Thomas+Sackville

Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst and Earl of Dorset, were the sons of Sir Richard Sackville, and were born at Withyam, in Sussex. He was educated at two different universities, and enjoyed an early reputation in Latin as well as in English poetry. While a student of the Inner Temple, he wrote his tragedy of Gorboduc, which was played by the young students, as a part of a Christmas entertainment, and afterwards before Queen Elizabeth I at Whitehall, in 1561. In a subsequent edition of this piece it was entitled the tragedy of Ferrex and Porrex. He is said to have been assisted in the composition of it by Thomas Norton; but to what extent does not appear. T. Warton disputed the fact of his being at all indebted to Norton.

The merit of the piece does not render the question of much importance. This tragedy and his contribution of the Induction and legend of the Duke of Buckingham to the "Mirror for Magistrates," compose the poetical history of Sackville's life.The rest of it was political. He had been elected to parliament at the age of thirty. Six years afterwards, in the same year that his Induction and legend of Buckingham were published, he went abroad on his travels, and was, for some reason that is not mentioned, confined, for a time, as a prisoner at Rome; but he returned home, on the death of his father, in 1566, and was soon after promoted to the title of Lord Buckhurst. Having entered at first with rather too much prodigality on the enjoyment of his patrimony, he is said to have been reclaimed by the indignity of being kept in waiting by an alderman, from whom he was borrowing money, and to have made a resolution of economy, from which he never departed. (source:[])

At Queen Elizabeth's demise he was one of the Privy Counsellors on whom the administration of the kingdom devolved, and he concurred in proclaiming King James.

Prefixed to Hoby's translation of The Courtier (1561) Induction to the Mirror for Magistrates (1563) The Complaint of Henry, Duke of Buckingham(1563) Gorboduc, or the tragedy of Ferrex and Porrex Miscellanous
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