William Herbert
William Herbert, the Third Earl of Pembroke, was born in 1580 and became a notable figure in English literature and society. He was the son of Mary Sidney Herbert, a prominent poet and patron of the arts, known for supporting the literary endeavors of her family, including her sons Philip and Robert Sidney. Upon his father's death in 1601, William Herbert inherited the title and became well-known as the young man to whom William Shakespeare dedicated many of his sonnets, leading to much speculation about his identity as "W. H." in Shakespeare's works.
Aside from his literary connections, Herbert had a tumultuous personal life, including imprisonment due to a scandal involving a courtier and a complicated relationship with his cousin, Mary Wroth. He also played a significant role in academia as Chancellor during the founding of Pembroke College, Oxford, and was involved in early colonial ventures, including investments in the London Company that established Jamestown, Virginia, as well as Bermuda. While his contributions to the arts and academia are significant, Herbert's legacy is often intertwined with the enduring debate surrounding his connection to Shakespeare, marking him as a figure of both artistic influence and personal intrigue.
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William Herbert
Courtier
- Born: April 8, 1580
- Birthplace: Wilton, Wiltshire, England
- Died: April 10, 1630
Biography
William Herbert, the Third Earl of Pembroke, was born in 1580. He was the son of Mary Sidney Herbert, the first English woman to be depicted wearing the laurel wreath of the poet. He was also the son of the wealthy Second Earl of Pembroke.
Mary Sidney Herbert, the Countess of Pembroke, was the daughter of Jane Guildford Dudley and John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland. This latter gentleman was executed because of his involvement in an attempt to have Lady Jane Grey made the Queen of England. She was also the sister of poet and courtier Sir Philip Sidney. A poet herself, she was the patron of other poets—one of whom was the famous Edmund Spenser. She encouraged her brothers Philip and Robert in their poetic endeavors; and she also encouraged her eldest son, William, and her niece Mary Sidney (later Lady Mary Wroth) in theirs.
While William Herbert, who became the Third Earl of Pembroke upon the death of his father in 1601, is known as a poet, he is better known as the young man to whom William Shakespeare dedicated many of his sonnets. There has been much debate about the identity of the “W. H.” to whom the sonnets were dedicated, but Herbert’s name and his reputed youthful beauty are always considerations in that debate. It was said that the Countess of Pembroke invited Shakespeare to Wilton to entertain her guests—among whom numbered King James I—shortly after the death of her husband. It was suggested, as well, that she had invited him prior to this time to assist her with the rearing or the reining in of her “troublesome son” William. It was further suggested—and debated—that she asked that Shakespeare write seventeen pieces to celebrate the seventeenth birthday of her first-born son: William.
The date(s) of composition and the age(s) of William are the bases for much of what is argued against William Herbert as this particular W. H. According to some, Shakespeare would have written many of the sonnets to a thirteen-year-old William—which, they say, is unlikely. Others say, however, that it is the published folio which bears the dedication. And, because William Herbert became, as his mother had been, a patron of the arts, it is indeed likely that he might have been W. H.
There is no debate about William Herbert’s having been a troublesome son to his mother. He was imprisoned for having impregnated a woman of Elizabeth’s court and then refusing to marry her. He had two children with his first cousin Mary Wroth, and he declined to marry her, even after the death of her husband.
There is no debate about the naming of Pembroke College of Oxford; he was Chancellor of the University at the time of its founding. There is likewise no debate about “Pembroke” as the name of a river in Virginia; he was a large investor in the London Company which funded the Jamestown experiment. Pembroke Parish in Bermuda was also named after him; he was a member of the Council of the Virginia Company, which settled there. But he is best known as the subject of a debate concerning the most famous poet of them all: William Shakespeare.