000 lines. The work never found a publisher, and is still extant in a unique manuscript. It was entitled The Sacred Warr. An History conteyning the Christian Conquest of the Holy Land by Godfrey de Buillion Duke of Lorraine, and sundrye other Illustrious Christian Heroes. Their Lyues, Acts, and Gouernments even untill Jherusalem's Lamentable Reprieze by Saladdin, Ægypts Calyph and Sultan, with continuations down to 1588.
The authorities cited are "the chronicles of William Archbishoppe of Tyrus
, the Protoscribe of Palestine, of Basilius Johannes Heraldius and sundry other." The poem is in alternate rhymes; the language is stilted and affected and contains many newly-coined words. In an address to the reader, Barret apologises for intermixing "so true and grave an history with Poetical fictions, phrases, narrations, digressions, reprizes, ligations," and so forth; but Sallust
and Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas
have been his models.
The work is in thirty-two books, and at its close are An Exhortacion Elegiacall to all European Christians against the Turks, in verse, and an account in prose of the Military Offices of the Turkish Empery. The completed volume bears date 1613.
The manuscript at one time belonged to Robert Southey
; it subsequently passed into the Corser Library, and thence into the possession of James Crossley of Manchester.
William Shakespeare
, according to Chalmers, caricatured Barret as Parolles in All's well that ends well
. But the statement is purely conjectural. Parolles is spoken of as "the gallant militarist—that was his own phrase—that had the whole theoric of war in the knot of his scarf, and the practice in the chape of his dagger"—words which may possibly allude to the title of Barret's military manual, but are in themselves hardly sufficient to establish a more definite connection between him and Parolles.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Life
He spent much of his life in the profession of arms among the French, Dutch, Italians, and Spaniards. Before 1598 he had "retyred to a rustique lyfe," and addressed himself to literature.His first work was entitled The Theorike and Practike of Modern Warres. Discourses in Dialogue wise, wherein is disclosed the neglect of Martiall discipline: the inconvenience thereof, and more to like effect. It was published in London in 1598, with two dedicatory addresses, the one to the Earl of Pembroke
Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke KG was an English peer of the Elizabethan era.-Life:He was the son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Anne Parr. His aunt was queen consort Catherine Parr, last wife of King Henry VIII. Herbert was responsible for the costly restoration of Cardiff Castle...
and the other to his son William, Lord Herbert of Cardiff
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, KG, PC was the son of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and his third wife Mary Sidney. Chancellor of the University of Oxford, he founded Pembroke College, Oxford with King James. He was warden of the Forest of Dean, and constable of St Briavels from 1608...
, for whose instruction the book was professedly prepared. A prefatory poem is signed "William Sa——".Barret deals largely with military tactics, and many interesting diagrams may be found among his pages.
Some eight years later he completed a more ambitious production. After three years' labour he finished, "26 March, anno 1606," the longest epic poem in the language, numbering more than 68,000 lines. The work never found a publisher, and is still extant in a unique manuscript. It was entitled The Sacred Warr. An History conteyning the Christian Conquest of the Holy Land by Godfrey de Buillion Duke of Lorraine, and sundrye other Illustrious Christian Heroes. Their Lyues, Acts, and Gouernments even untill Jherusalem's Lamentable Reprieze by Saladdin, Ægypts Calyph and Sultan, with continuations down to 1588.
The authorities cited are "the chronicles of William Archbishoppe of Tyrus
William of Malines
William of Malines or Messines was the first medieval Archbishop of Tyre from 1128 to 1130 and thereafter Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem until his death...
, the Protoscribe of Palestine, of Basilius Johannes Heraldius and sundry other." The poem is in alternate rhymes; the language is stilted and affected and contains many newly-coined words. In an address to the reader, Barret apologises for intermixing "so true and grave an history with Poetical fictions, phrases, narrations, digressions, reprizes, ligations," and so forth; but Sallust
Sallust
Gaius Sallustius Crispus, generally known simply as Sallust , a Roman historian, belonged to a well-known plebeian family, and was born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines...
and Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas
Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas
Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas was a French poet. A Huguenot, he served under Henry of Navarre. He is known as an epic poet. La Sepmaine; ou, Creation du monde was a hugely influential hexameral work, relating the creation of the world and the history of man...
have been his models.
The work is in thirty-two books, and at its close are An Exhortacion Elegiacall to all European Christians against the Turks, in verse, and an account in prose of the Military Offices of the Turkish Empery. The completed volume bears date 1613.
The manuscript at one time belonged to Robert Southey
Robert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
; it subsequently passed into the Corser Library, and thence into the possession of James Crossley of Manchester.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, according to Chalmers, caricatured Barret as Parolles in All's well that ends well
All's Well That Ends Well
All's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1604 and 1605, and was originally published in the First Folio in 1623....
. But the statement is purely conjectural. Parolles is spoken of as "the gallant militarist—that was his own phrase—that had the whole theoric of war in the knot of his scarf, and the practice in the chape of his dagger"—words which may possibly allude to the title of Barret's military manual, but are in themselves hardly sufficient to establish a more definite connection between him and Parolles.