Barnabe Rich facts for kids
Barnabe Rich (born around 1540, died November 10, 1617) was an English writer and soldier. He was a distant relative of Lord Chancellor Rich.
Barnabe Rich: Soldier and Writer
Barnabe Rich was a brave soldier. He fought in battles in the Low Countries (parts of modern-day Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg). He rose through the ranks to become a captain. Later, he served in Ireland.
He also helped with the English settlement of Ulster, a region in Northern Ireland. He spent the later part of his life living near Dublin, the capital of Ireland.
Even when he wasn't fighting, Barnabe Rich was busy writing. He wrote many short books called pamphlets about political ideas. He also wrote exciting adventure stories. In 1606, he received a daily payment called a pension. By 1616, he was given a gift of £100. This was because he was the oldest captain still serving the country.
His Famous Stories
Barnabe Rich's most famous book is Riche his Farewell to Militarie Profession (published in 1581). This book contains eight different stories.
He said that five of these stories were made up just for fun. They were not meant to be believed, but they were enjoyable to read. The other three stories were translations from Italian tales.
One of his own inventions was the story of "Apolonius and Silla." This story is very important! The famous writer William Shakespeare used this story as the main plot for his play, Twelfth Night. However, Rich's story itself was based on an older Italian tale by Matteo Bandello.
Another story in the collection is "Phylotus and Emilia." This tale is about a brother and sister who look very much alike. They get into complicated situations by pretending to be each other. This story is very similar to an old play called Philotus, printed in Edinburgh in 1603.
Other Writings
Barnabe Rich also wrote other adventure stories. One of these was The Strange and Wonderful Adventures of Don Simonides, a Gentleman Spaniard (1581). He wrote a follow-up book called The Second Tome of the Travels and Adventures of Don Simonides (1584). These stories were written in a style similar to another writer named John Lyly. Another romance he wrote was The Adventures of Brusanus, Prince of Hungaria (1592).
In total, we know of twenty-four books and pamphlets written by Barnabe Rich. Some of his works were about Ireland. He believed that the problems in Ireland were due to different beliefs among the people and issues with the English government's approach.
Some of his writings about Ireland include:
- Allarme to England (1578)
- A New Description of Ireland (1610)
- The Irish Hubbub, or the English Hue and Crie (1617)
