George Herbert

Life events

1. Born — 1593

   George Herbert was born on 3 April 1593 in Montgomery, Montgomeryshire, Wales, the fifth son of Richard Herbert and Magdalen née Newport; his father died when George was three years old.

2. Educated — 1609

   Herbert entered Westminster School at around age 12 and was admitted on a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1609, graduating with a Bachelor's and then a Master's degree in 1616, after which he was elected a major fellow and appointed Reader in Rhetoric.

3. Other — 1620

   In 1620, Herbert was elected Public Orator of the University of Cambridge, a post he held until 1627; the role brought him to the attention of King James I and initially pointed toward a career at court.

4. Other — 1624

   Supported by his kinsman the 3rd Earl of Pembroke, Herbert sat in the Parliament of England in 1624 representing Montgomery; his secular career was curtailed when King James I died in 1625 and two influential patrons also died around the same time.

5. Other — 1629

   Herbert married Jane Danvers at Edington church on 5 March 1629; the introduction had been arranged through family connections at Dauntsey House and Baynton House in Wiltshire.

6. Ordained — 1630

   In 1630 Herbert was appointed rector of the rural parish of Fugglestone St Peter with Bemerton, near Salisbury in Wiltshire, taking responsibility for two small medieval churches; he rebuilt the Bemerton chapel and adjacent rectory at his own expense and was noted for bringing the sacraments to the sick and providing food and clothing for parishioners in need.

7. Wrote — 1633

   Shortly before his death Herbert sent the manuscript of his English poems to his friend Nicholas Ferrar, instructing him to publish the collection if it might help 'any dejected poor soul', or else burn it; Ferrar published it as The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations in 1633, a volume that went through eight editions by 1690.

8. Died — 1633

   Herbert died of consumption on 1 March 1633 at Bemerton, only three years after taking holy orders, at the age of 39; his biographer Izaak Walton records that he rose to play the lute even during his final illness.

Relationships

Documented claims

• Herbert served as Public Orator of the University of Cambridge from 1620 to 1627, a position that brought him into favour with King James I and initially pointed toward a career at court. (certain)
• The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations (1633) went through eight editions by 1690; some forty of Herbert's poems were later adapted for the Methodist hymnal by the Wesley brothers, and 'Teach me my God and King' appeared in 223 hymnals. (certain)
• Herbert compiled Outlandish Proverbs (1640), listing over 1,000 aphorisms gathered from many countries — 'outlandish' meaning foreign in 17th-century English — including sayings still current today such as 'His bark is worse than his bite.' (certain)
• Herbert played the lute and viol and set his own sacred poems to music; his mother Magdalen was a friend of composers William Byrd and John Bull, and his brother Edward was a skilled lutenist — Izaak Walton records that Herbert rose to play the lute during his final illness. (certain)
• The Church of England and the Episcopal Church commemorate Herbert on 27 February; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America observes his feast on 1 March, the date of his death in 1633. (certain)