Abercorn, James Hamilton, 6th Earl of (1656–1734). Politician and courtier; created Viscount Strabane in the Irish peerage (1701); Privy Councillor in the reigns of Anne and Georges I and II; supported by Swift in his claim to the French Dukedom of Châtelherault; ally of Swift’s in the Drapier’s affair.
Addison, Joseph (1672–1719). Writer and politician; Whig MP (1708); secretary to Thomas Wharton, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland (1708–10); Secretary of State; co-editor with Richard Steele of The Spectator (1711–12); author of the tragedy Cato (1713); friendship with Swift clouded by the ‘Rage of Party’.
Anglesey, Arthur Annesley, 5th Earl of (1676–1737). Hanoverian Tory politician; Treasurer at War in Ireland (1710–16); served as a Lord Justice of Ireland and a Regent appointed by the Elector; on friendly terms with Swift until their falling-out over a veiled reference to him in Universal Use of Irish Manufacture.
Anne, Queen (1665–1714). The last of the Stuart monarchs; Protestant daughter of the deposed James II; wife of Prince George of Denmark; assumed the throne in 1702 on the death of William III; allied with the Tories towards the end of her reign; lauded in the Examiner essays as a wise and popular monarch but elsewhere depicted by Swift as ‘a Royal Prude’ because of her disapproval of A Tale of a Tub, and blamed for his failure to get preferment.
Arbuthnot, John (1667–1735). Scottish-born satirist and physician who attended Queen Anne; helped form the Scriblerus Club (1713); wrote The History of John Bull (1712); collaborated with Pope and Gay on Three Hours after Marriage (1717); a valued friend and correspondent of Swift’s until his death.
Argyll, John Campbell, 2nd Duke of (?1678–1743). Scottish peer and courtier; initially friendly with Swift but later joined the Whigs; angered by The Publick Spirit of the Whigs (1714); described by Swift as an ‘Ambitious, covetous, cunning Scot’ with ‘no Principle but his own Interest and Greatness’ (M.: Macky).
Arran, Charles Butler, 1st Earl of (1671–1758). Statesman; younger brother of the 2nd Duke of Ormonde; a member of Swift’s ‘Society’ in London; solicited to help Swift’s printer Waters in the prosecution against him; deemed by Swift to have ‘very good sense’ but to be ‘most negligent of his own affairs’ (M.: Macky).
Asgill, John (1659–1738). Deist; pamphleteer and lawyer both in England and Ireland; author of a pamphlet interpreting the relations between God and man according to the rules of English law and concluding that death was illegal, which was deemed blasphemous and burnt by the hangman.
Ashe, St George (c. 1658–1718). Churchman and scholar; Swift’s tutor at Trinity College, Dublin; successively Bishop of Cloyne, Clogher and Derry; professor of mathematics, interested in the new experimental philosophy; secretary of the Dublin Philosophical Society; a lifelong friend of both Swift and Esther Johnson.
Atterbury, Francis (1662–1732). Churchman; Dean of Christ Church, Oxford (1711); Bishop of Rochester and Dean of Westminster (1713); a High Church Tory known for his fiery preaching and zealous support of ecclesiastical authority; found guilty of Jacobite conspiracy and banished to France (1723).
Barber, Mary (c. 1690–1757). Poet; wife of a Dublin woollen-draper; won the patronage of Revd Patrick Delany, Lord Carteret, and Swift, who actively promoted her literary career and gave her the rights to the London publication of Polite Conversation (1738); best known for her Poems on Several Occasions (1734).
Barton, Catherine (1679–1739). Half-niece of Sir Isaac Newton; mistress of the Earl of Halifax; known for her brilliant conversation and wit; friendly with Voltaire; admired by Swift, who enjoyed visiting her during his stay in London and remarked, ‘I love her better than any body here, and see her seldomer’ (JS).
Beaumont, Joseph (d. 1731). Irish linen-draper; friend and sometime business agent of Swift; devised slaying tables for use in the weaving of linen, which earned him a government monetary award; driven mad in later years by his obsessive pursuit of a solution to the problem of the longitude; died by his own hand.
Bentley, Richard (1662–1742). Classical scholar and critic; Keeper of the Royal Library; Master of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1700 until his death; became a satiric target of Swift’s when he exposed the Letters of Phalaris as a clumsy forgery; depicted as the quintessential Modern in the Battel of the Books.
Berkeley, Charles, 2nd Earl of (1649–1710). Lord Justice of Ireland (1699), with Swift as his chaplain; satirized as ‘King Phiz’ in Swift’s poem ‘The Discovery’; described by Swift as ‘Intolerably lazy and Indolent, and somewhat Covetous’ (M.: Macky); father of Swift’s lifelong friend Lady Betty Germain.
Berkeley, William, 4th Baron Berkeley of Stratton (d. 1741). Politician; son-in-law of Sir John Temple; became Privy Counsellor in Ireland (1696) and in England (1710); First Lord of Trade and the Plantations (1714–15); held the office of Master of the Rolls in Ireland (1696–1731).
Blackmore, Sir Richard (?1655–1729). Poet and Whig political writer; physician-in-ordinary to William III and Queen Anne; author of dreary would-be epics (Prince Arthur) and long philosophical poems (Creation); attacked Swift as ‘an impious buffoon’; recurring satiric butt of Pope and Swift.
Bolingbroke, Henry St John, 1st Viscount (1678–1751). Politician and political writer; Tory MP and Secretary of State in the Tory ministry (1710–14); fled to France in 1715 to join the Pretender; later returned to England, where he contributed to the anti-Walpole Opposition via essays in The Craftsman.
Boulter, Hugh (1672–1742). Churchman; Bishop of Bristol and chaplain to George I; Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland from 1724; a loyal Whig and zealous champion of the ‘English interest’ in Ireland; a bête noire of Swift, who satirized him in several works.
Brown(e), Peter (d. 1735). Churchman; classmate of Swift’s at Trinity College, Dublin; became Provost of Trinity College in 1699; consecrated Bishop of Cork and Ross in 1710; author of a well-regarded answer to John Toland’s Christianity Not Mysterious; a friend of Esther Johnson’s, though viewed by Swift as vain and ‘capricious’.
Budgell, Eustace (1686–1737). Writer and orator; cousin of Addison; produced a translation of Theophrastus and several noted epilogues to plays; contributed some thirty essays to The Spectator, including a series on education; committed suicide after a string of financial and legal troubles.
Burlington, Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of, and 4th Earl of Cork (1695– 1753). Hereditary Lord Treasurer of Ireland; among the richest of the absentee landlords attacked by Swift; an architecture enthusiast who erected an Italianate villa at Chiswick; the subject of Pope’s fourth Moral Essay.
Carteret, John, 2nd Baron and Viscount (1690–1763). Whig politician and statesman; Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland (1724–30); leader of the Opposition to Walpole; on friendly terms with Swift, who credited him with ‘great natural Talents… Comprehension, Eloquence, and Wit’ (A Vindication of Lord Carteret).
Clements, Robert (1664–1722). Irish landowner and politician; served as High Sheriff of Cavan; MP for Newry (1715–22); Teller of the Irish Exchequer; recommended by Swift to Lord Anglesey for a lucrative post (1712); relative of Swift’s friend John Pratt.
Clogher, Bishop of, see Ashe, St George.
Congreve, William (1670–1729). Dramatist; educated with Swift at Kilkenny School and Trinity College, Dublin; known for his Restoration comedies The Double Dealer, Love for Love and his masterpiece, The Way of the World (1700); member of the Kit-Cat Club; friendly with Pope and Swift in London.
Conolly, William (d. 1729). Irish Whig politician; a prosperous land speculator whose immense fortune enabled him to build Castletown House; served as Commissioner of Revenue, Lord Justice and Speaker of the Irish House of Commons; described by Swift as ‘wholly illiterate, & with hardly common sence’.
Coward, William (?1657–1725). Physician; author of Second Thoughts concerning Human Souls (1702), which denied the existence of a soul separate from the body and maintained that immortal life will be conferred upon the whole man at the time of the Resurrection; viewed as a Deist by Swift.
Craggs, James the Younger (1686–1721). Politician; son of Postmaster General; Secretary at War (1717); MP for Tregony; Secretary of State for Southern Department (1718–21); friend of Pope and Addison.
Curll, Edmund (1675–1747). English publisher; notorious for his literary piracy, plagiarism and bowdlerization; fined and pilloried for his publication of pornographic materials; put out an unauthorized edition of works from M ’11; published pirated editions of Pope, who took revenge on him in The Dunciad.
Darteneuf (Dartiquenave), Charles (1664–1737). Civil servant; Surveyor of the King’s Gardens and the Royal Roads; member of the Kit-Cat Club; valued by Swift for his witty wordplay and amiable company.
Dartmouth, William Legge, 1st Earl of (1672–1750). Statesman and politician; friend of Harley; named Secretary of State for the Southern Department (1710); signed preliminary articles of peace with France (Sept. 1711); praised in The Examiner as ‘a Man of Letters, full of good Sense, good Nature and Honour’.
Delaval, George (1660–1723). Soldier and diplomat; served as captain under Lord Peterborough in Spain (1705–7); entrusted with the task of buying supplies for the British Army; appointed Envoy Extraordinary to the King of Portugal in October 1710; occasional dinner companion of Swift’s in London.
Dennis, John (1657–1734). Dramatist and critic; known for his writings on the sublime and for his intemperate attacks on Pope, Addison and others; mocked in A Tale of a Tub as the Moderns’ exemplar of ‘the TRUE CRITICK’, a descendant of Momus and Hybris ‘who begat Etcætera the Younger’.
Dingley, Rebecca (d. 1743). Second cousin and dependant of Sir William Temple; waiting-woman to Temple’s sister at Moor Park, where she developed a close friendship with the much younger Esther Johnson; accompanied Johnson to Ireland in 1701 and remained her constant companion there.
Dodington, George Bubb (1691–1762). Courtier and politician; owner of Irish lands inherited from uncle and holder of an Irish sinecure; a Lord of the Treasury under Walpole (1724); adviser to the Prince of Wales; known for his vanity, ostentatious tastes and patronage of Thomson, Fielding and others.
Ford, Charles (1682–1741). Close friend and confidant of Swift’s; entertained Swift and Esther Johnson at his Meath estate; obtained the office of Gazetteer (1712) with Swift’s help; figures in several Swift poems and appears frequently in JS; maintained an extensive correspondence with Swift.
Fountaine, Andrew (1676–1753). Virtuoso, connoisseur and courtier; an official at the viceregal court at Dublin in 1707; a frequent companion of Swift’s in London; held several posts in the court of George II; a noted art collector thought to have corrected the original designs for the 1710 edition of A Tale of a Tub.
Frankland, Sir Thomas, 2nd Baronet (1665–1726). Politician; MP for Thirsk; Joint Postmaster General in England (1690–1715); Commissioner of the Customs (1715–18); thought well of by Swift.
Freind, John (1675–1728). Physician, author and politician; served under Lord Peterborough in Spain and wrote a defence of the latter’s military conduct (1706); became Physician to the Prince of Wales and to Queen Caroline (1727); published a noted History of Physic (1725–6); friend of Swift’s in London.
Garth, Sir Samuel (1661–1719). Poet and doctor; physician-in-ordinary to George I; author of the mock-epic poem The Dispensary (1699); member of the Kit-Cat Club; friend and early patron of Pope.
Gay, John (1685–1732). Poet and playwright; member of the Scriblerus Club; author of Trivia (1716), Fables (1727), and The Beggar’s Opera (1728), a highly successful satire on the Walpole ministry that was defended by Swift against charges of immorality; maintained an extensive correspondence with Swift.
George I, King (1660–1727). Protestant heir to the British throne through his mother Sophia, Electrix of Hanover; became monarch in 1714 on the death of Queen Anne; his poor English, his reliance on German courtiers and his indifference to high culture made him a target of derision for Swift and Pope; succeeded by his eldest son, who, closely allied to Walpole, reigned as George II from 1727 until his death in 1760.
Godolphin, Sidney, 1st Earl of (1645–1712). Politician; Lord High Treasurer in the Whig ministry (1702–10); close ally of Marlborough; attacked as ‘Volpone’ in a sermon by Sacheverell; despised by Swift, who complained of his ‘coldness’ towards him; target of Swift’s lampoon ‘The Virtues of Sid Hamet’ (1710).
Grafton, Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of (1683–1757). Whig politician; Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland (1721–4); closed down rehearsals of Gay’s Polly (1728) as Lord Chamberlain; helped rescue Swift’s printer (1724), but dismissed by Swift as ‘Almost a Slobberer without one good Quality’ (M.: Macky).
Granville, George, see Landsdowne.
Grattan, Robert (c. 1678–c. 1741). Irish clergyman; Prebendary at St Patrick’s cathedral; one of seven brothers (Swift’s ‘fav’rite Clan’) who regularly entertained Swift at their family seat north of Dublin; part of Swift’s circle of punsters and writers of jeux d’esprit; named an executor of Swift’s estate.
Grimston, William Luckyn, 1st Viscount (d. 1756). Whig politician and author; wrote poems and plays (e.g. The Lawyer’s Fortune, or Love in a Hollow Tree) that made his name a byword for meaningless prolixity among Augustan wits; satirized by Swift as heir to Sir Richard Blackmore in ‘On Poetry’ (1733).
Halifax, Charles Montagu, Baron and Earl of (1661–1715). Whig statesman and politician; member of Whig Junto; First Lord of the Treasury under George I; patron of Congreve and Addison; immortalized by Swift as Pericles in Contests and Dissensions (1701) but later viewed by him with disfavour.
Halley, Edmund (1656–1742). Astronomer; secretary to the Royal Society (1713); Astronomer Royal (1721); known for his lunar and planetary tables, observation of solar eclipses, and method for determining the sun’s distance via the parallax of Venus; predicted the comet that appeared in 1758.
Harcourt, Sir Simon, Baron and 1st Viscount (c. 1661–1727). Tory barrister and politician; Attorney General (1707–8); conducted the defence at the trial of Sacheverell; Lord Keeper and a member of the Privy Council (1710); later Lord Chancellor (1713–14); mentioned frequently in JS.
Harley, Edward and Robert, see Oxford.
Harrison, William (1685–1713). Poet and journalist; contributor to poetic miscellanies; judged by Swift to possess ‘a great deal of wit, good sense, and good nature’; briefly edited The Tatler after Steele’s departure; secretary to Lord Raby, ambassador to The Hague; returned to London penniless and died soon thereafter.
Hill, John (d. 1735). Soldier; younger brother of Queen Anne’s favourite, Lady Masham; commanded a brigade at Almanza; led the unsuccessful Quebec expedition (1711); appointed governor and general of the garrison at Dunkirk (1713); a member of Swift’s ‘Society’ in London.
Howe, John Grubham (‘Jack How’) (1657–1722). Politician; an ardent Whig turned zealous Tory MP (1689–1705); staunch defender of the country interest; satirized by Swift as one of the ‘Patriots’ in A Tale of a Tub as well as in his poem ‘A Ballad on the Game of Traffick’ (1702).
Hyde, Henry, 2nd Earl of Rochester and 4th Earl of Clarendon (1672– 1753). Tory politician; MP for Launceston (1692–1711); invested as Privy Counsellor (1710); Joint Vice-Treasurer and Paymaster of Ireland (1710–16); High Steward of University of Oxford (from 1711)
Jervas, Charles (?1675–1739). Portrait painter; student of Sir Godfrey Kneller; principal painter to both George I and George II; made portraits of Pope, Arbuthnot and Newton, and several of Swift.
Johnson, Esther [Hester] (1681–1728). Beloved friend of Swift, who immortalized her as ‘Stella’ in a series of birthday poems and through JS; first met Swift as a young girl in Temple’s household; later settled in Ireland; praised by Swift for her exceptional qualities of mind and character.
King, William (1650–1729). Churchman; author of historical and theological works including The State of the Protestants in Ireland (1691); became Archbishop of Dublin in 1703; a Lord Justice of Ireland; a staunch Whig but eventually won Swift’s respect as an Irish patriot and opponent of Wood’s half-pence.
Kneller, Sir Godfrey (1646–1723). German-born portrait painter; numbered among his patrons a succession of English monarchs beginning with Charles II; created a baronet in 1715; a Twickenham neighbour of Pope, whose portrait he painted and who composed his epitaph.
Landsdowne, George Granville, Baron (1667–1735). Statesman and poet; Secretary at War (1710) and Treasurer of the Household (1713); among the twelve new peers created to ensure a majority for the Tory peace (1711); an early patron of Pope, who dedicated Windsor-Forest to him.
Lewis, Erasmus (1670–1754). Welsh-born diplomat and political operative; secretary to the English ambassador in Paris (1701); loyal political servant of Harley, to whom he introduced Swift in 1710; Under-Secretary of State (1710–14); friend to the Scriblerians; appears often in JS.
Lindsay, Thomas (d. 1724). Churchman; named Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland (1714); one of the two Irish bishops to whom Swift’s commission regarding the ‘First Fruits’ was addressed; held in low esteem by Swift, who nevertheless supported his promotion because of his Tory allegiances.
Lloyd, William (d. 1716). Welsh-born churchman; educated at Trinity College, Dublin; consecrated Bishop of Killala in 1691; one of the six signatories of Swift’s commission regarding the ‘First Fruits’; on friendly terms with both Swift and Esther Johnson.
Ludlow, Edmund (?1617–92). Regicide and memoirist; steadfast adherent of the republican cause and staunch defender of ‘the liberty of the people’; in 1660 forced into exile to Switzerland, where he wrote his Memoirs, posthumously published in three volumes (1698–9).
Manley, Isaac (d. 1735). Whig functionary and civil servant; Comptroller of the English Letter Office; appointed Postmaster General in Ireland (1703); intercepted Swift’s correspondence but was viewed benignly by Swift because of his (and his wife’s) friendship with Esther Johnson.
Manley, John (d. 1714). Politician; MP for Bossiney and Camelford; appointed Surveyor General in 1710; cousin of the writer and satirist Delariviere Manley.
Mansell, Thomas (c. 1668–1723). Courtier and politician; Comptroller of the Household to Queen Anne (1704–12); a Teller to the Exchequer (1712–14); one of the twelve new peers named by Queen Anne to ensure a Tory majority in the Upper House (1711); mentioned often in JS.
Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Duke of (1650–1722). Soldier and politician; partner of Godolphin in the Whig duumvirate; made Captain General of the Army by Queen Anne; scored major victories against the French before his dismissal (1712); repeatedly attacked by Swift for his greed and ambition.
Masham, Samuel (?1679–1758). Courtier and statesman; Groom of the Bedchamber to Prince George of Denmark; one of the twelve new peers created by Queen Anne for a Tory majority in the House of Lords (1711); a member of Swift’s ‘Society’; appears in JS as a frequent dinner companion of Swift.
Methuen, Paul (1672–1757). Diplomat and statesman; ambassador to the King of Portugal; helped negotiate the Methuen Treaty (1703), which gave England favourable-trade status with Portugal; viewed by Swift as ‘a profligate Rogue, without religion or morals, but cunning enough’ (M.: Macky).
Midleton, Alan Brodrick, 1st Viscount (?1656–1728). Whig Opposition politician and lawyer; from a rich and powerful landowning family in Ireland; Speaker of the Irish House of Commons (1703); Chief Justice (1710) and Lord Chancellor of Ireland (1714–25); against the Test Act; addressee of Drapier’s Letter VI.
Molesworth, John (1679–1726). Diplomat and politician; Envoy Extraordinary to the Grand Duke of Tuscany (1710); Commissioner of Trade and Plantations (1715–20); envoy to Turin (1720–25); son of Robert, 1st Viscount Molesworth, addressee of Swift’s Drapier’s Letter V.
Molyneux, William (1656–98). Anglo-Irish philosopher and mathematician; educated at Trinity College, Dublin; first secretary of the Dublin Philosophical Society; best known for The Case of Ireland Stated (1698), which argues for the legislative independence of Ireland; a major influence on Drapier’s Letter IV.
Montagu, James (1666–1723). Jurist and politician; one of Her Majesty’s counsel (1705); solicitor general (1707); Attorney General (1708–10); Chief Baron of the Exchequer (1722).
Moore, Arthur (?1666–1730). Irish politician; MP for Grimsby; a Lord Commissioner of Trade and Plantations; a director of the South Sea Company; lost his money and credit through financial indiscretions.
Moreton, William (1641–1715). Churchman; Oxford-educated Englishman; Bishop of Kildare (1681–1705) and of Meath (1705– 15); ordained Swift (1695); one of the signatories of Swift’s commission from the Irish bishops to obtain remission of the ‘First Fruits’.
Mountjoy, William Stewart, 2nd Viscount (d. 1728). Soldier and courtier; acquired title in the peerage of Ireland in 1692; became Lieutenant General in the army in 1709; appointed Master General of the Ordnance (1714); frequent dinner companion of Swift’s in London.
Nottingham, Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of (1647–1730). Tory politician and statesman; a leader of the High Church party during Queen Anne’s reign; opposed peace with France in exchange for the Whigs’ help in passing the Bill against Occasional Conformity (1711); attacked as a traitor (‘Dismal’) by Swift.
Ormonde, James Butler, 2nd Duke of (1665–1745). Irish soldier and statesman; Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland (from 1703); Captain General (1712); impeached for high treason (1715) and fled to France; presented Swift to the Deanery of St Patrick’s (1713); lauded by Swift as a man of ‘great Justice and Charity’.
Oxford, Robert Harley, 1st Earl of (1661–1724). Statesman and politician; Speaker of the House of Commons (1701–4); Lord-Treasurer of the Tory ministry (1710–14); helped Swift win remission of the ‘First Fruits’; impeached and imprisoned in 1714; both admired and distrusted by Swift.
Oxford, Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of (1689–1741). Antiquary and bibliophile; son of Robert Harley; member of the Scriblerus circle; amassed a notable book and manuscript collection that later became the basis of the British Museum holdings; maintained a correspondence with Swift.
Palmerston, Henry Temple, 1st Viscount (c. 1673–1757). Politician; MP in England; nephew of Sir William Temple; son of Sir John Temple, Speaker of Irish House of Commons; appointed Chief Remembrancer of the Court of Exchequer in Ireland (1680); his title in the Irish peerage created in 1723.
Partridge, John (1644–1715). Astrologer and almanac-maker; a shoemaker before succeeding John Gadbury as the most popular astrologer of his age; his almanac Merlinus Liberatus (begun 1680) served as a medium for his attacks on High Church beliefs; satirized by Swift in The Bickerstaff Papers (1708–9).
Parvisol, Isaiah (d. 1718). Swift’s steward and tithe-collector (c. 1708–18); of French extraction, possibly Huguenot; the object of recurring complaints by Swift, who dismissed him in 1714 but later rehired him.
Penn, William (1644–1718). English Quaker; strong defender of religious liberty and toleration; founder of Pennsylvania (1682); well received at the Court of Queen Anne, where he met Swift on several occasions.
Philips, Ambrose (1674–1749). Poet; member of Addison and Steele’s circle; friendly with Swift in London; author of Pastorals competing with Pope’s (1709); satirized for his poetic style by Pope and Gay; known as ‘Namby Pamby’ for his trochaic verses for children; secretary to Archbishop Boulter (1724).
Phipps, Sir Constantine (1656–1723). Jurist and politician; managed defence of Sacheverell (1710); Chancellor of Ireland (1710–14); known for extreme Tory and High Church sentiments; suspected of Jacobitism; defended Atterbury (1723).
Pope, Alexander (1688–1744). Poet and satirist; author of neoclassical and mock-heroic works including The Rape of the Lock, An Essay on Man, Imitations of Horace and The Dunciad; translator of Homer; member of the Scriblerus Club; editor of joint Miscellanies with Swift starting in 1727; opponent of the Whig ministry; a lifelong friend and correspondent of Swift’s—about 100 of their letters survive.
Pratt, John (b. ?1670). Soldier and civil servant; studied with Swift at Trinity College, Dublin; became army captain (1703); Constable of Dublin Castle; Deputy Vice Treasurer of Ireland; brother of Benjamin Pratt, Provost of Trinity College; friend and financial adviser to Swift; imprisoned in 1725 for financial irregularities.
Pretender (the), see Stuart, James Francis Edward.
Prince of Orange, see William III.
Prior, Matthew (1664–1721). Poet and diplomat; switched from Whig to Tory patronage in 1702; furthered peace negotiations with France via a secret embassy to Paris (1711); known for his burlesques and his poem Alma; or, the Progress of the Mind (1716), ridiculing all systems of philosophy.
Pullen [Pullein], Tobias (1648–1713). Churchman; educated at Trinity College, Dublin; appointed Bishop of Cloyne (1694) and of Dromore (1695); staunchly defended the Sacramental Test and wrote against those who advocated religious toleration for Dissenters; belonged to circle of clergymen close to Esther Johnson.
Raymond, Anthony (1675–1726). Irish clergyman, scholar and antiquarian; Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, and Rector of Trim; an avid student of Irish history and language; published a prospectus for a translation of Geoffrey Keating’s history of Ireland, Foras Feasa ar Éirinn (1725); a frequent host of Swift’s in Laracor.
Rivers, Richard Savage, 4th Earl (1660–1712). Soldier and politician; reputed to be the father of the same-named poet; fought under William of Orange in Flanders, attaining rank of Lieutenant General; branded by Swift ‘an arrant Knave in common dealing and very prostitute’ (M.: Macky).
Rowe, Nicholas (1674–1718). Poet and dramatist; editor of Shakespeare (1709); became Poet Laureate in 1715; an ardent Whig, though friendly for a time with Swift; celebrated for his drama Tamerlane (1702), in praise of William III; now best known for his tragedies The Fair Penitent (1703) and Jane Shore (1714).
Sacheverell, Henry (c. 1674–1724). Clergyman; chaplain at St Saviour’s, Southwark (1705); famous for fiery High Church sermons; attacked Godolphin as ‘Volpone’ in sermon at St Paul’s (1709); impeached by House of Lords; his ‘church martyr’ status helped ensure Tory landslide of 1710; viewed with distaste by Swift.
St John, Henry, see Bolingbroke.
Sheridan, Revd Thomas (1687–1738). Schoolmaster and clergyman; educated at Trinity College, Dublin; an inveterate punster; translated the satires of Persius (1728); co-edited The Intelligencer with Swift (1728); enjoyed an intimate if at times querulous relationship with Swift, who often visited him at his Co. Cavan residence.
Shrewsbury, Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of (1660–1718). Courtier and statesman; Secretary of State under William III; became Lord Chamberlain in the Tory ministry; Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland (1713); a member of Swift’s ‘Society’ in London but later viewed by Swift as lacking in probity and honour.
Somers, John, 1st Baron (1651–1716). Politician and lawyer; Lord Chancellor of England (1697–1700); impeached for secret diplomacy (1701); defended by Swift in Contests and Dissensions in Athens and Rome; leader of Whig Junto; dedicatee of A Tale of a Tub; later alienated Swift by his politics and failure to provide patronage.
Somerset, Elizabeth Percy, Duchess of (1667–1722). Courtier; married Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, in 1682; an ardent Whig and early favourite of Queen Anne; exercised great power at Court; depicted in Swift’s ‘The Windsor Prophecy’ (1711) as the instigator of her second husband’s murder.
Southwell, Edward (1671–1730). Politician and civil servant; Secretary of State for Ireland (1702); sworn to the Privy Council of Ireland (1714); became MP for Kinsale; close friend of Archbishop King; appears in JS as an intermediary between Swift and the Irish bishops.
Stanhope, James, 1st Earl of (1673–1721). Soldier and statesman; commander of British army in Spain (1708); Secretary of State (1714); helped crush Jacobite Rebellion (1715); Lord of the Treasury (1717); de-facto co-head of Whig administration until implicated in the South Sea scandal (1720); intercepted letters to Swift from abroad.
Stanley, Sir John (1663–1744). Irish civil servant; created a baronet in 1699; appointed secretary to the Duke of Shrewsbury, then Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland (1713); Commissioner of Customs from 1708 until his death; on friendly terms with Swift despite his Whig associations.
Stearne, Enoch. Irish civil servant; cousin of John Stearne; served as Collector of Wicklow and Clerk to the Irish House of Lords; close friend of Esther Johnson; mentioned often in JS, at times for his unreliability and fall into debt and dissipation in London.
Stearne, John (1660–1745). Churchman; educated at Trinity College, Dublin; preceded Swift as Dean of St Patrick’s (1702–12); Rector of Trim while Swift was in nearby Laracor; appointed Bishop of Dromore (1713) and of Clogher (1717); enjoyed the strong backing and patronage of Archbishop King.
Steele, Richard (1672–1729). Dublin-born journalist, political writer and dramatist; appointed Gazetteer (1707); member of the Kit-Cat Club; edited The Tatler (1709–11) and The Spectator with Addison (1711–12); wrote The Conscious Lovers (1722); early friendship with Swift destroyed by his anti-Tory ‘Libels’.
Stopford, James (c. 1697–1759). Clergyman; student and Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin; a classical scholar taken under Swift’s wing; made Archdeacon of Killaloe and Bishop of Cloyne (1753); praised by Swift as ‘in all regards the most valuable young man of this kingdom’; an executor of Swift’s will.
Stoyte, John. Irish civic leader and politician; resident of Donnybrook; Alderman of Dublin; Lord Mayor of Dublin (1715); he and his wife often dined and played cards with Esther Johnson.
Stratford, Francis (b. ?1662). Irish merchant and entrepreneur; schoolmate of Swift’s at Kilkenny School and Trinity College, Dublin; a director of the South Sea Company; amassed a large fortune and lent the Government £40,000; eventually went bankrupt; a sometime companion of Swift’s in London.
Stuart, James Francis Edward (1688–1766). Son of King James II; known as ‘the Old Pretender’; exiled with his father to France at the time of the ‘Glorious Revolution’; recognized by Louis XIV as James III in 1701; the symbolic leader of the Jacobites, who launched failed uprisings in 1708, 1715 and 1745.
Suffolk, Henrietta Howard, Countess of (d. 1767). Courtier; married Charles Howard, later 9th Earl of Suffolk (1706); mistress of George II; Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Caroline; entertained the Scriblerus Club and anti-Walpole Opposition at Marble Hill; subject of a critical ‘Character’ by Swift.
Temple, Sir William (1628–99). Statesman, diplomat and writer; as ambassador at The Hague, helped arrange the marriage of William and Mary; employer of Swift at Moor Park (1689–99); wrote ‘On Ancient and Modern Learning’, which fuelled the controversy addressed in The Battel of the Books; an important influence on Swift but criticized for his ‘coldness’ and failure to advance Swift’s career.
Tickell, Thomas (1686–1740). Poet and civil servant; served as Under-Secretary of State to Addison and later edited Addison’s works (1721); became secretary to Lord-Lieutenant Carteret (1724); appointed Chief Secretary and managed affairs in Dublin Castle (1724); spent the rest of his life in Ireland.
Tillotson, John (1630–94). Churchman; chaplain to Charles II; a popular preacher known for his religious moderation vis-à-vis Nonjurors and Nonconformists; helped revise the Book of Common Prayer (1689) in response to the Toleration Act; Dean of St Paul’s (1689); became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1691.
Tindal, Matthew (1657–1733). Deist and lawyer; wrote The Rights of the Christian Church (1706), in opposition to the High Church party; rebutted in Swift’s Remarks (1708); published Christianity as Old as the Creation (1730), which argues that the Gospel is only ‘a Republication of the Religion of Nature’.
Toland, John (1670–1722). Irish-born Deist and political pamphleteer; controversial author of Christianity Not Mysterious (1696), which argues that ‘there is nothing in the Gospel contrary to Reason, nor above it’; forced to flee Ireland after the book was burnt by the common hangman; wrote anti-Jacobite pamphlets.
Tooke, Benjamin (c. 1642–1716). Dublin printer and publisher in London; published portions of Temple’s writings posthumously; arranged the publication of the 5th edition of A Tale of a Tub (1710) and M’11; a printer of the London Gazette (1711); an agent for various financial transactions of Swift’s.
Trapp, Joseph (1679–1747). Scholar, writer and clergyman; first Professor of Poetry at Oxford University (1708–18); translated the Aeneid into English and Paradise Lost into Latin; wrote Tory pamphlets and indifferent verse; became chaplain to Bolingbroke on Swift’s recommendation.
Travers, John (1663–1727). Clergyman; divinity degree from Trinity College, Dublin; prebendary of St Patrick’s; vicar of St Andrews, Dublin; Chancellor of Christ’s Church; chaplain to the Irish House of Commons.
Vanhomrigh, Esther [Hester] (1688–1723). Daughter of an Irish merchant of Dutch extraction; met Swift in London (1707) and followed him to Ireland in 1714; inspired Swift’s poem Cadenus and Vanessa (1713), which depicts their relationship as platonic and claims that ‘Things took a Turn he never meant’.
Vesey, John (1638–1716). Irish churchman; Bishop of Limerick (1673); Archbishop of Tuam (1678); appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dublin (1710); served as a Lord Justice of Ireland; on friendly terms with Swift, who solicited for his son’s petition in the House of Commons (1712).
Walls, Thomas (c. 1672–1750). Clergyman; master of St Patrick’s cathedral school, Archdeacon of Achenry and Vicar of Castle-knock; a good friend and correspondent of Swift’s for many years; maintained close ties with Esther Johnson and Rebecca Dingley, who lived with him and his wife for periods of time.
Walpole, Horatio, 1st Baron (1678–1757). Diplomat and politician; MP (1702–56); Secretary of the Treasury (1715; 1721); top envoy to The Hague; plenipotentiary to France; brother of Robert Walpole.
Walpole, Robert, 1st Earl of Orford (1676–1745). Whig politician; de-facto leader of House of Commons after accession of George I; Chancellor of the Exchequer (1721); effectively ruled as Prime Minister until 1742, uniting Hanoverian power in the City; target of Opposition Whigs and Tory satirists.
Waters, Edward (fl. 1708–36). Dublin printer; associated mainly with cheap pamphlets; printed Swift’s Proposal for the Universal Use of Irish Manufacture, for which he was imprisoned and brought to trial before Chief Justice Whitshed; responsible for the Dublin printing of Life and Genuine Character of Dr Swift (1733).
Wharton, Thomas, 1st Earl of (1648–1715). Politician; leading figure in the Whig Junto under Queen Anne; Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland (1708–10); led opposition to the Sacramental Test Act; attacked as a profligate, atheist and liar by Swift in his Short Character of Wharton and in Examiner, No. 14.
Whiston, William (1667–1752). Heterodox theologian; follower of Newton; Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge; wrote A New Theory of the Earth (1696), attributing Noah’s Flood to a comet; produced crackpot scheme for determining the longitude; satirized by Swift via the Laputans (GT).
Whitshed, William (c. 1679–1727). Lawyer and judge; Solicitor General for Ireland (1709); Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas (1726); prosecuted Waters for printing A Proposal for the Universal Use of Irish Manufacture and oversaw the case against Drapier’s Letter IV; vilified by Swift as a symbol of judicial bias and corruption.
Whittington, Charles (d. 1743). Clergyman; scholar of Trinity College, Dublin; prebendary of St Patrick’s (1716); appointed Archdeacon of Dublin in 1719.
William III, King (1650–1702). Born and raised as the Prince of Orange in the Dutch Republic; after the expulsion of James II (1688) assumed the throne of England jointly with his wife Mary (d. 1694), James’s daughter; followed policy of military containment of France abroad and religious toleration at home.
Wood, William (1671–1730). Entrepreneur and projector; owned large copper and iron works throughout England; involved in a number of questionable business speculations; in July 1722 obtained a patent from the Crown to coin copper half-pence for Ireland; attacked by Swift in The Drapier’s Letters.
Wycherley, William (1641–1716). Dramatist; author of The Plain Dealer (1676) and his masterpiece, The Country Wife (1675), attacked by moral reformers for its alleged lewdness; later confined to Fleet Prison for debt; in 1704 befriended the much younger Pope, who dedicated his third Pastoral to him.