Giles Fletcher the Elder 1548?-1611
Giles Fletcher the Elder was born in Cranbrook, Kent, the son of Richard Fletcher, vicar of Bishop’s Stortford in Hertfordshire. He was educated at Eton and King’s College, Cambridge where he studied Greek and Poetry, gaining his BA degree in 1570. He remained at Cambridge, becoming a lecturer in Greek and later Dean of Arts.
In 1581 he married Joan Sheafe at his father’s church but was thus obliged to give up his fellowship which demanded bachelor status. He later returned to Cambridge where he obtained a doctorate in Civil Law. In 1582 he was appointed chancellor of the diocese of Sussex.In 1584 he was elected MP for Winchelsea and was later appointed Remembrancer of the City of London, a role which entailed liaison between the Lord Mayor’s office and the Monarch. In 1588 he was asked to go to Russia as an ambassador to establish an alliance and a trade treaty with the tsar, Fyodor I. He returned to England the following year and later published Of the Russe Common Wealth, a detailed account of the geography, government, laws and customs of the country.
He died in 1611 and was the father of the Elizabethan poets, Giles Fletcher the Younger and Phineas Fletcher. His principal poetical work was Licia, a collection of sonnets.
Works include
Licia