Eliana Baron-Hionis

Class of 2025, Johns Hopkins University

 

Gervase Markham (c. 1568 to c. 1637) was a prolific writer known for his diverse collection of treatises. These covered a wide range of topics; from horses, agriculture, and military tactics to health and household management.  Born into a noble family in sixteenth century England, Markham served in the military before living in London. There he began a career writing and publishing literary works, including poetry, theatrical dramas, and non-fiction works of more practical relevance.

Markham’s non-fiction works gained great popularity in both England and the American colonies.  His works included The English Husbandman (1613), Markhams Maister-peece. Or what doth a horse-man lacke (1610), A way to get Wealth (1631), The Souldiers Accidence. Or an Introduction into Military Discipline (1635), and most notably, The English House-wife, originally published in 1615.  Markham’s writings served as comprehensive guides to rural life, with his instructional, advice-like works geared towards both men and women in early modern England.

Illustration of a horse from Markham’s Masterpeece, 1636, woodcut, Wellcome Collection London. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Despite Markham’s noble background and professional success, he spent the end of his life in poverty, blaming his financial instability on generational debt and his large family.  While his poetry and fiction had limited popularity both during his lifetime and after, his practical writings were more widely known and used both by everyday people and more recently, by historians looking to gain insight into the daily concerns of people in early modern England.

Further Reading:

 

Mullett, Charles F, “Gervase Markham: Scientific Amateur.” Isis, 35:2 (1944), 106–18. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/330592. Accessed 13 Mar. 2024.

Mylander, Jennifer, “Early Modern ‘How-To’ Books: Impractical Manuals and the Construction of Englishness in the Atlantic World.” Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies, 9:1 (2009), 123–46. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40339613. Accessed 14 Mar. 2024.

Steggle, Matthew, “Markham, Gervase (1568?–1637), author.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, September 28, 2006, Oxford University Press. https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-18065  Accessed 10 Apr. 2024.