Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 16.djvu/8

 DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY

DRANT, THOMAS (d. 1578?), divine and poet, son of Thomas Drant, was born at Hagworthingham in Lincolnshire; matriculated as pensioner of St. John's College, Cambridge, 18 March 1558, proceeded B.A. 1560-1, was admitted fellow of his college 21 March 1560-1, and commenced M.A. 1564. On the occasion of Queen Elizabeth's visit to the university in August 1564 he composed copies of English, Latin, and Greek verses, which he presented to her majesty. At the commencement in 1565 he performed a public exercise (printed in his 'Medicinable Morall') on the theme 'Corpus Christi non est ubique.' He was domestic chaplain to Grindal, who procured for him the post of divinity reader at St. Paul's. In 1569 he proceeded B.D., and on 28 July in that year he was admitted by Grindal's influence to the prebend of Chamberlainwood in the church of St. Paul's. On 8 Jan. 1569-70 he preached before the court at Windsor, strongly rebuking vanity of attire. He was admitted to the prebend of Firles in the church of Chichester 21 Jan. 1569-70, to the rectory of Slinfold in Sussex 31 Jan., and to the archdeaconry of Lewes 27 Feb. On Easter Tuesday 1570 he preached a sermon at St. Mary Spital, London, denouncing the sensuality of the citizens; and he preached another sermon at the same place on Easter Tuesday 1572. He had some dispute with Dr. William Overton, treasurer of the church of Chichester, and afterwards bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, whom he accused in the pulpit of pride, hypocrisy, ignorance, &c. He is supposed to have died about 17 April 1578, as the archdeaconry of Lewes was vacant at that date.

Drant is the author of: 1. 'Impii cuiusdem Epigrammatis qvod edidit Richardus Shacklockus. . . Apomaxis. Also certayne of the special articles of the Epigramme, refuted in Englyshe,' 1565, 4to, Latin and English. 2. 'A Medicinable Morall, that is, the two Bookes of Horace his Satyres Englyshed. . . . The wailyngs of the prophet Hieremiah, done into Englyshe verse. Also epigrammes,' 1566, 4to. Some copies have at the back of the title a dedicatory inscription, 'To the Right Honorable my Lady Bacon, and my Lady Cicell, sisters, fauourers of learnyng and vertue.' The rhymed translation of Horace's satires is wholly devoid of grace or polish. Among the miscellaneous pieces that follow the translation of Jeremiah are the English and Latin verses that Drant presented to the queen on her visit to Cambridge in 1564, English verses to the Earl of Leicester, and Latin verses to Chancellor Cecil. In 1567 appeared: 3. 'Horace his arte of Poetrie, pistles, and Satyrs, Englished and to the Earle of Ormounte, by Tho. Drant, addressed,' 4to. Drant found the labour of translating Horace difficult, for in the preface he writes: 'I can soner translate twelve verses out of the Greeke Homer than sixe oute of Horace.' 4. 'Greg. Nazianzen his Epigrams and Spiritual Sentences,' 1568, 8vo. 5. 'Two Sermons preached, the one at S. Maries Spittle on Tuesday in Easter weeke 1570, and the other at the Court of Windsor. . . the viij of January. . . 1569.' n. d. [1570?], 8vo. 6. 'A fruitful and necessary Sermon specially concernyng almes geving,' n. d. [1572 ?], 8vo, preached at St. Mary Spittle on Easter Tuesday 1572. 7. 'In Solomonis regis Ecclesiastem. . . paraphrasis poetica,' 1572, 4to, dedicated to Sir Thomas Heneage. 8. 'Thomse Drantae Angli Advordingamii Praesul. Ejusdem Sylva,' 4to, undated, but published not earlier than 1576, for it is dedicated 'Edmvndo Grindallo Cantuario Archipraesuli,' and in 1576 Grindal