Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The background of the author and administrator William Thomas (d. 1554) remains obscure. Almost certainly of Welsh origin, he rose to become a member of parliament and clerk of the Privy Council in the later Edwardian era. An advocate of the development of English language, civility, and society, he transmitted in his writings an unusually extensive knowledge of Italy and its culture, laying the basis for the later Tudor fascination with that country. He was an impetuous figure whose extraordinarily productive literary career was cut short by execution in 1554, allegedly for having plotted the assassination of Mary I. Thomas first discovered Italy as a result of fleeing there in 1547, after stealing money from his English employer, Sir Anthony Browne, master of the horse, to pay off gambling debts. Briefly imprisoned in Venice, Thomas went on to travel around Italy, returning to England in 1549, after Browne's death. These travels resulted in two works of striking originality – The historie of Italie (1549) and Principal rules of the Italian grammer [ sic ] (1550) – which testify to Thomas's brilliance in processing a large range of unfamiliar cultural material in a short time, as well as his talent for communicating it to a wide English readership. Thomas's first work, however, was Peregryne (1547 or after), a dramatic dialogue between the author and some Italian gentlemen ... log in or subscribe to read full text