Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke
Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke (/fʊlk ˈɡrɛvɪl/; 3 October 1554 – 30 September 1628) was an Elizabethan poet, dramatist, and statesman who served in the House of Commons at various times between 1581 and 1621, when he was raised to the peerage.
The Right Honourable The Lord Brooke KB PC | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Edmund Lodge | |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| In office 1614–1621 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Julius Caesar |
| Succeeded by | Sir Richard Weston |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 October 1554 Beauchamp's Court, Alcester |
| Died | 30 September 1628 (age 73) Brook House, Holborn, London |
| Resting place | St Mary's Church, Warwick |
| Parents |
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| Alma mater | Shrewsbury School, Jesus College, Cambridge |
Greville was a capable administrator who served the English Crown under Elizabeth I and James I as, successively, treasurer of the navy, chancellor of the exchequer, and commissioner of the Treasury, and who for his services was in 1621 made Baron Brooke, peer of the realm. Greville was granted Warwick Castle in 1604, making numerous improvements. Greville is best known today as the biographer of Sir Philip Sidney, and for his sober poetry, which presents dark, thoughtful and distinctly Calvinist views on art, literature, beauty and other philosophical matters.