Richard Lynche
Richard Lynche was an English poet and translator active during the sixteenth century, best known for his work on the Elizabethan sonnet sequence titled *Diella*. The authorship of *Diella* has been a subject of scholarly debate, primarily because it was initially signed "R. L., Gentleman." While some scholars speculated that Richard Lylesse might be the true author, later research has largely attributed *Diella* to Lynche. This sonnet collection features thirty-nine poems, which are characterized as conventional love poetry, and it concludes with a long narrative poem titled *The Love of Don Diego and Ginevra*, based on one of Matteo Bandello's popular novellas. Notably, Lynche’s sonnets were considered quite erotic for their time and were not published until 1883, well after his death, as part of Edward Abner's anthology *An English Garner*. In addition to his poetry, Lynche translated two notable Italian prose works, with *The Fountain of Ancient Fiction* being released in 1599, which garnered a positive reception and led to further commissions.
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Richard Lynche
Poet
- Born: 1540
- Died: 1610
Biography
Richard Lynche, a sixteenth century poet and translator, was from England. He was believed to be the author of the Elizabethan sonnet titled Diella. Speculation of Lynche’s authorship of Diella came about because the sonnet was signed “R. L., Gentleman.” Some scholars believed that perhaps Diella was authored by Richard Lylesse, a scholar of the time at King’s College in Cambridge, England. However, conclusive research conducted in the following centuries supports Richard Lynch as the author of Diella.
Diella comprised thirty-nine sonnets, which were written as conventional love poems. Attached to the end of these sonnets was a long narrative poem titled The Love of Don Diego and Ginevra. This narrative poem was a verse translation of one of Matteo Bandello’s novellas, which were popular in the sixteenth century. Lynche’s sonnets, which were considered quite erotic for their time, were not published during his lifetime. Instead, Diella was first offered in its entirety in 1883 in Edward Abner’s anthology titled An English Garner.
Lynche was credited with the translation of two Italian prose works. The first translation, The Fountain of Ancient Fiction, was released in 1599. This work was well received and led to Lynche’s commission to translate a second work titled An Historical Treatise of the Travels of Noah into Europe: Containing First Inhabitation of Peopling Thereof.