William Bathe | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1564-04-02)2 April 1564 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 17 June 1614(1614-06-17) (aged 50) Madrid, Spain |
| Occupation(s) | Jesuitpriest, musicologist, writer |
William Bathe (2 April 1564 – 17 June 1614) was anAnglo-IrishJesuitpriest, musician and writer.[1]
Born in Dublin, Bathe lived atDrumcondra Castle,County Dublin, a member of a leadingAnglo-Irish family. He was the eldest surviving son ofJohn Bathe,Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland, and his first wife Eleanor Preston, daughter of Jenico Preston, 3rdViscount Gormanston and Lady Catherine Fitzgerald; his paternal grandfather wasJames Bathe,Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, whose second wife, William's grandmother, was Eleanor Burnell of Balgriffin[2] His brotherJohn Bathe was an Irish representative at the Royal Court inMadrid in the early 1600s. When William's father died in 1586 the family were among the biggest landowners in Dublin, although their wealth and influence notably declined in the next generation.[2]: 16 Upon on his father's death, William inherited the family estates, but on entering the priesthood he passed them to John, the next brother in age, in 1601.[3]
Bathe was trained as a musician and linguist atOxford, where he wroteA Briefe Introductione to the True Art of Musicke (1584), which was revised asA Briefe Introduction to the Skill of Song (c.1596) – the first printed treatise on music in the English language.[4] Following a long-standing family tradition, he also studied law at theInns of Court in London. For a time he enjoyed the favor of QueenElizabeth I, to whom he presented aharp of his own design.[3] The Queen made him a number of grants of land, thus adding further to the extensive Bathe holdings: but royal favour ceased after 1598, when Elizabeth discovered that William had been ordained a priest. The decision of a third Bathe brother, Luke, to become a priest did nothing to restore the family to favor (under the name Father Edward, Luke became a prominent member of theCapuchin order). Apart from the religious issue, the close friendship betweenHugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone andSir William Warren, who married William's widowed stepmother Jenet Finglas, raised serious questions about the family's loyalty to the English Crown during O'Neill's rebellion, popularly known as theNine Years War.[3] William is not known to have visited Ireland after 1601.
William Bathe taught languages in Europe and wrote one of the world's first language teaching texts,Janua Linguarum (The Door of Tongues, 1611), a juxtaposition of phrases in Latin and Spanish. It proved so popular that within twenty years it had been translated into nine languages. TheMoravian educatorComenius based his workJanua linguarum reserata on this text.
For a period of time Bathe was rector of theIrish College at Salamanca.
He should not be confused with his cousin SirWilliam Bathe ofAthcarne Castle (died 1597), who was a judge of the IrishCourt of Common Pleas.
