Edward Fairfax

Edward Fairfax (c. 1580 – 27 January 1635) was an English translator.[1][2] He translated Torquato Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered. He also wrote an original work on demonology.

Life

He was the natural son of Sir Thomas Fairfax the elder, of Denton in Yorkshire, and a half-brother of Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1560–1640). Fairfax lived at New Hall, Fewston,[3] near Harrogate, Yorkshire, England.

He is best known for his translation of Torquato Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered, considered a masterpiece.[4] It is one of the comparatively few translations which in themselves are literature and was highly praised by John Dryden. The first edition appeared in 1600, and was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Fairfax also wrote a treatise on demonology,[5] in which he was a devout believer.[6]

Edward's daughters Elizabeth and Anne were baptised in the village church of Fewston in 1606 and 1621 respectively.[3]

Notes

1. Bullen, Arthur Henry (1889). "Fairfax, Edward". In Dictionary of National Biography. 18. London. pp. 131-132. Errata appended, 1904.
2. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Fairfax, Edward". Encyclopædia Britannica. 10. (11th ed.) Cambridge University Press. p. 130.
3. The History and Topology of Harrogate and Knaresbourough Forest by William Grainge
4. Tasso, T., Fairfax, E. (1818). Godfrey of Bulloigne; or, The recovery of Jerusalem: done into English heroical verse, from the Italian of Tasso. 5th ed., reprinted from the original folio of 1600. London: Printed for Edwards and Knibb.
5. Fairfax, Edward; Grainge, William (10 September 2010). Demonologia : A Discourse on Witchcraft as It Was Acted in the Family of Mr. Edward Fairfax. United States: Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 9781163086810. Retrieved 18 April 2021. Book by Fairfax, introduction by William Grainge. Facsimile edition. Originally published by Ackrill, Harrogte, 1882
6. Cousin 1910.

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cousin, John William (1910). "Fairfax, Edward". A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons – via Wikisource.

References

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Fairfax, Edward" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• "Fairfax, Edward" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

External links

Media related to Edward Fairfax at Wikimedia Commons

• Works by Edward Fairfax at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Edward Fairfax at the Internet Archive