DUDLEY, SIR ROBERT (15731649)

This article appears in Volume V08, Page 637 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: DRO-ECG

DUDLEY, SIR ROBERT (15731649) , titular duke of Northumberland and

earl

EARL

of Warwick, English explorer, engineer and author, was the son of Robert Dudley,

earl

EARL

of Leicester (q.v.), the favourite of Queen Elizabeth. His mother was Lady Douglas Sheffield, daughter of

Thomas

, first Baron Howard of Effingham. Leicester, who deserted Lady Douglas Sheffield for Lettice Knollys, widow of the first earl of Essex, denied that they were married. She asserted that they were, at Esher in Surrey, but her

marriage

MARRIAGE

with Sir Edward Stafford of Grafton, after her desertion by Leicester, would seem to be a tacit

confession

CONFESSION (Lat. confessio, from confiteor, acknowledge, confess)

that her claim had no foundation. Her son Robert was born in May 1573, was recognized by Leicester, and sent to Christ Church, Oxford, in 1587. He inherited all Leicester's property under the earl's will at his death in 1588, and in the following year the property of

Ambrose

Dudley, earl of Warwick. In 1594 he made a voyage to the West Indies, and in 1596 he took part; in the expedition to Cadiz and was knighted. In 1592 he had married a sister of

Thomas

Cavendish the circumnavigator. On her death he married Alicia Leigh in 1596, by whom he had four daughters. After the death of Elizabeth he endeavoured
to secure recognition of his legitimacy, and of his right to inherit the titles of his father and uncle. The proceedings were quashed by the

Star

STAR

Chamber. In 1605 he obtained leave to travel abroad, and went to Italy accompanied by the beautiful Miss Elizabeth Southwell, daughter of Sir Robert Southwell of Woodrising, in the dress of a page. When ordered to return

home

and to provide for his deserted wife and family, he refused, was outlawed, and his property was confiscated. On the continent he avowed himself a Roman Catholic, married Elizabeth South-well at Lyons, and entered the service of Cosimo II., grand-duke of Tuscany. In the service of the grand-duke he is said to have done some fighting against the Barbary pirates, and he was undoubtedly employed in draining the marshes behind Leghorn, and in the construction of the port. In 1620 the emperor Ferdinand II. gave him a patent recognizing his claim not only to the earldom of Warwick but to the duchy of Northumberland, which had been held by his grandfather, who was executed by Queen Mary Tudor. In Italy Dudley was known as Duca di Nortombria and Conte di Warwick. He died near Florence on the 6th of September 1649, leaving a large family of sons and daughters. His deserted wife, Alicia, was created duchess of Dudley by Charles I. in 1644, and died in 167o, when the title became extinct. Through a daughter who married the Marquis Paleotti, Dudley was the ancestor of the wife of the first duke of Shrewsbury (of the revolution of 1688), and of her brother who was executed at Tyburn for murder on the 17th of March 1718. Dudley was the author of a pamphlet addressed to King James I., showing how the " impertinences of

parliament

PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

" could be bridled by military force. But his

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

claim to memory is the magnificent Arcano dell mare, published in Italian at Florence in 1645-1646 in three volumes folio. It is a collection of all the naval knowledge of the age, and is -particularly remarkable for a

scheme

SCHEME (Lat. schema, Gr. oxfjya, figure, form, from the root axe, seen in exeiv, to have, hold, to be of such shape, form, &c.)

for the construction of a navy in five rates which Dudley designed and described. It was reprinted in Florence in two volumes folio in 1661 without the charts of the first edition.

End of Article: DUDLEY, SIR ROBERT (15731649)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/DRO_ECG/DUDLEY_SIR_ROBERT_15731649_.html">
DUDLEY, SIR ROBERT (15731649)
</a>

(Previous)
DUDLEY, EDMUND (c. 14621510)

(Next)
DUDLEY, THOMAS (1576-1653)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email