Richard Eden (translator) facts for kids
Richard Eden (born around 1520, died 1576) was an English scholar who worked as a translator. He also had an interest in alchemy, which was an early form of chemistry. His translations of books about geography helped make people in Tudor England excited about exploring new lands across the seas.
Eden's Early Life and Education
Richard Eden was the son of a cloth merchant. He went to Christ's College, Cambridge and then Queens' College at Cambridge University. He earned his first degree in 1538 and a master's degree in 1544.
Eden was helped by Sir Thomas Smith, an important diplomat. This allowed Eden to meet other smart people like John Cheke and Roger Ascham. For a few years, from 1544 to 1546, he worked in a small job for the Treasury, which manages the government's money.
Later, in the late 1540s, Eden worked for Richard Whalley. Whalley would later become a sheriff in Nottinghamshire. Eden was paid to try and find the secret of turning ordinary metals into gold. This was a common goal for alchemists at the time.
Eden started to translate a book called De la pirotechnia by Vannoccio Biringuccio. This book was about how to work with metals and minerals. By 1552, he had translated the first 22 chapters. However, he lent his handwritten copy to someone and could not get it back. Even so, he included a translation of the first three chapters in his own book, Decades of the new worlde, which came out in 1555. He left out parts where Biringuccio criticized alchemists.
Encouraging Exploration of New Worlds
A powerful leader, the Earl of Northumberland, wanted England to challenge Spain's control over global trade. He also wanted to open up trade routes to the Far East. To help with this, he encouraged the publishing of books that would inspire exploration.
Because of this, in 1552, Eden became a secretary to Sir William Cecil, another very important person in the government. In 1553, Eden published A Treatyse of the Newe India. This book was his translation of a part of Sebastian Muenster's famous book, Cosmographia, which described the world.
In 1555, Eden published his most famous work, The Decades of the Newe Worlde or West India. In this book, he translated parts of other important works. These included De orbe novo decades by Pietro Martire d'Anghiera and Natural hystoria de las Indias by Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés. These books provided detailed descriptions of the Americas.
In 1561, Eden translated Arte de navigar by Martín Cortés de Albacar into English, calling it The Arte of Navigation. This was a very important book because it was the first manual about how to navigate ships to be published in English. It helped English sailors learn how to sail across oceans.
In 1562, Eden became a secretary to Jean de Ferrieres, who was a French nobleman. Eden stayed with de Ferrieres until 1572. During this time, he traveled a lot with him in France and Germany. In 1573, de Ferrieres wrote to Queen Elizabeth I of England. He asked her to make Eden one of her Poor Knights of Windsor, which was a special honor and provided a place to live.
