George Herbert 1593-1633

George Herbert was born in Montgomery, Wales, in 1593. The Herberts were a wealthy and eminent Welsh family. His father, Richard Herbert, died when he was only 3 years old. So, he and his nine brothers and sisters were raised by his mother, Magdalen Herbert. She was the patron and friend of John Donne and of several other scholars and poets. In 1608 she married Sir John Danvers, who was about the same age as her eldest son.

Herbert went to Westminster School and after that to Trinity College in Cambridge, where he started in 1609. Besides his studies, Herbert had an interest in music and he was a good musician himself. He played the lute and violin very well. In 1620 he was appointed the ‘public orator’ of the university. This meant that he had to represent the university on public occasions and that he handled all the correspondence. This office prepared him for a career at the court and in politics. In 1623 he became a Member of Parliament. In 1629 he married Jane Danvers, the cousin of his stepfather.

Although he could have made a prospering career in politics, he also had the ambition for a career in the church. And so in 1630 he took holy orders and entered the Church of England. First he worked as a deacon, later he became the parish priest of Bemerton, where he preached sermons. Unfortunately none of his sermons survive. He was known to care a lot about the people who visited his church. There he was known as “Holy Mr. Herbert.”¹ It was in Bemerton that he finished his lifework The Temple, a book with religious poetry.

In March 1633 Herbert died of tuberculosis. Just before he died, he sent a manuscript version of The Temple to a friend, whom he asked to publish it if he thought it would benefit others. Later that year his poetic work The Temple was published.