Edward Dyer
Edward Dyer was an English poet and courtier born in October 1543 in Weston, Somerset. He was the eldest son of Sir Thomas and Frances Dyer and is believed to have studied at Oxford before joining the Inner Temple at the young age of seventeen. Dyer's career at court began in earnest when he became a member of the Earl of Leicester's retinue and was later appointed steward of Woodstock by Queen Elizabeth I. He developed close friendships with prominent figures such as Sir Philip Sidney and Sir Fulke Greville, and together they contributed significantly to the poetry of the era, although the precise attribution of their works remains challenging.
Dyer's poetry reflects a range of themes, from contentment to melancholy, with notable pieces including "My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is," which gained popularity after being set to music by William Byrd. Despite his poetic talents, Dyer faced financial difficulties, exacerbated by the expenses of court life and substantial debts. He also engaged in various diplomatic roles, including service as a member of Parliament. Although he was knighted in 1596, Dyer struggled with financial instability until his death in Southwark in May 1607. Throughout his life, he remained unmarried and passed away deeply in debt.
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Edward Dyer
Courtier
- Born: October 1, 1543
- Birthplace: Weston, Somerset, England
- Died: May 1, 1607
- Place of death: Southwark, England
Biography
Edward Dyer was born in October, 1543, at Weston in Somerset, the eldest son of Sir Thomas and Frances (née Darcy) Dyer. He allegedly studied at Oxford, either at Balliol or Broadgates Hall and traveled thereafter, but was still only seventeen when he was admitted to the Inner Temple. He came into his inheritance in 1565 and joined the Earl of Leicester’s retinue at court. In 1570, Elizabeth appointed him steward of the manor and woods of Woodstock. His court career appears to have suffered a hitch from 1571 to 1573, when he may have been ill or in disgrace, but he was restored to favor thereafter.
Dyer became fast friends with Leicester’s nephew, Sir Philip Sidney, and Sir Fulke Greville, who formed a “happy blessed trinity” and wrote a good deal of poetry together—with the result that scholars have found it difficult to determine the exact extent of his work. Alexander Grosart’s nineteenth century attempts to clear away the confusion resulted in a dozen supposedly definitive pieces. The earliest datable poem, “The Song in the Oke,” was sung to Elizabeth in 1575, but he must have been active long before that.
The best-known poem in Grosart’s dozen, “My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is,” owes its fame to having been set to music by William Byrd in 1588. The contentment expressed therein contrasts somewhat with “The Man of Woe,” which starkly dramatizes what would now be called clinical depression but was then known as melancholy. This probably relates to the misfortunes he experienced between 1571 to 1573 but might also reflect the fact that the expenses of court life exhausted his considerable fortune in short order, plunging him into ever- mounting debt. Sidney spoke very highly of his gifts; when he was given credit for the revival of English poetry he modestly said that the true credit belonged to Dyer. Dyer was equally celebrated at the time as a patron of the arts, although the extent of his patronage is not known.
Dyer’s attempts to redeem his financial situation included investment in the search for the Northwest Passage; over the course of the search he became friends with the navigation expert John Dee. After becoming a member of parliament and serving as a diplomat in the Nertherlands in the buildup to the Armada in 1588, he visited Dee and Edward Kelley in Prague and was apparently convinced of Kelley’s psychic gifts. He was sent back there in 1590, commissioned to persuade Kelley to return to England, but failed in that (as he did in almost everything else). His influence at court survived Leicester’s death in 1588, though; Lord Burghley apparently took him under his capacious wing.
The unlucky Dyer never did manage to repay the queen the three thousand pounds she had lent him in 1579, but he was knighted in 1596 regardless. He marched in Elizabeth’s funeral procession in 1603 but lost all his offices when James I came to the throne. He died in Southwark in May, 1607, by then in debt to the tune of eleven thousand pounds. He never married.