Sir John Harington

Sir John Harington 1560?-1612, English author. He spent most of his career at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, where he became known for his indelicate humor. His Rabelaisian Metamorphosis of Ajax (1596; ed. by E. S. Donno, 1961) uses ornate style and classical allusions to discuss at length the construction of an Elizabethan privy. He also did a translation (1591) of Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. His Letters and Epigrams (ed. by N. E. McClure, 1930) are vivid sketches of Elizabethan social life and writings.

Harington, Sir John (1560–1612), godson of Queen Elizabeth I. Supposedly at the command of the queen, he translated Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (1591), retaining the ottava rima of the original and providing A Preface or rather Briefe Apologie of Poetrie, closely modelled on Sidney's Defence of Poetry. Harington's next work, A New Discourse of a Stale Subject, Called the Metamorphosis of Ajax (1596) (a proposal for the introduction of water closets), was an ill-judged bid for royal favour; together with other satires and epigrams it led to a period of exile from court. In 1599 Harington accompanied Essex to Ireland, and was deputed by him to appease the queen's anger on his return, without success. His letters and miscellaneous writings were collected in Henry Harington's Nugae Antiquae (1769–75). The lasting interest of Harington's writings lies in his lively personality and ability to record detailed impressions of his world.

Harington, Sir John (1560–1612). Epigrammatist. Son of two of Elizabeth's loyal servitors, thereby her godson, ‘Boye Jacke’ was educated at Eton and Cambridge. Witty and well-read, he divided his time between the court and his estate at Kelston, near Bath, according to the queen's smiles or frowns. In 1599 he accompanied Essex to Ireland, where he was knighted, but weathered Elizabeth's displeasure on his return. Ever loyal to her, he nevertheless favoured James's accession to the English throne but failed to obtain his favour, despite preparing manuscripts for the young Prince Henry. Irrepressible, extravagant, and disarmingly candid, Harington has been dismissed as a Rabelaisian trifler, but his miscellaneous writings demonstrate keen observation and a more tolerant attitude towards the Irish than many of his contemporaries. His design for the first water-closet, installed at Kelston c.1595, may possibly have been used at Richmond palace.

A. S. Hargreaves