Edward Hake
Edward Hake was a 16th-century English poet and public official whose early life and education remain largely undocumented. He likely studied under John Hopkins and attended Barnard's Inn from 1564 to 1567 before moving to Gray's Inn, where he focused on writing rather than pursuing a legal career. Hake’s poetry gained attention, particularly with his work "Newes out of Powles Churchyarde," published in 1579, which critiqued various societal issues like the corruption of clergy and the greed of legal professionals, resonating with Puritan audiences of the time. His writings often showcased a blend of wit and sharp criticism, including pieces like "A Touchestone for this Time Present," targeting the Catholic Church, and a collection celebrating Queen Elizabeth I. Hake's political career included serving as recorder, bailiff, town clerk, and mayor of Windsor, and he represented the borough in Parliament in 1588. He dedicated later years to a philosophical treatise on law, "Epieikeia," completed in 1591, which proved more relevant to modern legal thought than to his contemporaries. Despite his literary contributions and political involvement, Hake's legacy is characterized by a lack of personal records post-1604, leaving aspects of his life and impact somewhat mysterious.
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Subject Terms
Edward Hake
Poet
- Born: fl. 1567
Biography
Edward Hake’s origins are stubbornly obscure, but he seems to have spent some part of his education under the tutelage of John Hopkins, the coauthor of a popular set of metrical psalms. He was a student at Barnard’s Inn from 1564 to 1567, which may imply that he was born in the 1540’s, and he then went on to Gray’s Inn. There is no record, however, of his ever being called to the bar, and he may have been there to enjoy the social life rather than to obtain a qualification. He wrote a good deal of his poetry there, but did eventually progress to useful work. By 1576, Hake was an understeward at Windsor in the employ of the Earl of Leicester, and he enjoyed a good career in the town, becoming its recorder in 1576, bailiff in 1578, town clerk in 1579, and mayor in 1586; he represented the borough in parliament in 1588.
The first publication of Hake’s best-known work, Newes out of Powles Churchyarde, was allegedly written in 1567, but no copies survive; the second edition of 1579—which had a different subtitle—was, however, poplar with its target audience of Puritans. It consists of a dialogue between Bertulph and Paul in the aisle of the cathedral, divided into eight “satyrs” dealing with such conventional subjects as the corruption of higher clergy, the greed of attorneys, the tricks of physicians and apothecaries, extravagant living, and the abuse of the cathedral as a meeting-place for businessmen and usurers. Its Puritanism is leavened with a certain dull wit and spiced with spite; its prefatory address “To the Gentle Reader” includes a vitriolic attack on the author’s declared enemies, one of whom is described as a “carping, careless, cankered churle.”
Hake’s other writings include A Touchestone for this Time Present, which is an attack on the Catholic church, followed by a treatise on education. A collection of miscellaneous pieces in prose and verse, A Commemoration of the Most Prosperous and Peaceable Raigne of Our Gratious and Deere Soueraigne Lady Elizabeth by the Grace of God of England, Fraunce, and Irelande, Queene, first issued in 1575, was further enlarged in 1604. While he was in Parliament, Hake appears to have lived in rooms that he had rented in Gray’s Inn in 1585, and he stayed there when he retired from public life, working on his intended masterpiece, a three-part treatise on the philosophy of law entitled Epieikeia. He appears to have finished it in 1591, but it had far less interest to contemporary lawyers than to those who came long after, its detailed analysis of the notion of equity having far more relevance to modern jurisprudence than to sixteenth century legal practice. It establishes him as a thinker considerably ahead of his time—in striking contrast to his rather pedestrian verses, which seem solidly anchored there.
Hall’s writings include reference to a wife, but not to any children. No record survives of him after 1604, so his end remains as obscure as his beginning. Perhaps he eventually took his talent for making enemies, and his willingness to insult them, a step too far.