Richard Stanyhurst facts for kids

Richard Stanyhurst (1547–1618) was an Anglo-Irish writer, translator, and historian born in Dublin. He was also interested in alchemy, which was an early form of chemistry.

Who Was Richard Stanyhurst?

Richard Stanyhurst came from an important family in Dublin. His father, James Stanyhurst, was a lawyer and served as the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons several times. His grandfather, Nicholas Stanihurst, was the Mayor of Dublin. Richard's mother was Anne Fitzsimon, whose father was also a lawyer in Dublin.

Richard went to Kilkenny College for his early education. In 1563, he went to University College, Oxford, where he studied for five years. While at Oxford, he became good friends with Edmund Campion, who was a famous scholar. After Oxford, Richard studied law in London.

Stanyhurst's Writings and Views

In 1587, Richard Stanyhurst helped write Holinshed's Chronicles, which was a very important history book of England, Scotland, and Ireland. He wrote a description of Ireland and a history of Ireland during the time of King Henry VIII.

However, his writings were criticized by others, like Barnabe Rich. Some people felt that Stanyhurst's history showed things from an English point of view, and not fairly from an Irish one. His writings also upset some Catholics because they seemed to be against Catholic beliefs.

Life in Europe

After his first wife, Janet Barnewall, passed away in 1579, Stanyhurst moved to the Netherlands. He later married Helen Copley. After this marriage, he became more involved in supporting the Catholic faith. He lived in a place called the bishopric of Liège, where he met scientists and thinkers who were interested in Paracelsan ideas, which combined medicine and chemistry. Stanyhurst then began to study how medicine and chemistry were connected.

In the early 1590s, King Philip II of Spain invited Stanyhurst to his country because the king was very ill. Stanyhurst worked in a large chemistry lab at El Escorial, a famous palace. He also shared information about what Catholics in England were interested in.

After his second wife died in 1602, Richard Stanyhurst became a priest. He then served as a chaplain to the Archduke Albert of Austria in the Netherlands. Richard had two sons, Peter and William Stanyhurst, both of whom became Jesuits, who are members of a Catholic religious order.

Richard Stanyhurst never went back to England. He passed away in Brussels in 1618.

Stanyhurst's Published Works

Richard Stanyhurst is known for his translations and other books.

Translating Virgil

One of his most famous works is his translation of the first four books of Aeneid by the Roman poet Virgil. This translation was published in 1582. Stanyhurst wanted to show that English poetry could follow the same rules as classical Latin poetry. However, his translation was quite unusual and sounded very different from the original.

A writer named Thomas Nashe even made fun of Stanyhurst's translation, saying it sounded like "rounce robble hobble" and "ruff ruff roaring." This shows how unique Stanyhurst's style was!

Other Books

Only two copies of the very first edition of Stanyhurst's Virgil translation still exist. Later, his work was reprinted by others.

Stanyhurst also wrote books in Latin, including De rebus in Hibernia gestis (published in 1584), which was about events in Ireland. He also wrote a life story of St Patrick in 1587.

More recently, in 2013, a new edition of his Latin history of Ireland was published. It was called Great Deeds in Ireland: Richard Stanyhurst's De Rebus in Hibernia Gestis.