Thomas Churchyard

Background

Thomas Churchyard was born at Shrewsbury about 1520, the son of a farmer.

Education

Thomas Churchyard received a good education, and, having speedily dissipated at court the money with which his father provided him, he entered the household of Henry Howard, earl of Surrey.

Career

Thomas Churchyard fought his way through nearly every campaign in Scotland and the Low Countries for thirty years.

He served under the emperor Charles V in Flanders in 1542, returning to England after the peace of Crepy (1544).

A broadside entitled Davy Dycars Dreame, a short and seemingly alliterative poem in the manner of Piers Plowman, brought him into trouble with the privy council, but he was dismissed with a reprimand.

This tract was the starting-point of a controversy between Churchyard and a certain Thomas Camel.

After this failure he departed once more to the wars to the siege of Metz (1552), and " trailed a pike " in the emperor's army, until he joined the forces under William, Lord Grey of Wilton, with whom he says he served eight years.

Grey was in charge of the fortress of Gaines, which was besieged by the duke of Guise in 1558.

He was not released at the peace of Cateau Cambresis for lack of money to pay his ransom, but he was finally set free on giving his bond for the amount, an engagement which he repudiated as soon as he was safely in England.

He therefore returned to active service under Lord Grey, who was in command of an English army sent (1560) to help the Scottish rebels, and in 1564 he served in Ireland under Sir Henry Sidney.

The religious disturbances in the Netherlands attracted him to Antwerp, where as the agent of William of Orange he allowed the insurgents to place him at their head, and was able to save much property from destruction.

After a year's service he obtained leave to return to England, and after many adventures and narrow escapes in a journey through hostile territory he embarked for Guernsey, and thence for England.

His patron, Lord Oxford, disowned him, and the poet, whose health was failing, retired to Bath.

He appears to have made a very unhappy marriage at this time, and returned to the Low Countries.

He had published in 1575 Thefirste parte of Churchyarde's Chippes, the modest title which he gives to his works.

No second part appeared, but there was a much enlarged edition in 1578.

A passage in Churchyarde's Choise (1579) gave offence to Elizabeth, and the author fled to Scotland, where he remained for three years.

Francis Meres (Palladis Tamia, 1598) mentions him in conjunction with many great names among " the most passionate, among us, to bewail and bemoan the perplexities of love. "

Spenser, in " Colin Clout's come home again, " calls him with a spice of raillery " old Palaemon " who " sung so long until quite hoarse he grew. "

His writings, with the exception of his contributions to the Mirror for Magistrates, are chiefly autobiographical in character or deal with the wars in which he had a share.

They are very rare, and have never been completely reprinted.

Churchyard lived right through Elizabeth's reign, and was buried in St Margaret's church, Westminster, on the 4th of April 1604.

The extant works of Churchyard, exclusive of commendatory and occasional verses, include:-A lamentable and pitifull Description of the wofull warres in Flanders (1578); A general rehearsall of warres, called Churchyard's Choise (1579), really a completion of the Chippes, and containing, like it, a number of detached pieces; A light Bondel of livelie Discourses, called Church- yardes Charge (1580); The Worthines of Wales (1587), a valuable antiquarian work in prose and verse, anticipating Michael Drayton; Churchyard's Challenge (1593); A Musicall Consort of Heavenly harmonie.

Achievements

• The extant works of Churchyard, exclusive of commendatory and occasional verses, include:-A lamentable and pitifull Description of the wofull warres in Flanders (1578); A general rehearsall of warres, called Churchyard's Choise (1579), really a completion of the Chippes, and containing, like it, a number of detached pieces;