Geoffrey Whitney
Geoffrey Whitney was an English poet and author, born around 1548 in Combermere, Cheshire. He was the son of Geoffrey Whitney and Brooke, and may have been related to the notable female poet Isabella Whitney. Educated at Audlem School and possibly at Oxford and Cambridge, Whitney had a varied career that included a stint as the under-bailiff of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. His documented activities include a Latin record of an excursion to Scratby Island in 1580. After serving in local government, he traveled to the Low Countries, reportedly in the service of the Earl of Leicester, where he was admitted to the University of Leyden. Whitney gained recognition for his emblem book titled "A Choice of Emblemes and Other Deuises," published in Leyden in 1586, which showcased 248 engraved devices paired with mottos or verses. Despite his literary contributions, little is known about his life following this publication, and any records of his personal life, including marriage, are sparse and unclear. His will, proved in 1601, adds to the confusion surrounding his biography, as it does not mention a wife but references another individual with the same name.
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Geoffrey Whitney
Writer
- Born: c. 1548
- Birthplace: Combermere, Cheshire, England
- Died: May 1, 1601
Biography
Geoffrey Whitney was born around 1548 in Combermere, Cheshire. His parents, Geoffrey Whitney and his wife Brooke, were tenants of a senior branch of the family, who held the manor at Coole Pilate, near Nantwich. His parents appear to have had several other children, one of whom may have been the pioneering female poet Isabella Whitney, who may have owed her publication to her brother’s influence.
Whitney was educated at Audlem School and may well have been at Oxford University before going to Magdalen College, Cambridge, leaving the latter without a degree. He probably studied law at Thavies’ or Furnivall’s Inn between 1570 and 1574, but was never called to the bar. There is firm documentary evidence of the fact that by 1580, Whitney was the under-bailiff of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. In that year he made a record (in Latin) of an excursion he made to nearby Scratby Island. He served in that office for six years, the last two as acting under-steward, but when he applied for the latter position to be made official, he was rejected. He sued and won compensation but on condition that he could not reapply for his old position.
Whitney then went to the Low Countries, apparently in the service of the earl of Leicester, and was admitted to the University of Leyden. He had compiled an emblem book for Leicester, probably in 1585, and the earl encouraged him to publish it; it was printed in Leyden as A Choice of Emblemes and Other Deuises (1586) and enjoyed considerable popularity. It consists of 248 engraved devices, each with an accompanying motto or verse. There is some evidence that Whitney produced other works of a similar kind but none survives.
Little is known of Whitney’s life after 1586. The date of his return to England is unknown and no record survives of any marriage. The will of a Geoffrey Whitney that was proved in 1601 makes no mention of a wife, but it does mention another Geoffrey Whitney, whose existence might explain some of the confusions surrounding his biography. The will was made at Royals Green, near Combermere Abbey, on September 11, 1600.