THE P
RTAL
George Herbert
3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633 by Will Burton
February 2011 Page 8
Anglican Luminary
Born of well-to-do Welsh parents , George Herbert was a poet and an Anglican priest . He received a good education and held positions at Cambridge University and in Parliament .
Herbert went to Westminster School as a day student at the age of 12 . Sometime after this he was elevated to the level of scholar . Herbert later was admitted on scholarship to Trinity College , Cambridge in 1609 .
He graduated first with a Bachelor ’ s , and then with a Master ’ s degree in 1613 , at the age of 20 . After graduation he was elected a fellow of his College . In 1618 he was appointed Reader in Rhetoric at Cambridge and in 1620 was elected to the post of Cambridge University Orator , whose duties would be served by his poetic skill . He held this position until 1628 .
King James I
His scholarship attracted the attention of King James I , but after the King ’ s death he retreated from secular interests and took Holy Orders in the Church of England . For the rest of his life , he was rector of the tiny Parishes of Fugglestone St Peter with Bemerton St Andrew , near Salisbury .
He displayed unfailing care for his parishioners , both spiritually and materially . A contemporary described him as “ a most glorious saint and seer ”. He was noted for taking the Sacrament to the sick , as well as in caring for those who had fallen on hard times .
Poet
A prolific poet , many of his works are used today as hymns . Among his most popular are : “ King of Glory , King of Peace ”; “ Let All the World in Every Corner Sing ”; and “ Teach me , my God and King ”.
His father died when he was three , leaving his
mother a widow with ten children . However , the family was well connected ; John Donne was a friend as were many other poets and intellectuals and his father had held the title of Lord Cherbury , an inheritance of the eldest brother .
Herbert represented Montgomeryshire in Parliament , and was well thought of at Court . King James I would have given him high position , but died before being able to carry out these wishes . This was the proximate cause of Herbert ’ s renunciation of secular career and taking of Holy Orders , a step as significant as it was to be short , since Herbert had always been sickly , even as a child . He was to live only three years after ordination , dying of tuberculosis in 1633 .
Nicholas Ferrar
Herbert was notably a life-long friend of Nicholas Ferrar of Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire , to whom , on his deathbed , he gave a manuscript of poems telling him to telling him to publish the poems if he thought they might “ turn to the advantage of any dejected poor soul ”, and otherwise , to burn them .
In modern times his poems have been set to music by several composers , including Ralph Vaughan Williams , Lennox Berkeley , Benjamin Britten , Judith Weir , Randall Thompson , William Walton and Patrick Larley .
George Herbert ( 1593-1633 ) spent the last three years of his life as rector of the tiny church of St Andrew Bemerton with Fugglestone , where he became known as ‘ Holy Mr Herbert ’.