For the British Admiral who fought in the Napoleonic Wars, see
William Cornwallis.
Sir William Cornwallis (c. 1576 – 1 July 1614) was an early English essayist and served as a courtier and member of Parliament. His essays, influenced by the style of
Montaigne, rather than that of
Francis Bacon, became a model for later English essayists. He has sometimes been confused with his uncle of the same name.
Life
Cornwallis was born in
Beeston St Andrew,
Norfolk, and baptised in
Fincham, Norfolk, the eldest child of the diplomat
Sir Charles Cornwallis by his first wife Elizabeth Farnham (1552–1584), the daughter of Thomas Farnham, whose family resided in Fincham for 500 years.[1] Cornwallis was the member of Parliament for
Orford in 1604 and 1614.[2][3][4] He was knighted in 1599 after serving in the
Earl of Essex's
Irish campaign.[2] When
James I assumed the throne in 1603, Cornwallis became a member of the
privy chamber.
On 26 August 1595, Cornwallis married Katherine Parker.[2] Their eleven children were Charles, Thomas (married Penelope Wiseman (1633–1696)), Henry, William, John, Phillip (d. 1688, rector of
Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk), Frances (1602–1675; married Thomas Paston and was buried at Burnham Thorpe), Katherine, Bridget, Anne, Jeane.[5] He spent freely and accumulated debts paid by selling family estates.[6][7] After 1605, he spent most of his life in studious retirement. He died in 1614 leaving his wife and eight surviving children destitute. He was buried in
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London.[2] Katherine died on 30 January 1636 and was buried at
Erwarton.[5]
Cornwallis is often confused with
Sir William Cornwallis of Brome, his uncle of the same name. His uncle, rather than he, was a friend of
Ben Jonson. This William Cornwallis is sometimes described as "the younger" to differentiate him from his uncle, who is often described as "the elder".[2][6]
Works
Cornwallis's essays, meditative in tone, cover such topics as ambition, resolution, youth, essays and books, and humility.[2] Like
Montaigne's essays, they focus on self-analysis and self-improvement.[6] His is the earliest surviving essay attempting a defence of
Richard III. His essays were popular during his lifetime and retained popularity until the mid-17th century. His works, some of the earliest English examples of the essay genre, were written in the tradition of Montaigne, rather than that of
Francis Bacon; they became a model for later English essayists.[2][7]
His major works include:
Essayes by Sir W. Cornewaleys (E. Mattes), 1st part 1600, 2nd part 1601, dedicated to three Harington sisters;
Lady Sara Hastings,
Lady Theodosia Dudley,
Lady Mary Wingfield, and their friend, Lady Mary Dyer (d. 1601), wife of
Sir Richard Dyer of
Great Staughton. A new combined "enlarged" edition in 1610 contained a few new essays; a new edition was published in 1632.[7]
Discourses upon Seneca the Tragedian, 1601, the first book in English on the drama of
Seneca the Younger.
The Miraculous and Happy Union between England and Scotland, 1604.
Essayes, or Rather, Encomions, 1616.
Essayes of Certaine Paradoxes, 1616;[4] one of these essays, The Encomium of Richard III received a new critical edition (Arthur Kincaid, ed.) in 1977 by Turner & Devereux (London).[8] The earliest extant manuscript of this work, which may date from the late 16th century, was dedicated to Cornwallis's "worthey frende Mr
John Donne".[9]
He also published some verse, including a verse epistle to his friend John Donne.[2]
^The introduction (by John Ramsden and Arthur Kincaid) to Kincaid's edition of The Encomium of Richard III, p. 1, states: "Paradoxes were an occasional literary style, rarely printed, and then only when they had been circulating in manuscript for some time."
^Kincaid, Arthur, ed. (1977), The Encomium of Richard III, p. 1
Sources
Blyth, William. Historical Notices and Records of the Village and Parish of Fincham, in the County of Norfolk, King’s Lynn, Thew & Son, 1863
Cornwallis, Sir William. Discourses upon Seneca the Tragedian, London, 1601. Facsimile ed., introd. by Robert Hood Brown, 1952, Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints
ISBN9780820112206.
Fakundiny, Lydia. "Cornwallis, Sir William, the Younger", Encyclopaedia of the Essay, (ed.) Chevalier, Tracy. London: Routledge, 2012
ISBN1135314101
"§ 18: Sir William Cornwallis", The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21), Vol IV: Prose and Poetry, chapter XVI: London and the Development of Popular Literature, Bartleby.com