Intertexts

Intcrtcxts, vol. 1, no. 2, Fall 1997 N e w W o r l d C o l o n i z a t i o n a n d the De Ncivi^atione of Stephen Parmenius Robert J. Barnett F r a n k l i n a n d M a r s h a l l C o l l e g e The 15 th and 16th centuries in western Europe were characterized by several interrelated historical movements; the assertion of sovereignty by nation states, religious antagonisms between Protestants and Catholics, the spread of Renaissance Humanism across the continent into England, and the westward voyages of exploration to theAmericas.The materials docu¬ menting and tracing these movements exist in many forms, but rarely does asingle piece of evidence reflect the several major trends of aparticular period. One such is the De Navi^atione by Stephen Parmenius, alargely neglected 16th-century Neo-Latin poem. The De Navi_gatione^ published in London in 1582, advocates and colonization of North America by England.^ Parmenius 1 legitimizes overseas dedicated his poem to the English soldier and navigator Sir Humphrey Gilbert (1539-1583), in anticipation of the latter’s voyage to North America(Quinn,Voyages).Thepoemtakesonadditionalinterestsinceitis apparently the very first verse composition of the English Humanistic period,orofanytime,toadvocatetheestablishmentofEnglishcoloniesin North America and to celebrate the man who hoped to do just that. Hence,itisanimportanthistoricaldocumentforestablishingthechronol¬ ogy of the English attitude toward the New World. Additionally, Parmenius ’semploymentoftheancientmythoftheGoldenAgeaspropaganda toenticeEnglishmenandwomentosettleinNorthAmericacontributes toourknowledgeofthestateofclassicallearningonthecontinentandin England during the Elizabethan period. The poem consists of 330 skillfully composed dactylic hexameters. In addition to his choice of the meter of Homer and Vergil, Parmenius, in an introductorypassageof36lines,makesclearthatthegenreisepicandthat his role is the classical one of recounting and celebrating the deeds of great m e n : vela quibus gentis decus immortale Britannae tendit ad ignotum nostris maioribus orbem vix notis Gilbertus aquis. Ecquando licebit ordiri heroas laudes et facta nepotum attonitis memoranda animis? (7-11 1 5 9 1 6 0 I N T E R T E X T S MilswithwhichGilbertonscarcelyfamiliarseasextendstheundyingglor>'ofthe bnglish race towards aworld unknown to our forefathers. When else shall it be permitted to recount the epic accolades and deeds of their descendants, deeds not tobeforgottenbymarvellingminds? Intheintroductoryportion,andingoodclassicalstyle,Parmeniusprepares us for his theme of v o y a g e : ■■.omne per undas Nereidumgenusexultat,faustoquetridenti ipse pater Nereus placabile temperat aequor. etpassimOceanocurvidelphinesabimo in summos saliunt fluctus. (14-18) entire brood of Nereus’s daughters merrily frolic through the waves and Nereus, the father himself, with trident of good omen, soothes the water)' expanse andmakesitcalm.Andhereandtherearcingdolphinsleapfromoceanfloor wave top. t o Thus, Parmenius usestheintroductiontounfoldthetraditionalclassical motifoftheherowhoistoleadhisfollowersonajourneytonewlands1 wordsreminiscentofHorace’sadmonitiontoRome{visconsiliexpersmT ruitsua^Odes3.4.65),heconcludestheintroductionbycautioningF^ land to be (31-3): non incauta sui, ne quando immensa potestas/ponder ruitura suo, nova moenia natis/quaerat (let England, attentive to he^^^f^ seek new settlements for her children, lest sometime soon her imm^^^^ power crash to destruction beneath its own weight). The remainder of poem is divided into five sections of unequal length. In the^ ^ (37-51), Parmenius , . „ . . P a s s a g e argues that since Europe,Asia, andAfrica have been and still are the subjects of various rulers from Babylon to Roman Cathof cism, America to the west is the only direction for expansion. H America has been saved for England (37-8): tibi per tot secula soli/ser^l estresionullisregnatamonarchis(alandruledbynomonarchshasbeen preservedthroughoutcountlessagesforyoualone). This section is r,nc ●● . fo*' the longest portion of the poem, apassage of 105 lines whose purpose is to attract people to the idea of resettling i America by describing her as presenting an opportunity to recover and reexperience the Golden Age. In this passage Parmenius must skillfully present America as desirable without denigrating England and thereby ottending the queen, whose support Gilbert requires. He does so by first describing Europe as having deteriorated, in its verynature , beyond the ironageintoanageofrock(85-6):injqenioreferuntferrumet,sidicere jerro/deteriora mihi licet, intractabilesnxtim ([ the curent strife and suffering in Europe] by their character evoke iron and, if Imay speak of things worse taniron,intractablerock.)HeacknowledgesthatEngland,underElizaethsguidance ,hasaccomplishedmuchthatmightwinherthenameof i n Barnett-New World Colonization and the De Navi^atione 1 6 1 golden. However, for all of Parmenius’s sincere...