Thomas Churchyard facts for kids

Thomas Churchyard (born around 1523 – died 1604) was an English writer and soldier. He is mostly remembered for his poetry collections that shared stories from his own life. Some of his famous works include Churchyardes Chippes (1575) and Churchyard's Challenge (1593).

Who Was Thomas Churchyard?

Thomas Churchyard was born in Shrewsbury, England, around 1529. His father was a farmer, but Thomas received a good education. After spending all the money his father gave him, he joined the household of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. He stayed there for 20 years, learning about poetry from his patron. Some of his early poems might have been included in a famous collection called Tottel's Miscellany (1555).

What Was Churchyard's Military Career Like?

In 1541, Churchyard began his life as a soldier. He said he was "pressed into the service," meaning he was forced to join. For 30 years, he fought in many battles across Scotland and the Low Countries (modern-day Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg).

Early Campaigns

He served under Emperor Charles V in Flanders in 1542. He returned to England after a peace treaty in 1544. In 1547, he was part of the Scottish campaign and fought in the Battle of Pinkie. The next year, he was captured at Saint Monance. However, he managed to escape to an English fort at Lauder. He was then surrounded there but finally returned to England when peace was made in 1550.

Service in Ireland and Europe

In 1550, Churchyard went to Ireland to serve Sir Anthony St Leger, who was the leader there. Churchyard gained wealth during this time. By 1552, he was back in England, trying to marry a rich widow, but it didn't work out.

After this, he went back to war, joining the emperor's army at the Siege of Metz (1552). He then served under William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton for eight years. Grey was in charge of the Guînes fortress, which was attacked in 1558. Churchyard helped arrange the surrender terms and was taken prisoner to Paris. He couldn't pay his ransom, but he was eventually freed after promising to pay later. He broke this promise once he was safely back in England.

Poetry and Royal Petitions

Churchyard wrote a popular poem called "Shore's Wife," which appeared in the 1563 edition of Mirror for Magistrates. He also contributed a poem about Thomas Wolsey to the 1587 edition. These poems were written in a simple, seven-line style.

He often asked Queen Elizabeth I for help, but he didn't get much support. So, he returned to military service. In 1560, he joined Lord Grey's army to help Scottish rebels at the Siege of Leith. In 1564, he served in Ireland again.

Adventures in the Netherlands

The religious conflicts in the Netherlands drew him to Antwerp. There, he worked for William of Orange and helped save property from being destroyed by angry crowds. This made him unpopular, and he had to escape disguised as a priest. The next year, he served under William of Orange again. After a year, he returned to England, facing many dangers on his journey.

His patron, Lord Oxford, no longer supported him, and Churchyard, whose health was failing, went to Bath. He had an unhappy marriage around this time and went back to the Low Countries. He was captured by the Spanish, who recognized him from the Antwerp events. He was sentenced to be executed as a spy but was saved by a noble lady. This experience didn't stop him from joining the defense of Zutphen in 1572. This was his last military campaign.

What Did Churchyard Do Later in Life?

Churchyard was hired to create special shows for Queen Elizabeth's visits to Bristol in 1574 and Norwich in 1578. In 1575, he published The Firste parte of Churchyarde's Chippes. A bigger version came out in 1578.

A part of his book Churchyarde's Choise (1579) upset Queen Elizabeth, and Churchyard had to flee to Scotland, where he stayed for three years. He was back in the Queen's good graces around 1584 and received a small pension from her in 1593.

On April 8, 1580, Churchyard, then nearly 60, published a short report about an earthquake that had hit London two days earlier. This pamphlet, called A Warning to the Wyse, gives us some of the earliest details about the 1580 Dover Straits earthquake.

What Was the Dispute with Thomas Camel?

In his book Churchyards Challenge (1593), Churchyard mentioned a song he wrote called Davie Dicars dreame (around 1551–1552). He said another writer, Thomas Camel, wrote against it, and Churchyard then "openly confuted" him. This argument grew to include other people like William Waterman. All their writings were collected in a book called The Contention bettwyxte Churchyeard and Camell in 1560.

The "Davie Dicar" Poem

Davie Dicar was a short poem that sounded like Piers Plowman, a famous older English poem. It caused Churchyard some trouble with the Privy Council, a group of royal advisors. However, he was supported by a powerful duke and only received a warning.

This debate between Churchyard and Camel happened through printed songs and poems. It was about whether simple English writing was better than more complex, Latin-influenced writing. Churchyard defended the simple, native English style, connecting it to "Peers plowman" and Chaucer. He made fun of Camel's fancy, classical style, while Camel criticized Churchyard's rough words. This public argument was like an old medieval tradition called flyting, where people would have a clever, staged battle of words. It was also a way for writers and printers to promote their work.

Inspiration from Piers Plowman

The character Davy Dycar (meaning Davy the ditcher or digger) was inspired by a line in Piers Plowman. In that poem, it was predicted that "Dawe the dyker" would starve because of corrupt landlords and clergy. Churchyard turned Davy into a truth-teller and a prophet of a future time of justice:

When truth doth tread the strets and liers lurke in den,
And Rex doth raigne and rule the rost, and weedes out wicked men:
Then baleful barnes be blyth that here in England wonne,
Your strife shall stynt I undertake, your dredfull dayes ar done.

William Waterman also joined the debate with his poem Westerne Wyll, clearly pointing out Davy's connection to Piers Plowman:

This Diker sems a thryving ladde, brought up in pieres scole
The plowman stoute, of whom I thynke ye have often harde. . . .
And for your lesson, lo by Christ I lyke it well
And such a lyke I wiene, doth pierce the ploughman tell.

How Was Churchyard Seen by Other Writers?

Younger writers of the Elizabethan era admired Churchyard. Thomas Nashe said that Churchyard's old writing style could be like a "grandmother" to the poets of his time. Francis Meres mentioned him among great writers who could express the "perplexities of love." Spenser, in his poem "Colin Clout's Come Home Again," playfully called him "old Palaemon" who "sung so long until quite hoarse he grew."

Most of Churchyard's writings, except for his contributions to the Mirror for Magistrates, were about his own life or the wars he fought in. His works are very rare today and have not been fully reprinted. Churchyard lived through Queen Elizabeth's entire reign. He was buried in St. Margaret's, Westminster, on April 4, 1604. It was said he became ill in front of Anne of Denmark's ladies-in-waiting and fainted about two weeks before he died.

What Were Churchyard's Main Works?

Here are some of Thomas Churchyard's known works:

• A lamentable and pitifull Description of the wofull warres in Flanders (1578)
• A Prayse, and Reporte of Maister MartyneFrobishers Voyage to Meta Incognita (1578)
• A general rehearsall of warres, called Churchyard's Choise (1579)
• A light Bondel of livelie Discourses, called Churchyardes Charge (1580)
• A Warning to the Wyse, about the 1580 earthquake (1580)
• The Worthines of Wales (1587)
• Churchyard's Challenge (1593)
• A Musicall Consort of Heavenly harmonic, called Churchyards Charitie (1595)
• A True Discourse Historicall, of the succeeding Governors in the Netherlands (1602)