Literature 1500 – 1600

1500
Aldus of Venice (see 1495) founds academy for study of Greek classics and invents italics
Mariken van Nieumeghen, Dutch miracle play
First edition of Ger. Schwank book, Till Eulenspiegel, published in Lübeck
Erasmus: Adagia, collection of proverbs

1501
Conradus Celtis writes allegorical play, "Ludus Dianae"; discovers in Nuremberg manuscripts of plays by the nun Roswitha of Gandersheim, who lived c. 1000
Dream allegory, "The Palice of Honour," by Scot. poet and bishop Gawin Douglas (1475-1522)

1502
Ambrogio Calepino: "Cornucopiae," a polyglot dictionary
Conradus Celtis: "Amores," humanistic poem
One of the first plays by Gil Vicente (1470-1536) given before the royal family of Portugal

1503
William Dunbar: "The Thrissil and the Rois," an allegorical prothalarnium in honor of James IV of Scotland's marriage with Margaret Tudor
Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, Span. poet, b. (d. 1575)
Thomas Wyatt, Eng. poet, b. (d. 1542)

1504
Nicholas Udall, Eng. dramatist, b. (d. 1556)

1505
Mikolaj Rej, Pol. poet, b. (d. 1569)

1506
Dunbar: "The Dance of the Sevin Deidly Synnis"
Reuchlin: "Rudimenta linguae Hebraicae," grammar and dictionary

1508
Ludovico Ariosto: "Cassaria," Ital. comedy
Conradus Celtis d. (b. 1459)
"The Maying or Disport of Chaucer," first book printed in Scotland
Garcia Rodriguez de Montalvo: "Amadis de Gaula," revision of a l4th-century narrative of chivalry

1509
Sebastian Brant's "Ship of Fools" (1494), trans. by Alexander Barclay, published in England
"Fortunate and his Sons," Ger. book of "Schwank" stories, printed at Augsburg

1510
"Everyman," Eng. morality play based on Dutch morality "Elckerlijk" (see 1495)

1511
Johannes Secundus (Jan Nicolai Everaerts), Dutch New Latin poet, b. (d. 1536)
Gil Vicente: "Auto de los cuatro tiempos," Span.-Port. religious play

1512
First use of word "masque" to denote a poetic drama
Thomas Murner (1475-1537): "Die Narrenbeschwörung," Ger. satirical poem

1513
Bibbiena (Cardinal Bernardo Dovizi): "La Calandria," Ital. comedy
Niccolò Machiavelli: "La Mandragola," Ital. comedy

1514
Lucas Ferndndez: "Farsas y &glogas," plays
"Septem horae canonicae," first book printed in Arabic type, published in Italy

1515
The Lateran Council's decree, "De impressione librorum," forbids printing of books without permission of Roman Catholic authorities
Teresa de Jesbs, mystical Span. poetess, b. (d. 1582)
"Epistolae obscurorum virorum," satire of scholarship, written in dog-Latin by Mutianus Rufus, Ulrich von Hutten, and other Ger. humanists in support of Reuchlin
Aldus Manutius, Ital. printer and publisher, d. (b. 1450)
John Skelton (1460-1529): "Magnificence," Eng. morality play
"Till Eulenspiegel" published by Johann Grieninger, Strasbourg (see 1500)
Giovanni Giorgio Trissino: "Sofonisba," first play in blank verse

1516
Ludovico Ariosto: "Orlando Furioso"
Garcia de Resende: "Cancioneiro Geral," anthology of Port. and Span. poems
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, Eng. poet, b. (d. 1547)

1517
Teofilo Folengo (1496-1544): "Opus maccaronicum," satirical Lat. poems on contemporary romantic epics
Bartolom6 de Torres Naharro: "Pro palladia," collection of seven Span. comedies
Hans Sachs of Nuremberg begins to write his farces
Ulrich von Hutten crowned "King of Poets" by Emperor Maximilian I

1518
Ariosto-at the court of Ferrara arranges regular performances at the court theater

1520
Cardinal Bibbiena (Bernardo Dovizi), I tal. comedy author, d. (b. 1470)
Royal Library of France founded by King Francis at Fontainebleau

1521
Sebastian Brant, Ger. satirist ("The Ship of Fools"), d. (b. 1457)

1522
Johann Pauli (1455-1530): "Schimpf und Ernst," collection of humorous Ger. stories and anecdotes
Jacopo Sannazzaro: "De partu Virginis," religious poem fusing pagan and Christian myth

1523
Hans Sachs: "Die wittenbergische Nachtigall," an allegory in verse in honor of Luther
John Skelton: "A Goodly Garland, or Chapelet of Laurell"

1524
Aretino expelled from Rome
Luis Vaz de Cam6es, Port. poet, b. (d. 1580)

1525
Pietro Bembo: "Prose della volgar lingua," earliest example of popular Ital. writing, Latin being usual among men of letters
Pierre de Ronsard, Fr. poet, b. (d. 1585)
Louise Lab& ("La Belle Cordi~re"), Fr. humanist poet, b. (d. 1566)

1526
Francisco de Sdde Miranda founds Italianate school of literature in Portuga

1527
Baldassare Castiglione (1478-1529): "11 Cortegiano" ("The Courtier"), on courtly manners
Niccolb Machiavelli, Ital. political theorist and historian, d. (b. 1469)
Marco Girolamo Vida (1490-1560): "De arte poetica," on poetic theory

1528
Johannes Agricola (1494-1566): German proverbs
Sebastian Franck: "The Vice of Drinking"
Ulrich von Hutten: "Arminius" (posth.)

1529
Antonio de Guevara: "El Relos de principes," on the education of Span. princes
William Dunbar, Scot. poet, d. (b. 1460)
John Skelton, Eng. dramatist, d. (b. 1460)
Antonio Telesio: "Imber Aureus," Ital. mythological tragedy
Women seen for first time on Ital. stages

1530
Claude Garamond created "imprimeur du roi" by King Francis I
Jan Kochanowsky, Pol. poet, b. (d. 1584)
Jacopo Sannazaro,- Ital. poet, d. (b. 1458)
Clément Marot (1496-1544): "Adolescence C16mentine," Fr. poems

1532
Chaucer's works published posth.; Robert Henryson's "The Testament of Cresseid" included among them in error
Frangois Rabelais ( 1494- 1553): first book of "Pantagruel" published

1533
Lodovico Ariosto, Ital. poet, d. (b. 1474)
Michel de Montaigne, Fr. author, b. (d. 1592)
John Heywood: "The Pardoner, the Frere, the Curate, and Neighbour Pratte," interlude

1534
John Heywood: "A Play of Love," interlude
Franqois Rabelais: "Gargantua," Part Two of "Pantagruel"

1536
Johannes Secundus (Jan Everaerts), Dutch poet, d. (b. 1511)
Gil Vicente, Port. actor and poet, d. (b. 1470)

1537
Thomas Murner, Ger. satirist, d. (b. 1475)

1538
Giovanni Battista Guarini, Ital. poet, b. (d. 1612)
Marot: "Thirty Psalms of David," in French
Paul Rebhun (1506-1540): "Hochzeitsspiel auf die Hochzeit zu, Kana," early Ger. verse drama

1539
"Gentse Spelen," a collection of allegorical plays, performed at Ghent
Marnix van St. Aldegonde, Dutch writer and statesman, b. (d. 1598)

1540
Pierre de Bourdeille, Seigneur de Brant6me, Fr. author, b. (d. 1614)
Sir David Lindsay: "Ane Satyre of the Thrie Estaits," morality play

1541
Giambattista Cinzio Giraldi: "Orbeche," Ital. tragedy on classical lines

1542
Sir Thomas Wyatt, Eng. poet, d. (b. 1503)

1543
Thomas Deloney, Eng. author, b. (d. 1607)

1544
Matteo Bandello: -11 Canzoniere," lyric poetry
Clément Marot, Fr. poet, d. (b. 1496)
Torquato Tasso, Ital. poet, b. (d. 1595)

1545
Antonio de Guevara, Span. author and historiographer to Charles V, d. (K 1480)
Perez de Hita, Span. poet, b. (d. 1619)
John Heywood: "The Four P's," Eng. interlude
Stage comedians create a new type of improvised theatrical entertainment in northern Italy

1546
Aretino: "Orazia," Ital. tragedy
Hans Sachs: "Lisabetha," Ger. tragedy

1547
Mateo Alemdn, Span. novelist, b. (d. 1615)
Pietro Bembo, Ital. poet and cardinal, d. (b. 1470)
Vittoria Colonna, Ital. poet and wife of famous condottiere Pescara, friend of Michelangelo, d. (b. 1490)
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Span. writer, b. (d. 1616)
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, Eng. poet, executed for high treason (b. 1516)
Giangiorgio Trissino: "L'Italia liberata dai Goti," epic poem

1548
John Bale: "Kynge Johan," first Eng. historical drama
Hôttel de Bourgogne, first roofed theater, opened in Paris
Royal edict forbids performance of "mystéres" in Paris

1549
Friedrich Dedekind (1525-1598): "Grobianus," Ger. satire against the coarseness of the times
Joachim du Bellay, leader ot the poetic P16iade group, states the program of Fr. classicism: "136fense et illustration de la langue Française"

1550
Pierre de Ronsard: "Odes"
Olaus Petrie: "Tobia Commedia," earliest Swed. stage play
Giovanni Francesco Straparola (1490-1557), Ital. author, publishes first European collection of fairy tales
Nicholas Udall: "Ralph Roister Doister," earliest Eng. comedy

1551
More's "Utopia" trans. into English from the original Latin by Ralph Robinson

1552
Pierre de Ronsard: "Amours," Vol. I
Etienne Jodelle: "Cléopâtre captive," first classical tragedy in French

1553
François Rabelais, Fr. author, d. (b. 1494)
Hans Sachs: "Tristan und Isolde"

1554
Matteo Bandello: "Le Novelle," 214 short stories and tales
John Lyly, Eng. novelist and dramatist, b. (d. 1606)
Jörg Wickram: "Der Goldfaden," early Ger. novel

1555
An Aztec dictionary published
Lewis Brecht: "Euripus," first Jesuit play, given in Vienna
Pierre de Ronsard: "Hymnes"
Jörg Wickram: "Das Rollwagenbiichlein," collection of farcical anecdotes

1556
Pietro Aretino, Ital. author and satirist, d. (b. 1492)
Hans Sachs becomes leader of the Nuremberg Mastersingers
Nicholas Udall, Eng. author and dramatist, d. (b. 1504)

1557
"The Sack-Full of Newes," first Eng. play to be censored

1558
Margaret of Navarre: "Heptameron," tales
Robert Greene, Eng. author and dramatist, b. (d. 1592)
Thomas Kyd, Eng. dramatist, b. (d. 1594)
George Peele, Eng. dramatist, b. (d. 1598)

1559
Jorge de Montemayor: "La Diana," Span. pastoral romance
Thomas Sackville: "Induction," introducing the new age of Elizabethan literature

1560
Pierre de Ronsard: "Les Discours," poems on the Wars of Religion
Joachim du Bellay, Fr. author and poet, d. (b. 1522)
Hsu Wei: "Ching P'Ing Mei," first classic Chin. Novel

1561
Luis de Góngora y Argote, Span. baroque poet, b. (d. 1627)
William Baldwin: "A Marvellous History intituled Beware the Cat"
Sir Thomas Hoby translates "ll Cortegiano" (1527) by Baldassare Castiglione
Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton: "Gorboduc, or Ferrex and Porrex," historical tragedy
Julius Caesar Scaliger: "Poetics" (posth.)

1562
Matteo Bandello, Ital. novelist and poet, d. (b. 1485)
Lope F61ix de Vega Carpio, Span. dramatist, b. (d. 1635)
Rabelais: Book five of "Pantagruel" (posth.)
Torquato Tasso: "Rinaldo," epic poem

1563
First printing presses in Russia
Blossoming of Span. mystic poetry: Teresa de Jes6s (1515-1582); Luis de Granada (1515-1588); Juan de la Cruz (1542-1563); Luis de Le6n (1527-1591)

1564
Christopher Marlowe b. (d. 1593)
William Shakespeare b. Apr. 23 (d. 1616)

1565
Pierre de Ronsard: "Elegies"
Giambattista Cinzio Giraldi: "Ecatommiti," Ital. collection of moral and love tales
Arthur Golding's translation of first four books of Ovid's "Metamorphoses"
Torquato Tasso, court poet at Ferrara

1566
William Adlington translates "The Golden Ass" by Apuleius
Earliest Eng. prose comedy: George Gascoigne's "The Supposes," based on Lodovico Ariosto's "Gli Suppositi"
Louise Lab& ("La Belle Cordi4e"), Fr. Renaissance poetess, d.
William Painter's "Palace of Pleasure Beautified," translation of a collection of Ital. novellas

1567
Richard Burbage, Eng. actor, first player of many Shakespeare heroes, b. (d. 1619)
Elizabeth I recognizes eisteddfod
Bardic competitions held in Wales since 12th century
Thomas Nashe, Eng. poet and dramatist, b. (d. 1601)
George Turberville: "Epitaphs, Epigrams, Songs, Sonets"

1568
First modern eisteddfod for Welsh music and literature held at Caerwys
First public theater presentation in Madrid

1569
Alfonso de Ercilla y Zuhiga: "La Araucana," Span. epic on the conquest of Chile
Giambattista Marini, Ital. baroque poet, b. (d. 1625)
Mikolaj Rej, "Father of Pol. literature," d. (b. 1505)

1570
John Barber: "The Brus," Scot. national epic poem on Robert Bruce (posth.)
Lodovico Castelvetro, (1505-1571) demands introduction of Aristotelian principles to contemporary drama
Jean Antoine de Ba:if founds Acad6mie de Po6sie et de Musique, Paris (see 1576)
Thomas Dekker, Eng. dramatist, b. (d. 1632)
Robert Henryson: "The Moral Fables of Aesop"

1571
Tirso de Molina, Span. dramatist, b. (d. 1648)

1572
Guillaume de Salluste, Seigneur du Bartas (1544-1590): "Judith"
Luis Vaz de Cambens: "Os Lusiados," Port. epic poem on voyages of Vasco da Gama
Pierre de Ronsard: "La Franciade," epic poem on the kings of France
John Donne, Eng. poet, b. (d. 1631)
Ben Jonson, Eng. dramatist, b. (d. 1637)
Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss historian, d. (b. 1505)

1573
Johann Fischart: "Der Flbhatz," Ger. satiric poem on women
Torquato Tasso: "Aminta," Ital. pastoral (published 1580)

1574
Richard Burbage receives license to open theater in London

1575
Giovanni Battista Basile, Ital. poet, b. (d. 1632)
Diego Hurtado da Mendoza, Span. poet and statesman, d. (b. 1503)
Johann Fischart: "Geschichtsklitterung," Ger. adaptation of Rabelais' "Gargantua"
"Gammer Gurton's Needle," early Eng. farce, author unknown
George Gascoigne: "The Posies"
Tasso: "Gerusalemme liberata," epic poems about the Crusades
Cyril Tourneur, Eng. drdmatist, b. (d. 1626)

1576
Richard Burbage obtains 21-year lease of land in Shoreditch, London, with permission to build a playhouse; "The Theatre" opens in Dec.
Acad6mie du Palais founded in Paris by Henry 111, associated with BaYf's Aca&mie of 1570
Johann Fischart: "Das glilckhafft Schiff von Zijrich," satirical report of journey from Zurich to Strasbourg
George Gascoigne: "The Steele Glas," verse satire
Hans Sachs, Ger. poet and dramatist, d. (b. 1494)
Remy Belleau, Fr. poet, d. (b. 1527)

1577
Robert Burton, Eng. prose writer, b. (d. 1640)
George Gascoigne, Eng. author, d. (b. 1525)
London's second playhouse, "The Curtain," opens in Finsbury
"Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland," a history in 2 vols. published by Raphael Holinshed (d. c. 1580), (Holinshed Chronicles)

1578
Guillaume de Salluste, Seigneur du Bartas: "La Semaine," religious epic on the Creation
Pierre de Ronsard: "Sonnets pour Hélène," to Hélène de Surgères
John Lyly: "Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit," complete edition 1617

1579
Samuel Coster, Dutch dramatist, b. (d. 1665)
John Fletcher, Eng. dramatist, b. (d. 1625)
Stephen Gosson: "The Schools of Abuse," against the theater
Thomas Lodge: "A Defense of Poetry, Music and Stage Plays," answer to Gosson
Edmund Spenser: "The Shepheard's Calendar," 12 eclogues

1580
Luis Vaz de Cam6ens, Port. poet, d. (b. 1524)
Johann Fischart: "Das Jesuitenhijtlein" attacks Jesuits
Daniel Heinsius, Dutch poet, b. (d. 1655)
Jan Kochanowski (1530-1584): "Threny," Pol. laments
Thomas Middleton, Eng. dramatist, b. (d. 1627)
Last performance of a miracle play in Coventry
John Webster, Eng. dramatist, b. (d. 1625)

1581
Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, Dutch poet, b. (d. 1647)
George Peele: "The Arraignment of Paris," pastoral play

1582
Phineas Fletcher, Eng. poet, b. (d. 1650)

1583
Robert Ganier (1545 -1590): "Les Juives," early Fr. tragicomedy
Baptista Honwaerd: "Pegasides Pleyn Amorosity," Dutch didactic poem
Queen's Company of Players formed in London by Sir Edmund Tilney

1584
Francis Beaumont, Eng. dramatist, b. (d. 1616)
Jan Kochanowski, Pol. poet, d. (b. -1530)
John Lyly: "Alexander and Campaspe" produced at Blackfriars Theatre, London

1585
Eng. actor Edward Alleyn (1566-1626) becomes head of Lord Chamberlain's Men and the Lord Admiral's Company
Gerbrand Adriensz Bredero, Dutch poet, b. (d. 1618)
Cervantes: "Galatea," pastoral romance
Pierre de Ronsard, Fr. poet, d. (b. 1525)
Battista Guarini: "ll Pastor fido," pastoral play, given at Turin
Shakespeare leaves Stratford on Avon for London
Teatro Olimpico, in Vicenza, opened

1586
John Ford, Eng. dramatist, b. (d. 1640)
Beginning of Kabuki theater, Japan
Sir Philip Sidney, Eng. poet and soldier, d. (b. 155 1)
William Webbe: "Discourse of English Poetrie"

1587
First company of Eng. players in Germany
Robert Greene: "Euphues, his Censure of Philautus," continuation of Lyly's "Euphues" of 1578
Marlowe: "Tamburlaine," blank verse drama
Joost van den Vondel, Dutch dramatist, b. (d. 1679)
"Volksbuch von Dr. Faust," first printed at Frankfurt; Eng. translation 1588

1588
Robert Greene: "Pandosto, or Dorastus and Fawnia," romance
Marlowe: "Doctor Faustus," tragedy
Montaigne: "Essais," Vol. III

1589
Robert Greene: "Menaphon," romance
Thomas Nashe (1567-1601): "Anatomie of Absurdities," criticism of contemporary literature
George Puttenham: "The Arte of English Poesie"

1590
Ital. Commedia dell'arte company, "I Accesi," begins activities
Johann Fischart, Ger. author, d. (b. 1547)
Robert Greene: "Mourning Garment" and "Never Too Late," pamphlets
Thomas Lodge: "Rosalynde," pastoral romance
Marlowe: "The Jew of Malta," tragedy
George Peele: "Polyhymnia," verses for a tournament
Shakespeare: "Henry VI," Parts 2 and 3 (-1591); the Shakespeare chronology in the following pages is taken from Sir Edmund Chamber's standard work "William Shakespeare" (1930), which, however, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, does not lay "claim to more than approximate accuracy"
Battista Guarini: "11 Pastor fido," pastoral play, published
Edmund Spenser: "The Faerie Queene," Books 1-3
Robert Wilson: "Three Lords and Three Ladies of London," morality play

1591
Luis de León, Span. poet, d. (b. 1527)
Robert Greene: "Philomela," romance
Robert Herrick, Eng. poet, b. (d. 1674)
"The Troublesome Reigne of King John of England," anonymous, attributed to Shakespeare
John Lyly: "Endymion, the Man in The Moon," allegorical comedy
Shakespeare: "Henry Vl,- Part I (- 1592)
Sir Philip Sidney: "Astrophel and Stella" (posth.)
Edmund Spenser: "Complaints"

1592
Nicholas Ferrar, Eng. theologian and poet, b. (d. 1637)
Robert Greene: "A Quip for an Upstart Courtier," pamphlet
Robert Greene, Eng. dramatist and pamphleteer, d. (b. 1558)
Philip Henslowe, London theatrical manager, writes his "Diary" (- 1603)
Thomas Kyd: "The Spanish Tragedy," play
John Lyly: "Midas," play
Thomas Nashe: "Pierce Pennilesse His Supplication to the Devil," satire
Shakespeare mentioned as actor for the first time
Shakespeare: "Richard III,- "Comedy of Errors"

1593
Robert Henryson: "Testament of Cresseid," poem (posth.)
George Herbert, Eng. poet, b. (d. 1633)
Christopher Marlowe, Eng. dramatist, killed in tavern brawl(b.1564)
George Peele: "The Chronicle of Edward the First," play
London theaters closed because of the plague
Shakespeare: "Titus Andronicus," "The Taming of the Shrew"
Izaak Walton, Eng. biographer and angler, b. (d. 1683)

1594
Diego Bernades: "Vdrias rimas ao Born Jesus,- Port. religious poems
Robert Greene: "Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay," comedy (posth.)
London theaters open again (May)
John Lyly: "Mother Bombie," comedy
Christopher Marlowe: "Edward the Second," tragedy (posth.)
Thomas Nashe: "The Unfortunate Traveller," picaresque novel
George Peele: "The Battle of Alcazar," play
Shakespeare: "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," "Love's Labour's Lost," "Romeo and Juliet"

1595
Thomas Kyd, Eng. dramatist, d. (b. 1557)
George Peele: "The Old Wives'Tale," comedy
Shakespeare: "Richard II," "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Robert Southwell, Eng. Jesuit poet, hanged at Tyburn (b. 156 1)
Torquato Tasso, Ital. poet, d. (b. 1544)
Sir Philip Sidney: "An Apologia for Poetrie" (posth.)

1596
Blackfriars Theatre, London, opens
Sir John Davies: "Orchestra," poem
Sir John Harington: "The Metamorphosis of Ajax," satire
Shakespeare: "King John,""The Merchant of Venice"
Edmund Spenser: "The Faerie Queene," Books 4-6

1597
Hernando de Herrera, Span. poet, d. (b. 1534)
John Lyly: "The Woman in the Moone," play
Thomas Nashe: "The Isle of Dogs," satirical comedy
Martin Opitz, Ger. poet, b. (d. 1639)
Shakespeare: "Henry IV," Parts I and 2 (-1598)
Shakespeare buys New Place, Stratford on Avon
Aldine Press, Venice, founded 1494, ceases after publication of 908 works
Aldus Manutius the Younger d. (b. 1547)

1598
Thomas Carew, Eng. poet, b. (d. 1639)
Lope de Vega: "La Dragontea," fanciful account of Drake's adventures, in verse form
Ben Jonson: "Every Man in His Humour"
George Peele, Eng. dramatist, d. (b. 1558)
Shakespeare: "Much Ado about Nothing," "Henry V" (- 1599)
Vincent Voiture, Fr. poet, b. (d. 1648)

1599
Mateo Alemán: "Guzmdn de Alfarache," picaresque novel
Building of the Globe Theatre, Southwark, London, where Shakespeare's plays are performed
George Peele: "The Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe," play (posth.)
Shakespeare: "Julius Caesar," "As You Like It," "Twelfth Night" (- 1600)
Edmund Spenser, Eng. poet, d. (b. 1552)

1600
Thomas Dekker: "The Shoemaker's Holiday"
Pedro Cald6ron de la Barca, Span. dramatist, b. (d. 1681)
Fortune Theatre, London, opened
"William Kemp's Nine Daies Wonder"
Thomas Nashe: "Summer's Last Will and Testament," satirical masque
Shakespeare: "Hamlet," "The Merry Wives of Windsor" (- 1601)