Surname: Spenser Forename(s): Edmund b. 1552. d. 13 January 1599. Nationality: English. VIAF.
Poet, translator, and administrator in Ireland. Born in London. Educated at Pembroke
College, Cambridge. Knew several languages including Latin, Greek, French, and Italian,
and translated many poems by Petrarch and Joachim du Bellay. Served the Crown for
many years in Ireland, first as a private secretary to the Lord Deputy of Ireland
(1580-1582), and settled there for the rest of his life. Married twice, Maccabaeus
Childe on 27 October 1579, and Elizabeth Boyle on 11 June 1594. Author of The Faerie Queene (c. 1589) and A View of the Present State of Ireland (c. 1596). Biographical information: ODNB. (JS, CC)