The Oxford Companion to English Literature | Donne, John
Donne, John
(
1572
–
1631
), related on his mother's side to
Sir
T.
More
, born into a Catholic family, his uncle
Jasper
Heywood
being the leader of the Jesuit mission in England. His father, a prominent member of the London Ironmongers' Company, died when
Donne
was 4, and six months later his mother married a Catholic physician,
Dr
John
Syminges
. Educated at home by Catholic tutors,
Donne
went at the age of 11 to Hart Hall, Oxford (now Hertford College), favoured by Catholics because it had no chapel, so that recusancy attracted less notice. He may have transferred to Cambridge, but his religion (which he appears to have renounced
c.
1593
) debarred him at this point from taking a degree in either university. In
1589
–
91
he may have travelled on the Continent, to Italy and Spain. He sailed as a gentleman volunteer with
Essex
to sack Cadiz (
1596
) and with
Ralegh
to hunt the Spanish...
[The entire page is 974 words long]
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