A life in brief, 1677
Treacheries and enmities in abundance… and some dodgy horses
Two weeks ago we rode alongside the 17th-century English antiquarian John Aubrey (1626–1697) as he saw the megaliths of Avebury for the first time.1 His detailed survey and ‘indagations’ into other ancient sites across southern England have led some to describe him as Britain’s first proper archaeologist. But there’s plenty more about him to discover! He was also a pioneer of folklore studies, the first person to attempt a thorough study of English place names (even if he didn’t finish it, which applies to a lot of his output, and makes him all the more relatable)… and he was the godfather of the modern celebrity biography.
His biographical writing actually began as a favour for a friend, the Oxford historian Anthony Wood (1632–1695), who he had met in 1667. Wood was compiling an ambitious project, Athenae Oxonienses, ‘an Exact History of all the Writers and Bishops who have had their Education in the University of Oxford from 1500’, and Aubrey became his research assistant. By 1693, Aubrey had notes on around 400 people, many of whom he had known personally. The Dictionary of National Biography says “he wrote with candour and without prejudice”, and it’s precisely their gossipy tone which guaranteed their afterlife. Every luminary of the Elizabethan and Stuart eras is there in what became known as his Brief Lives, from Shakespeare to Sir Walter Raleigh, John Milton and Robert Boyle. Er, yes, they were almost all men. Here’s a rather saucy example of his notes on Raleigh:
He loved a wench well; and one time getting up one of the Maids of Honour up against a tree in a Wood (’twas his first lady) who seemed at first boarding to be something fearful of her Honour, and modest, she cried, Sweet Sir Walter, what do you me ask? Will you undo me? Nay, sweet Sir Walter! Sweet Sir Walter! Sir Walter! At last, as the danger and the pleasure at the same time grew higher, she cried in the ecstasy, Swisser Swatter Swisser Swatter. She proved with child, and I doubt not but this Hero took care of them both, as also that the Product was more than an ordinary mortal.
These days Aubrey might have been more hampered by defamation lawyers.
Because he didn’t managed to publish more than one book in his lifetime, a lot of Aubrey’s work was passed around among friends (no, not like that), and only saw the light of day thanks to later scholars. It wasn’t until the 19th century that any serious edition of Brief Lives came out, and in one form or another these sketches have been in print ever since. Biographies of Aubrey himself have only really appeared in the 20th century onwards. One deserves special mention: Ruth Scurr’s 2015 work John Aubrey: My Own Life, a dazzling semi-fictionalised work that uses Aubrey’s own words as much as possible to tell his life story.
But in the course of my own research into Aubrey, I came across a short document, entitled ‘Accidents of John Aubrey’, in which he provides a ‘brief life’ of himself.2 Supposedly, ‘accidents’ here is an astrological term for ‘things that happened’ – but as you’ll see, there were plenty of accidents of the misfortune kind too!
Accidents of John Aubrey
Born at Easton-Piers March 1625/6, about sun-rising; very weak, and like to die, and therefore christened that morning before prayer. I think I have heard my mother say I had an ague shortly after I was born.
1629. About three or four years old I had a grievous ague; I can remember it. I got not health till eleven or twelve, but had sickness of vomiting for 12 hours every fortnight for years, then it came monthly…, then quarterly, and then half-yearly; the last was in June 1642. This sickness nipped my strength in the bud.
1633. At eight years old I had an issue (natural) in the coronal suture [a joint in the skull] of my head, which continued running till 21.
1634. October, I had a violent fever, it was like to have carried me off; ’twas the most dangerous sickness that ever I had.
1639. About 1639 or 1643 I had the measles, but that was nothing, I was hardly sick. Monday after Easter week my uncle’s nag ran away with me, and gave me a very dangerous fall.
1642. May 3, entered at Trinity College.
1648. April and May, the smallpox at Oxon; after left that ingenious place, and for three years led a sad life in the country.
1646. April… admitted of the M[iddle] Temple [to study law in London]; but my father's sickness and business never permitted me to make any settlement to my study.
1651. About the 16 or 18 of April I saw that incomparable good conditioned gentlewoman, Mrs. M[ary] Wiseman, with whom at first sight I was in love.
1652. October the 21, my father died.
1655 (I think) June 14, I had a fall at Epsom, and broke one of my ribs, and was afraid it might cause an apostumation [abscess].
A quick interlude! A 1655 prescription issued by Dr William Harvey for Aubrey “to prevent an impostumation” has even survived: Harvey is famous today for his pioneering description of blood circulation, and at the time of this scrip was 77 years old. The treatment was a ‘purge’ made from senna (laxative), rhubarb (laxative), agaric (irritant), fennel (relieves griping), hellebore (purgative – because poisonous!) plus borage and coriander. Harvey was also famous for his bad handwriting, like many a doctor since – Aubrey wrote of him:
All his Profession would allow him to be an excellent Anatomist, but I never heard of any that admired his Therapeutic way; I knew several practisers in this town that would not have given 3d for one of his bills [prescriptions]: and that a man could hardly tell by one of his Bills, what he did aim at.3
Back to the life story…
1656. Sept. 1655, or rather I think 1656, I began my chargeable and tedious law suit on the entail in Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire. This year and the last was a strange yeare to me. Several love and law suits. [Aubrey came from a wealthy family but inherited complex debts and he ended up with no estate and living with friends.]
1656. . . . . Decemb. ♀ morb. [This symbol is coyly interpreted by Victorian editors as ‘veneris morbus’ – which means that dear John had caught a sexually transmitted disease.]
1657. Novemb. 27, obiit Dña Kasker Ryves, with whom I was to marry, to my great loss. [I.e. his betrothed, the wealthy ‘domina’ (lady) Katherine Ryves, died.]
1659. March or April, like to break my neck in Ely Minster: and the next day, riding a gallop there, my horse tumbled over and over, and yet, I thank God, no hurt.
1660. July, Aug. I accompanied A. Ettrick into Ireland for a month, and returning, were like to be shipwrecked at Holyhead, but no hurt done.
1661/2/3. About these years I sold my estate in Herefordshire.
1663. Janu. I had the honour to be elected Fellow of the R. S. [Royal Society]
1664. June 11, landed at Calais; in August following had a terrible fit of the spleen and piles at Orleans. I returned in October.
1664 or 1665. Monday after Christmas was in danger to be spoiled by my horse; and the same day received laesio in testiculo, which was like to have been fatal… [yes, he injured his balls]
1665. November 1, I made my first address (in an ill hour) to Joan Sumner.
1666. This year all my business and affairs ran kim kam, nothing took effect, as if I had been under an ill tongue. Treacheries and enmities in abundance against me.
1667. December… arrested in Chancery-lane, at Mrs. Sumner’s suit. [I’m not sure of the full details of his disastrous relationship with Joan, but there is a surviving record of the court case.]
Feb. 24, A.M., about 8 or 9. Trial with her at Sarum; victory and £600 damaged; though devilish opposition against me.
1668. July 6, was arrested by Peter Gale’s malicious contrivance the day before I was to go to Winton for my second trial; but it did not retard me above two hours, but did not then go to trial.
1669. March 5, was my trial at Winton from eight to nine. The judge being exceedingly made against me by my Lady Hungerford, but four of the . . . . . . appearing, and much ado, got the moiety of Sarum; verdict in 300% 1669 and 1670. I sold all my estate in Wilts. From 1670 to this very day (I thank God,) I have enjoyed a happy delitescency [obscurity].
1671. . . . Danger of arrests.
1677. Latter end of June an impostume broke in my head.
[Memorandum]. St. John’s night, 1673, in danger of being run through with a sword by a young . . . [?] . . . at Mr. Burges’ chamber, in the M. Temple.
I was in danger of being killed by William Earl of Pembroke, then Lord Herbert, at the election of Sir William Salkeld for New Sarum. I have been in danger of being drowned twice.
The year that I lay at Mr Neve’s (for a short time) I was in great danger of being killed by a drunkard in the street of Gray’s Inn Gate by a gentleman whom I never saw before, but (Deo Gratias) one of his companions hindered his thrust.
So a messy sort of life, for sure. In 1677, John even had to sell his books, but his writing never stopped as he moved around from one place to another, mainly London, Oxford, Wiltshire and south Wales. In another manuscript, he wrote of himself, “My head was always working, never idle…”
Such were his money troubles that he also wrote a little document, Faber fortunae, listing ways he could make money. I haven’t managed to find the full text (the original, like most of his manuscripts, is in Oxford’s Bodleian library) but it included notes on coal seam in Surrey he could “get a Patent to dig for”, schemes to extract iron, tin, cooper, silver or gold from other places, finding unused patents in official records or even claiming land supposedly embezzled by the Fishmongers’ Company in London.
His misfortunes continued after the scope of our document – in another autobiographical fragment, he noted forlornly on 20th March 1693 (when he was 71), “about 11 at night robbed and 15 wounds in my head”. He records an apoplectic fit in January 1694 – what we would probably call a stroke. And another one finished him off in June 1697.
Like his manuscripts, Aubrey is buried in Oxford – but although we know the churchyard, the precise location is sadly lost. RIP, John.
P.S. If you like 17th-century men falling off horses, I have more for you:
And yes, I was also plugging my other Substack!
It was first transcribed in 1754, and later printed in John Britton’s 1845 Memoir of John Aubrey. The manuscript is undated but presumably the last entry, for 1677, gives us an idea of when he wrote it. As usual I have lightly modernised the spelling. Ruth Scurr of course used some of this material in her book, and much else besides.
Really enjoyed this mini-bio.
Here was a man who was surely never bored.