A web-based edition of early seventeenth-century political poetry from manuscript sources. It brings into the public domain over 350 poems, many of which have never before been published.
Piii1 M alignant characters that did portend
Notes. This acrostic verse, inspired by the widely circulated prophetic chronogram discovering the fatal year 1628 in the letters of Buckingham’s name, is far more sympathetic to the Duke than most elaborations on the prophecy, and is clearly hostile to his assassin. Given the importance of the Roman “V” to the chronogram, we have not regularized the usage of “U” and “V” in this poem, as we have done elsewhere in this edition.
Chronogramma, Anno 1628, obiit.
GeorgIVs DVX BVCkInghaMIæ1
M alignant characters that did portend
D uke=murthering Fate & his untimely end
C onstrain’d to die, that would have liv’d & tought2
5X antippus3 like but that fell4 Felton brought
V ncertaine projeck to a certaine end.
V aine are designes, where one doth of his freind
V surpse too much,5 (him) foes doe countermine
I n breife the world applaudes this last designe
10I t was his death, but now hee’s dead & gone
I ll having heard of many; felt but one.
Source. BL Add. MS 15227, fol. 41v
Piii1
1 Chronogramma...BVCkInghaMIæ: the chronogram assigns numerical values to the letters corresponding to Roman numerals in Buckingham’s latinized name—Georgius Dux Buckinghamiae, George Duke of Buckingham. The numbers add up to the year of his death (“obiit”), 1628 or MDCXVVVIII. <back>
2 tought: probable scribal error; “fought” is a more logical reading. <back>
3 X antippus: Xantippus was the commander of the Athenian fleet at the victory over the Persians at Mycale in 479 BC. The implication is that if Buckingham had lived to lead the planned expedition to La Rochelle, he too might have returned victorious. <back>
4 fell: cruel, savage, deadly. <back>
5 one doth...V surpse too much: the “friend” here is probably King Charles. <back>
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