In ancient Greece, the laurel (Laurus nobilis) was sacred to Apollo, and as such, sprigs of it were fashioned into a crown or wreath of honor for poets and heroes.[1] This symbolism has been widespread ever since. "Laureate letters" in old times meant the dispatches announcing a victory; and the epithet was given, even officially (e.g. to John Skelton) by universities, to distinguished poets.[2]
The name of "bacca-laureate" for a bachelor's degree shows a confusion with a supposed etymology from Latin bacca lauri (the laurel berry), which, though incorrect, involves the same idea. From the more general use of the term "poet laureate" arose its restriction in England to the office of the poet attached to the royal household, first held by Ben Jonson, for whom the position was, in its essentials, created by Charles I of England in 1617. Jonson's appointment does not seem to have been formally made as poet laureate, but his position was equivalent to that. The office was a development of the practice of earlier times, when minstrels and versifiers were part of the retinue of the King; it is recorded that Richard the Lionheart had a versificator regis (Gulielmus Peregrinus), and Henry III of England had a versificator (Master Henry); in the 15th century John Kay, also a versifier, described himself as Edward IV of England's "humble poet laureate." Moreover, the crown had shown its patronage in various ways; Chaucer had been given a pension and a perquisite of wine by Edward III of England, and Spenser a pension by Queen Elizabeth I. W. Hamilton classes Chaucer, Gower, John Kay, Andrew Bernard, John Skelton, Robert Whittington, Richard Edwards, Spenser and Samuel Daniel, as "volunteer Laureates."[2]
Sir William Davenant succeeded Jonson in 1638, and the title of poet laureate was conferred by letters patent on John Dryden in 1670 two years after Davenant's death, coupled with a pension of £300 and a butt of Canary Islands wine. The post then became a regular institution, though the emoluments varied, Dryden's successors being T. Shadwell, who originated annual birthday and New Year odes; Nahum Tate; Nicholas Rowe; Laurence Eusden; Colley Cibber; William Whitehead; Thomas Warton; Henry James Pye; Robert Southey; William Wordsworth; Alfred Tennyson; and, four years after Tennyson's death, Alfred Austin. The office took on a new luster from the personal distinction of Southey, Wordsworth and Tennyson; it had fallen into contempt before Southey, and on Tennyson's death there was a considerable feeling that no possible successor was acceptable, William Morris and Algernon Charles Swinburne being hardly court poets. Eventually, however, the undesirability of breaking with tradition for temporary reasons, and thus severing the one official link between literature and the state, prevailed over the protests against following Tennyson by any one of inferior genius. Abolition was similarly advocated when Thomas Warton and William Wordsworth died. The poet laureate, being a court official, was considered responsible for producing formal and appropriate verses on birthdays and state occasions; but his activity in this respect has varied, according to circumstances, and the custom ceased to be obligatory after Pye's death. Wordsworth stipulated, before accepting the honor, that no formal effusions from him should be considered a necessity; but Tennyson was generally happy in his numerous poems of this class. The emoluments of the post have varied; Ben Jonson first received a pension of 100 marks, and later an annual "terse of Canary wine." To Pye an allowance of £27 was made instead of the wine. Tennyson drew £72 a year from the Lord Chamberlain's department, and £27 from the Lord Steward's in lieu of the "butt of sack."[2]
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^Paulson, Ronald; Eisenman, Peter (2007). Sin and Evil: Moral Values in Literature. Yale University Press. ISBN978-0300120141.
^ abcOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Laureate". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 282–283.
April 08, 2024
laureate, confused, with, laurate, other, uses, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news. Not to be confused with Laurate For other uses see Laureate disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Laureate news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message In English the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or military glory It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize the Gandhi Peace Award the Student Peace Prize and for former music directors of orchestras who retain some level of involvement Laureate heads on coins ancient and modern Above Vespasian as Caesar 73 AD Below Napoleon I as Emperor 1812 Contents 1 History 1 1 Poet laureate 2 See also 3 ReferencesHistory editIn ancient Greece the laurel Laurus nobilis was sacred to Apollo and as such sprigs of it were fashioned into a crown or wreath of honor for poets and heroes 1 This symbolism has been widespread ever since Laureate letters in old times meant the dispatches announcing a victory and the epithet was given even officially e g to John Skelton by universities to distinguished poets 2 The name of bacca laureate for a bachelor s degree shows a confusion with a supposed etymology from Latin bacca lauri the laurel berry which though incorrect involves the same idea From the more general use of the term poet laureate arose its restriction in England to the office of the poet attached to the royal household first held by Ben Jonson for whom the position was in its essentials created by Charles I of England in 1617 Jonson s appointment does not seem to have been formally made as poet laureate but his position was equivalent to that The office was a development of the practice of earlier times when minstrels and versifiers were part of the retinue of the King it is recorded that Richard the Lionheart had a versificator regis Gulielmus Peregrinus and Henry III of England had a versificator Master Henry in the 15th century John Kay also a versifier described himself as Edward IV of England s humble poet laureate Moreover the crown had shown its patronage in various ways Chaucer had been given a pension and a perquisite of wine by Edward III of England and Spenser a pension by Queen Elizabeth I W Hamilton classes Chaucer Gower John Kay Andrew Bernard John Skelton Robert Whittington Richard Edwards Spenser and Samuel Daniel as volunteer Laureates 2 Poet laureate edit Main article Poet laureate Sir William Davenant succeeded Jonson in 1638 and the title of poet laureate was conferred by letters patent on John Dryden in 1670 two years after Davenant s death coupled with a pension of 300 and a butt of Canary Islands wine The post then became a regular institution though the emoluments varied Dryden s successors being T Shadwell who originated annual birthday and New Year odes Nahum Tate Nicholas Rowe Laurence Eusden Colley Cibber William Whitehead Thomas Warton Henry James Pye Robert Southey William Wordsworth Alfred Tennyson and four years after Tennyson s death Alfred Austin The office took on a new luster from the personal distinction of Southey Wordsworth and Tennyson it had fallen into contempt before Southey and on Tennyson s death there was a considerable feeling that no possible successor was acceptable William Morris and Algernon Charles Swinburne being hardly court poets Eventually however the undesirability of breaking with tradition for temporary reasons and thus severing the one official link between literature and the state prevailed over the protests against following Tennyson by any one of inferior genius Abolition was similarly advocated when Thomas Warton and William Wordsworth died The poet laureate being a court official was considered responsible for producing formal and appropriate verses on birthdays and state occasions but his activity in this respect has varied according to circumstances and the custom ceased to be obligatory after Pye s death Wordsworth stipulated before accepting the honor that no formal effusions from him should be considered a necessity but Tennyson was generally happy in his numerous poems of this class The emoluments of the post have varied Ben Jonson first received a pension of 100 marks and later an annual terse of Canary wine To Pye an allowance of 27 was made instead of the wine Tennyson drew 72 a year from the Lord Chamberlain s department and 27 from the Lord Steward s in lieu of the butt of sack 2 See also edit nbsp Look up laureate in Wiktionary the free dictionary Glory honor References edit Paulson Ronald Eisenman Peter 2007 Sin and Evil Moral Values in Literature Yale University Press ISBN 978 0300120141 a b c nbsp One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Laureate Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 16 11th ed Cambridge University Press pp 282 283 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Laureate amp oldid 1157188430, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
