Colin Burrow wrote:-
>George's brother Richard seems an unlikely candidate, since he does not seem
>to have had the kind of training or interests which would make it probable
>that he would go on to write an Arte of Poesie.
It says in the DONB that "internal evidence corroberates his [Edmund
Bolton's] statement that the author of the 'Arte' was one of the two sons
of Robert Puttenham and a grandson of Sir George Puttenham, etc."
Can you tell us what that internal evidence is?
We are told that the book contains an epitaph on Sir John Throckmorton,
who held George in low esteem -- so making Richard the more likely
author. The author claims to have been at Oxford University and there is
no mention of any Puttenham in the records -- so the author is not telling
the truth. Unless he was not an official student at Oxford University.
The Puttenhams were born circa 1520; if either of them was an expert
on the subject of poetry, why have we not heard of their name elsewhere
in the literature of the period? What were they doing for the first 69 years
of their lives, apart from getting into trouble with the authorities?
Judging from the DONB entry, there is nothing to indicate that either
brother had any interest in poetry whatsover. Whoever did write the
book certainly knew what he was writing about; he must have written
poetry and he obviously knew Richard Field. As you know, Marlowe
had recently graduated from Cambridge University and certainly was
capable of writing such a book. He also knew Richard Field...
My research shows that Marlowe was Philip Sidney's page-boy, from
1572 to 1578, and that he travelled extensively on the continent with
him during those years. That covers the author's youth visiting all those
foreign courts. All we have to do now is to show that Marlowe had been
an unofficial student at Oxford before he went to Cambridge. I believe
that the answer lies in 'The Works of Spenser', that he was tutored in
his holidays from the Kings School by Gabriel Harvey. In his letter to
"Master George Bilchanger", Harvey refers to "a young Brother of myne
(whom of playne John, our Italian Maister hath Cristened his Picciolo
Giovannibattista), lo here (and God will) a peece of hollydayes exercise.
In the morning I gave him this Theame out of Ovid, to translate, and varie
after his best fashion".
Marlowe is known to have published his own translations/variations of
Ovid and "John the Italian Maister" sounds like John Florio, who was a
master of languages at Oxford University. Is there evidence that Harvey
was at Oxford University between 1578 and 1580?
Peter Zenner
+44 (0) 1246 271726
Visit my web site 'Zenigmas' at
http://www.pzenner.freeserve.co.uk
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