- Born:
- Oct. 19, 1605, London
- Died:
- Oct. 19, 1682, Norwich, Norfolk, Eng. (aged 77)
- Notable Works:
- “Hydriotaphia, Urne-Buriall, or, A Discourse of the Sepulchrall Urnes lately found in Norfolk”
- “Pseudodoxia Epidemica, or, Enquiries into Very many received Tenets, and commonly presumed truths”
- “Religio Medici”
- “The Garden of Cyrus, or the Quincunciall Lozenge, or Net-Work Plantations of the Ancients”
Sir Thomas Browne
-
Who was Sir Thomas Browne?
Sir Thomas Browne (1605–1682) was an English physician and author, remembered mainly for his reflections in Religio Medici. This journal explores God, nature, and humanity.
After studying at Winchester and Oxford, Browne received his M.D. in Leiden in 1633. He began his practice in 1634 near Halifax and then settled in Norwich in 1637. His Religio Medici was first shared among friends but was later printed without his consent in 1642. A corrected version was published in 1643 and was a success in England and Europe.
Browne's Pseudodoxia Epidemica (1646) aimed to correct popular beliefs. In 1658, he released Hydriotaphia, Urne-Buriall and The Garden of Cyrus. A Royalist, Browne was knighted in 1671. His collected works were first published in 1686.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are some of Sir Thomas Browne's most famous works?
Sir Thomas Browne was a 17th-century English physician and author known for his distinct prose style and intellectual curiosity.
Some of his most famous works include:
- Religio Medici, (1643) a book of personal reflections on science and religion.
- Pseudodoxia Epidemica, (1646) also known as Browne’s Vulgar Errors, attempts to correct popular beliefs and superstitions.
- Hydriotaphia, Urne-Buriall, (1658) reflections on death and the transience of human fame.
- The Garden of Cyrus, (1658) explores the history of horticulture with a fascination for the quincunx.
- A Letter to a Friend, (1690) a posthumously published work of great beauty and subtlety.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
When and where did Sir Thomas Browne live?
Sir Thomas Browne, an English physician and author, was born in London on October 19, 1605, and he died in Norwich, Norfolk, England, on his birthday, October 19, 1682. After studying at Winchester and Oxford, he took his M.D. at Leiden in 1633. He practiced medicine near Halifax, Yorkshire, from 1634 until he was admitted as an M.D. at Oxford, settling in Norwich in 1637. Best known for Religio Medici, Browne also wrote Pseudodoxia Epidemica, and Hydriotaphia, Urne-Buriall. Browne was knighted in 1671 when Charles II visited Norwich.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What topics did Sir Thomas Browne write about in his books?
Sir Thomas Browne, a 17th-century English physician and author, is renowned for his reflections on diverse topics. In Religio Medici (1643), he explored the mysteries of God, nature, and humanity. Browne's Pseudodoxia Epidemica (1646) aimed to correct popular beliefs and superstitions. Hydriotaphia, Urne-Buriall (1658) contemplates death and the fleeting nature of human fame, while The Garden of Cyrus (1658) delves into horticulture history, particularly the quincunx. His writing style is characterized by richness, melancholy, and a delight in paradox and speculation.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Sir Thomas Browne's work influence other writers or thinkers?
Sir Thomas Browne, a 17th-century English physician and author, is best known for Religio Medici, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, and Hydriotaphia, Urne-Buriall. Browne's writing style, characterized by its richness and melancholy, significantly influenced later writers.
His unique style, marked by paradoxes and speculation, impacted essayists such as Robert Burton and Laurence Sterne. Browne's prose, with its almost Byzantine complexity, appealed to those who enjoyed exploring uncertainty and intuitive faith.
4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why is Sir Thomas Browne considered important in English literature?
Sir Thomas Browne (1605–1682) is significant in English literature as a physician and author known for his unique, intellectual style. His Religio Medici (1643), explored the mysteries of God, nature, and humanity, achieving immediate success and wide circulation in Europe.
Browne's Pseudodoxia Epidemica (1646) aimed to correct popular beliefs and superstitions, while Hydriotaphia, Urne-Buriall (1658) offered reflections on death and human transience. The Garden of Cyrus (1658) explored horticulture from the Garden of Eden. His writings are celebrated for their rich prose, blending scientific inquiry with spiritual and antiquarian interests, and his impact was recognized when he was knighted in 1671.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Sir Thomas Browne (born Oct. 19, 1605, London—died Oct. 19, 1682, Norwich, Norfolk, Eng.) was an English physician and author, best known for his book of reflections, Religio Medici.
After studying at Winchester and Oxford, Browne probably was an assistant to a doctor near Oxford. After taking his M.D. at Leiden in 1633, he practiced at Shibden Hall near Halifax, in Yorkshire, from 1634, until he was admitted as an M.D. at Oxford; he settled in Norwich in 1637. At Shibden Hall Browne had begun his parallel career as a writer with Religio Medici, a journal largely about the mysteries of God, nature, and man, which he himself described as “a private exercise directed to myself.” It circulated at first only in manuscript among his friends. In 1642, however, it was printed without his permission in London and so had to be acknowledged, an authorized version being published in 1643. An immediate success in England, the book soon circulated widely in Europe in a Latin translation and was also translated into Dutch and French.
Browne began early to compile notebooks of miscellaneous jottings and, using these as a quarry, he compiled his second and larger work, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, or, Enquiries into Very many received Tenets, and commonly presumed truths (1646), often known as Browne’s Vulgar Errors. In it he tried to correct many popular beliefs and superstitions. In 1658 he published his third book, two treatises on antiquarian subjects, Hydriotaphia, Urne-Buriall, or, A Discourse of the Sepulchrall Urnes lately found in Norfolk, and The Garden of Cyrus, or the Quincunciall Lozenge, or Net-Work Plantations of the Ancients. Around the theme of the urns he wove a tissue of solemn reflections on death and the transience of human fame in his most luxuriant style; in The Garden, in which he traces the history of horticulture from the garden of Eden to the Persian gardens in the reign of Cyrus, he is especially fascinated by the quincunx. A smaller work of great beauty and subtlety, entitled A Letter to a Friend, Upon occasion of the Death of his Intimate Friend, was published posthumously in 1690.
Browne had always been a Royalist, and his fame both as doctor and as writer gained him a knighthood when Charles II visited Norwich in 1671. He seldom left the city but corresponded with such men of learning as John Evelyn, Sir William Dugdale, and John Aubrey. Most of his surviving letters, however, were written to his eldest son, Edward Browne, and these give an intimate picture of his medical practice and his relations with his family. Browne has been criticized for the part he played in 1664 as a witness in the condemnation of two women as witches.
The first edition of Browne’s collected works was published in 1686; the standard edition (including letters) is Works, edited by Geoffrey Keynes, 4 vol., new ed. (1964). Keynes also compiled A Bibliography of Sir Thomas Browne Kt. M.D., 2nd ed. rev. and augmented (1968).