Henry Vaughan
| Henry Vaughan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
17 April 1621 Newton St. Bridget, Brecknockshire, Wales |
| Died | 23 April 1695 (aged 74) Scethrog House, Llansantffraed, Brecknockshire, Wales |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Nationality | Welsh |
| Ethnicity | Welsh |
| Period | 17th century |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Notable works | Silex Scintillans |
| Spouse | Catherine Vaughan, Elizabeth Vaughan |
| Relatives | Thomas Vaughan |
Henry Vaughan (17 April 1621 – 23 April 1695) was a Welsh author, physician and metaphysical poet. He is chiefly known for the religious poetry contained in Silex Scintillans, published in 1650, with a second part published in 1655.
Henry Vaughan was born at Newton by Usk in the parish of Llansantffraed (St. Bridget's), Brecknockshire, the eldest known child of Thomas Vaughan (c. 1586 – 1658) of Tretower, and Denise Jenkin (c. 1593) only daughter and heir of David and Gwenllian Morgan of Llansantffraed. Although Vaughan testifies to the year of his birth, the month and day are uncertain. Vaughan was the older of twins, his brother being Thomas Vaughan, a philosopher and alchemist.
Vaughan could claim kinship with two powerful Welsh families, one Catholic and one Protestant. His paternal grandfather, William, was the owner of Tretower Court. His paternal grandmother, Frances, was the natural daughter of Thomas Somerset, who spent some 24 years in the Tower of London for his adherence to Catholicism. As she survived into Vaughan's boyhood, there may have been some direct Catholic influence upon his early nurturing. Vaughan shared ancestry with the Herbert family through the daughter of the famous warrior of Agincourt Dafydd ap Llywelyn, the "Davy Gam, esquire" of Shakespeare's Henry V. He is not known to have claimed kinship with George Herbert, but may have been aware of the connection.
Thomas Vaughan later remarked that "English is a Language the Author was not born to." Both boys were sent to school under Matthew Herbert, rector of , to whom both wrote tributes. Since their interest was so clearly shared, the two brothers' intimate acquaintance with hermeticism may have dated from those years. Matthew Herbert doubtless reinforced a devotion to church and monarchy that the boys would have learned at home. Like several others among Vaughan's clerical acquaintances, he later proved uncompromising during the interregnum, and suffered sequestration imprisonment, narrowly avoiding banishment.
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