Thomas Churchyard

CHURCHYARD, THOMAS (c. 1520-1604), English au thor, was born at Shrewsbury. He served in the household of Henry Howard, earl of Surrey, and in 1541 became a soldier of fortune. During the next 3o years he fought in almost every campaign in Ireland, Scotland and the Low Countries, now in the service of the Emperor Charles V., now in the English service, at last under the Prince of Orange. His last campaign was the defence of Zutphen in 1572.

Churchyard was employed to devise a pageant for the queen's reception at Bristol in 1574, and again at Norwich in 1578. He had published in 2575 The firste 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. He was only restored to favour about 1584, and in he received a small pension from the queen. The affectionate esteem with which he was regarded by the younger Elizabethan writers is expressed by Thomas Nashe, who says (Foure Letters Confuted) that Churchyard's aged muse might well be "grand mother to our grandiloquentest poets at this present." 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. Mar garet's Church, Westminster, on April 4, 1604.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.-The

extant works of Churchyard, exclusive of Bibliography.-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 gen eral rehearsal! of warres, called Churchyarde's Choise really a completion of the Chippes, and containing, like it, a number of de tached pieces; A light Bondel of livelie Discourses, called Churchyarde's Charge (158o) ; The Worthines o f Wales (1587) , a valuable anti quarian work in prose and verse, anticipating Michael Drayton; Churchyard's Challenge (1593) ; A Musical! Consort of Heavenly harmonie . . . called Churchyard's Charitie ; A True Discourse Historicall, of the succeeding Governors in the Netherlands (1602).

The chief authority for Churchyard's biography is his own "Trag icall Discourse of the unhappy man's life" (Churchyarde's Chippes) . George Chalmers published (1817) a selection from his works relating to Scotland, for which he wrote a useful life. See also an edition of the Chippes (ed. J. P. Collier, 187o), of the Worthines of Wales (Spenser Soc., 1876) and a notice of Churchyard by H. W. Adnitt (Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Nat. Hist. Soc., reprinted separately 1884) .