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103-401: Prynne is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:: William Prynne (1600–1669), English Puritan statesman George Fellowes Prynne (1853–1927), British architect J. H. Prynne (born 1936), British poet Hester Prynne , the protagonist of the novel The Scarlet Letter [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with

206-556: A successful expedition . After Agrippina's exile, Burrus and Seneca were responsible for the administration of the Empire. However, Nero's "conduct became far more egregious" after his mother's death. Miriam T. Griffins suggests that Nero's decline began as early as AD 55 with the murder of his stepbrother Britannicus, but also notes that "Nero lost all sense of right and wrong and listened to flattery with total credulity" after Agrippina's death. Griffin points out that Tacitus "makes explicit

309-450: A "literary device, utilized [by Tacitus] because [he] could see no plausible explanation for Nero's conduct and also incidentally [served] to show that Nero, like Claudius, had fallen under the malign influence of a woman." Modern scholars believe that Nero's reign had been going well in the years before Agrippina's death. For example, Nero promoted the exploration of the Nile river sources with

412-521: A Collection of sundry memorable Examples of God's Judgment upon Sabbath-breakers he introduced Noy's recent death as a warning. In an appendix to John Bastwick 's Flagellum Pontificis and in A Breviate of the Bishops' intolerable Usurpations he attacked prelates in general (1635). An anonymous attack on Matthew Wren , Bishop of Norwich brought him again before the Star Chamber. On 14 June 1637 Prynne

515-601: A brief period of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors . Most Roman sources offer overwhelmingly negative assessments of his personality and reign. Most contemporary sources describe him as tyrannical, self-indulgent, and debauched. The historian Tacitus claims the Roman people thought him compulsive and corrupt. Suetonius tells that many Romans believed the Great Fire of Rome

618-676: A couple of Latin verses explaining the 'S. L.' with which he was branded to mean 'stigmata laudis' ("sign of praise", or "sign of Laud"). His imprisonment was then much closer: no pens or ink, nor any books allowed but the Bible, the prayer book, and some orthodox theology. To isolate him from his friends, he was sent first to Carnarvon Castle in July 1637, and then to Mont Orgueil in Jersey . The governor, Philippe de Carteret II treated Prynne well, which he repaid by defending Carteret's character in 1645, when he

721-457: A denunciation of actresses which was widely felt to be an attack on Queen Henrietta Maria . This book led to the most prominent incidents in his life, but the timing was accidental. About 1624 Prynne had begun a book against stage-plays; on 31 May 1630 he gained a licence to print it and about November 1632 it was published. Histriomastix has over a thousand pages, in which he presents plays as unlawful, incentives to immorality, and condemned by

824-602: A letter to Archbishop Laud , whom he saw as his chief persecutor, charging him with illegality and injustice. Laud handed the letter to the Attorney-General as material for a new prosecution, but when Prynne was required to own his handwriting, he contrived to get hold of the letter and tore it to pieces. Prynne wrote in the Tower and published anonymous tracts against episcopacy and the Book of Sports . In A Divine Tragedy lately acted, or

927-556: A new Leader was in the making." However, David Shotter noted that, despite events in Rome, Nero's step-brother Britannicus was more prominent in provincial coinages during the early 50s. Nero formally entered public life as an adult in AD 51 while 13 years old. When he turned 16, Nero married Claudius' daughter (his step-sister), Claudia Octavia . Between the years AD 51 and AD 53, he gave several speeches on behalf of various communities, including

1030-734: A paper war against the new government. He became a thorn in Cromwell's side. He wrote three pamphlets against the engagement to be faithful to the Commonwealth, and proved that neither in conscience, law, nor prudence was he bound to pay the taxes which it imposed. The government retaliated by imprisoning him for nearly three years without a trial. On 30 June 1650 he was arrested and confined, first in Dunster Castle and afterwards in Taunton Castle (12 June 1651) and Pendennis Castle (27 June 1651). He

1133-442: A public enemy. Nero prepared himself for suicide , pacing up and down muttering Qualis artifex pereo ("What an artist the world is losing!"). Losing his nerve, he begged one of his companions to set an example by killing himself first. At last, the sound of approaching horsemen drove Nero to face the end. However, he still could not bring himself to take his own life, but instead forced his private secretary, Epaphroditus, to perform

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1236-458: A substantial body of Roman legion infantry were eliminated. The governor of the province, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus , assembled his remaining forces and defeated the Britons . Although order was restored for some time, Nero considered abandoning the province. Julius Classicianus replaced the former procurator, Catus Decianus, and Classicianus advised Nero to replace Paulinus who continued to punish

1339-503: A theatre. At Subiaco, Lazio , near Rome he had 3 artificial lakes built, with waterfalls, bridges and walkways for the luxurious villa. He stayed at the Villa of Nero at Olympia, Greece , during his participation at the Olympic Games of AD 67. According to Suetonius , Nero had his former freedman Anicetus arrange a shipwreck, which Agrippina managed to survive. She then swam ashore and

1442-540: A tribune and a centurion of the Praetorian Guard. According to Tacitus, many conspirators wished to "rescue the state" from the emperor and restore the Republic . The freedman Milichus discovered the conspiracy and reported it to Nero's secretary, Epaphroditus . As a result, the conspiracy failed and its members were executed, including Lucan , the poet. Nero's previous advisor Seneca was accused by Natalis; he denied

1545-681: A wisdom and moderation quite alien to his character", and that he "held our liberties in his hand and respected them". Modern scholarship generally holds that, while the Senate and more well-off individuals welcomed Nero's death, the general populace was "loyal to the end and beyond, for Otho and Vitellius both thought it worthwhile to appeal to their nostalgia ". Nero's name was erased from some monuments, in what Edward Champlin regards as an "outburst of private zeal". Many portraits of Nero were reworked to represent other figures; according to Eric R. Varner, over 50 such images survive. This reworking of images

1648-424: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles William Prynne Born at Swainswick , near Bath, Somerset , William Prynne was educated at Bath Grammar School and Oriel College, Oxford . He graduated as a BA on 22 January 1621, entered as a student of Lincoln's Inn in the same year, and was called to the bar in 1628. According to Anthony Wood , he was confirmed in his militant puritanism by

1751-513: Is often explained as part of the way in which the memory of disgraced emperors was condemned posthumously, a practice known as damnatio memoriae . Champlin doubts that the practice is necessarily negative and notes that some continued to create images of Nero long after his death. Damaged portraits of Nero, often with hammer blows directed to the face, have been found in many provinces of the Roman Empire, three recently having been identified from

1854-556: Is the one of his works that receives attention from modern scholars, but for its relevance to English Renaissance theatre . Anthony à Wood found him affable, obliging towards researchers, and courteous in the fashion of the early part of the century. Prynne died unmarried on 24 October 1669. He was buried in the undercroft of the chapel of Lincoln's Inn . Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( / ˈ n ɪər oʊ / NEER -oh ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus ; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68)

1957-505: Is unclear whether Nero took his own life. With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty ended. Chaos would ensue in the year of the Four Emperors . According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, the people of Rome celebrated the death of Nero. Tacitus, though, describes a more complicated political environment. Tacitus mentions that Nero's death was welcomed by senators, nobility, and the upper class. The lower class, slaves, frequenters of

2060-511: The English Civil War , particularly in the press, and in many pamphlets, while still pursuing the bishops. In 1643 Prynne became involved in the controversy which followed the surrender of Bristol by Nathaniel Fiennes . Together with his ally Clement Walker , he presented articles of accusation against Fiennes to the House of Commons (15 November 1643), managed the case for the prosecution at

2163-532: The Star-chamber . After a year's imprisonment in the Tower of London , he was sentenced on 17 February 1634 to life imprisonment, a fine of £5,000, expulsion from Lincoln's Inn, deprival of his Oxford University degree, and amputation of both his ears in the pillory , where he was held on 7–10 May. His book was burnt before him, and with over a thousand pages it suffocated Prynne in its smoke. On 11 June Prynne addressed

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2266-522: The Thirty-nine Articles , denied the claims of the bishops, urged the validity of presbyterian ordination, and supported the bill for turning the king's ecclesiastical declaration into law. As a politician Prynne was during his latter years of minor importance. He was re-elected MP for Bath to the Cavalier Parliament of May 1661. He asserted his presbyterianism by refusing to kneel when

2369-468: The Tiber . Returning, Nero sought a place where he could hide and collect his thoughts. An imperial freedman, Phaon , offered his villa, 4 mi (6.4 km) outside the city. Travelling in disguise, Nero and four loyal freedmen , Epaphroditus , Phaon , Neophytus , and Sporus , reached the villa, where Nero ordered them to dig a grave for him. At this time, Nero learned that the Senate had declared him

2472-531: The United Kingdom . The civil war during the year of the Four Emperors was described by ancient historians as a troubling period. According to Tacitus, this instability was rooted in the fact that emperors could no longer rely on the perceived legitimacy of the imperial bloodline, as Nero and those before him could. Galba began his short reign with the execution of many of Nero's allies. One such notable enemy included Nymphidius Sabinus , who claimed to be

2575-589: The court-martial , which took place in the following December, and secured a condemnation of the offending officer. Prynne was also one of the counsel for the parliament at the trial of Lord Maguire in February 1645. He was able to have the satisfaction of overseeing the trial of William Laud , which was to end in Laud's execution. He collected and arranged evidence to prove the charges against him, bore testimony himself in support of many of them, hunted up witnesses against

2678-505: The lyre while Rome burned "is at least partly a literary construct of Flavian propaganda ... which looked askance on the abortive Neronian attempt to rewrite Augustan models of rule". Tacitus suspends judgment on Nero's responsibility for the fire; he found that Nero was in Antium when the fire started, and returned to Rome to organize a relief effort, providing for the removal of bodies and debris, which he paid for from his own funds. After

2781-409: The surname Prynne . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prynne&oldid=1005020249 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description

2884-434: The "secluded members and attacks on the ref-formed Rump Parliament and the army". Marchamont Nedham , Henry Stubbe , John Rogers , and others printed serious answers to his arguments, while obscure libellers ridiculed him. On 21 February 1660 George Monck ordered the guards of the house to readmit the secluded members. Prynne, girt with an old basket-hilted sword , marched into Westminster Hall at their head; though

2987-448: The Empire, a popular legend arose that Nero had not died and would return . After his death, at least three leaders of short-lived, failed rebellions presented themselves as " Nero reborn " to gain popular support. Nero was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on 15 December AD 37 in Antium (modern Anzio ), eight months after the death of Tiberius . He was an only-child, the son of the politician Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina

3090-594: The Exchequer, Lord Cottington, ordered Histriomastix to "be burnt, in the most public manner that can be." As David Cressy has pointed out, this was an innovative act of public censorship. It imported continental public book-burning by the hangman for the first time. "Though not used in England", Lord Cottington noted, this manner of book burning suited Prynne's work because of its "strangeness and heinousness". William Noy , as attorney-general , took proceedings against Prynne in

3193-544: The Iceni to his daughters, was denied. When the Roman procurator Catus Decianus scourged Prasutagus' wife Boudica and raped her daughters, the Iceni revolted. They were joined by the Celtic Trinovantes tribe and their uprising became the most significant provincial rebellion of the 1st century AD. Under Queen Boudica, the towns of Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St. Albans) were burned, and

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3296-504: The Ilians; the Apameans (requesting a five-year tax reprieve after an earthquake); and the northern colony of Bologna , after their settlement had suffered a devastating fire. Claudius died in AD 54; many ancient historians claim that he was poisoned by Agrippina. Shotter has written that "Claudius' death...has usually been regarded as an event hastened by Agrippina, due to signs that Claudius

3399-588: The Records in the Tower of London , published by the Cotton library under the stewardship of Sir Thomas Cotton . The text contained comprehensive records of parliaments held between the reigns of Edward II and Richard III of England , and was considered a tribute to Prynne's fascination toward parliament's relationship with the English monarchy. The book was printed by renowned London publisher William Leake . Histriomastix

3502-711: The Scriptures, Church Fathers , modern Christian writers, and pagan philosophers. By chance, the Queen and her ladies, in January 1633, took part in the performance of Walter Montagu 's The Shepherd's Paradise : this was an innovation at court. A passage reflecting on the character of female actors in general was construed as an aspersion on the Queen; passages attacking the spectators of plays and magistrates who failed to suppress them, pointed by references to Nero and other tyrants, were taken as seen on King Charles I . The Chancellor of

3605-522: The Swan and King's Head inns in the Strand . The purged Prynne protested in letters to Lord Fairfax , and by printed declarations on behalf of himself and the other arrested members. He published also a denunciation of the proposed trial of King Charles , being answered by a collection of extracts from his own earlier pamphlets. Released from custody some time in January 1649, Prynne retired to Swainswick, and began

3708-517: The Younger . His mother Agrippina was the sister of the third Roman emperor Caligula . Nero was also the great-great-grandson of former emperor Augustus (descended from Augustus' only daughter, Julia ). The ancient biographer Suetonius , who was critical of Nero's ancestors, wrote that emperor Augustus had reproached Nero's grandfather for his unseemly enjoyment of violent gladiator games. According to Jürgen Malitz, Suetonius tells that Nero's father

3811-403: The Younger, the aunt that Nero had lived with during Agrippina's exile; Marcus Junius Silanus , a great-grandson of Augustus; and Narcissus . One of the earliest coins that Nero issued during his reign shows Agrippina on the coin's obverse side; usually, this would be reserved for a portrait of the emperor. The Senate also allowed Agrippina two lictors during public appearances, an honor that

3914-558: The administrative successes of these years. Malitz writes that in later years, Nero panicked when he had to make decisions on his own during times of crisis. Nevertheless, his early administration ruled to great acclaim. A generation later those years were seen in retrospect as an exemplar of good and moderate government and described as Quinquennium Neronis by Trajan . Especially well received were fiscal reforms which among others put tax collectors under more strict control by establishing local offices to supervise their activities. After

4017-481: The affair of Lucius Pedanius Secundus , who was murdered by a desperate slave, Nero allowed slaves to file complaints about their treatment to the authorities. Outside of Rome, Nero had several villas or palaces built, the ruins of which can still be seen today. These included the Villa of Nero at Antium, his place of birth, where he razed the villa on the site to rebuild it on a more massive and imperial scale and including

4120-435: The archbishop, and assisted the counsel for the prosecution in every way. At the time some thought he was clearly tampering with the witnesses. Prynne had the duty of searching Laud's room in the Tower for papers. He published a redacted edition of Laud's diary and a volume intended to serve as an introduction to his trial. After Laud's execution, Prynne was charged by the House of Commons (4 March 1645) to produce an account of

4223-416: The arena and the theater, and "those who were supported by the famous excesses of Nero", on the other hand, were upset with the news. Members of the military were said to have mixed feelings, as they had allegiance to Nero but had been bribed to overthrow him. Eastern sources, namely Philostratus and Apollonius of Tyana , mention that Nero's death was mourned as he "restored the liberties of Hellas with

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4326-515: The army impeached. He also undertook official work. From February 1644 he had been a member of the committee of accounts, and on 1 May 1647 he was appointed one of the commissioners for the Visitation of the University of Oxford . In April 1648 Prynne accompanied Philip Herbert, 5th Earl of Pembroke when he came as chancellor of Oxford to expel recalcitrant heads of houses. In November 1648 Prynne

4429-555: The bill for his banishment. On constitutional subjects and points of procedure his opinion had weight, and in 1667 he was privately consulted by the king on the question whether a parliament which had been prorogued could be convened before the day fixed for its resumption. He became the Keeper of Records in the Tower of London ; as a writer his most lasting works belong to that period, for the amount of historical material they contain. During this time, he expanded upon An Exact Abridgement of

4532-552: The burning of Troy. Suetonius wrote that Nero started the fire to clear the site for his planned palatial Golden House . This would include lush artificial landscapes and a 30-meter-tall statue of himself, the Colossus of Nero , sited more or less where the Colosseum would eventually be built. Suetonius and Cassius Dio claim that Nero sang the " Sack of Ilium " in stage costume while the city burned. The popular legend that Nero played

4635-468: The charges but was still ordered to commit suicide, as by this point he had fallen out of favor with Nero. Nero was said to have kicked Poppaea to death in AD 65, before she could give birth to his second child. Modern historians, noting the probable biases of Suetonius, Tacitus, and Cassius Dio, and the likely absence of eyewitnesses to such an event, propose that Poppaea may have died after miscarriage or in childbirth. Nero went into deep mourning; Poppaea

4738-455: The cithara or lyre, and whose face was similar to that of the dead emperor, appeared in 69 AD during the reign of Vitellius. After persuading some to recognize him, he was captured and executed. Sometime during the reign of Titus (79–81), another impostor appeared in Asia and sang to the accompaniment of the lyre and looked like Nero, but he, too, was killed. Twenty years after Nero's death, during

4841-583: The clergy to subscribe to the conclusion of the Synod of Dort . Prynne was a strong disciplinarian. After arguing that the custom of drinking healths was sinful, he asserted that for men to wear their hair long was "unseemly and unlawful unto Christians", while it was "mannish, unnatural, impudent, and unchristian" for women to cut it short. Like many Puritans abhorring decadence, Prynne strongly opposed religious feast days, including Christmas, and revelry such as stage plays. He included in his Histriomastix (1632)

4944-541: The control of the forces in the hands of the king's friends. A letter which he addressed to Charles II shows that he was personally thanked by the king for his services. Prynne supported the Restoration, and was rewarded with public office. In April 1660 he was elected MP for Bath in the Convention Parliament . He was bitter against the regicides and the supporters of the previous government, trying to restrict

5047-461: The corruption of court favorites and freedmen, and above all to respect the privileges of the Senate and individual Senators." His respect for Senatorial autonomy, which distinguished him from Caligula and Claudius, was generally well received by the Roman Senate . Scullard writes that Nero's mother, Agrippina, "meant to rule through her son". Agrippina murdered her political rivals: Domitia Lepida

5150-488: The crown to Cromwell by the "petition and advice" suggested a parallel between Cromwell and Richard III . Similarly, when the Protector, as Cromwell then was styled, set up a House of Lords , Prynne expanded the tract in defence of their rights which he had published in 1648 into an historical treatise of five hundred pages. These writings, however, attracted little attention. After the fall of Richard Cromwell he regained

5253-482: The deaths of both his wife Claudia Octavia – supposedly so he could marry Poppaea Sabina – and his stepbrother Britannicus . Nero's practical contributions to Rome's governance focused on diplomacy , trade , and culture . He ordered the construction of amphitheaters , and promoted athletic games and contests . He made public appearances as an actor, poet, musician, and charioteer , which scandalized his aristocratic contemporaries as these occupations were usually

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5356-506: The domain of slaves, public entertainers, and infamous persons . However, the provision of such entertainments made Nero popular among lower-class citizens. The costs involved were borne by local elites either directly or through taxation, and were much resented by the Roman aristocracy . During Nero's reign, the general Corbulo fought the Roman–Parthian War of 58–63 , and made peace with

5459-565: The effect was spoiled when Sir William Waller tripped on the sword. The house charged him to bring in a bill for the dissolution of the Long Parliament . In the debate on the bill Prynne asserted the rights of Charles II of England and claimed that the writs should be issued in his name. He also helped to forward the Restoration by accelerating the passing of the Militia Bill, which placed

5562-449: The evening in the palace. After sleeping, he awoke at about midnight to find the palace guard had left. Dispatching messages to his friends' palace chambers for them to come, he received no answers. Upon going to their chambers personally, he found them all abandoned. When he called for a gladiator or anyone else adept with a sword to kill him, no one appeared. He cried, "Have I neither friend nor foe?" and ran out as if to throw himself into

5665-723: The event that the Emperor survived. Suetonius differs in some details, but also implicates Halotus and Agrippina. Like Tacitus, Cassius Dio writes that the poison was prepared by Locusta, but in Dio's account it is administered by Agrippina instead of Halotus. In Apocolocyntosis , Seneca the Younger does not mention mushrooms at all. Agrippina's involvement in Claudius' death is not accepted by all modern scholars. Before Claudius' death, Agrippina had maneuvered to remove Claudius' sons' tutors in order to replace them with tutors that she had selected. She

5768-505: The fire an accident, as the merchant shops were timber-framed and sold flammable goods, and the outer seating stands of the Circus were timber-built. Others claimed it was arson committed on Nero's behalf. The accounts by Pliny the Elder , Suetonius, and Cassius Dio suggest several possible reasons for Nero's alleged arson, including his creation of a real-life backdrop to a theatrical performance about

5871-496: The fire, Nero opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors. Tacitus writes that to remove suspicion from himself, Nero accused Christians of starting the fire. According to this account, many Christians were arrested and brutally executed by "being thrown to the beasts, crucified, and being burned alive". Tacitus asserts that in his imposition of such ferocious punishments, Nero

5974-608: The first treason trial of his reign ( maiestas trial) against Antistius Sosianus. He also executed his rivals Cornelius Sulla and Rubellius Plautus . Jürgen Malitz considers this to be a turning point in Nero's relationship with the Roman Senate . Malitz writes that "Nero abandoned the restraint he had previously shown because he believed a course supporting the Senate promised to be less and less profitable." After Burrus' death, Nero appointed two new Praetorian prefects: Faenius Rufus and Ofonius Tigellinus . Politically isolated, Seneca

6077-509: The governor of Hispania Tarraconensis , to join the rebellion and to declare himself emperor in opposition to Nero. At the Battle of Vesontio in May 68, Verginius' forces easily defeated those of Vindex, and the latter committed suicide. However, after defeating the rebel, Verginius' legions attempted to proclaim their own commander as Emperor. Verginius refused to act against Nero, but the discontent of

6180-589: The hostile Parthian Empire . The Roman general Suetonius Paulinus quashed a major revolt in Britain led by queen Boudica . The Bosporan Kingdom was briefly annexed to the empire, and the First Jewish–Roman War began. When the Roman senator Vindex rebelled, with support from the eventual Roman emperor Galba , Nero was declared a public enemy and condemned to death in absentia . He fled Rome, and on 9 June AD 68 committed suicide. His death sparked

6283-420: The influence of John Preston , then a lecturer at Lincoln's Inn. In 1627 he published his first of over 200 works, a theological treatise titled The Perpetuity of a Regenerate Man's Estate . This was followed in the next three years by three others attacking Arminianism and its teachers. In the preface to one of them he appealed to Parliament to suppress anything written against Calvinist doctrine and to force

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6386-401: The intention of going to the port of Ostia and, from there, to take a fleet to one of the still-loyal eastern provinces. According to Suetonius, Nero abandoned the idea when some army officers openly refused to obey his commands, responding with a line from Virgil 's Aeneid : "Is it so dreadful a thing then to die?" Nero then toyed with the idea of fleeing to Parthia , throwing himself upon

6489-431: The laws of the state. He was answered by Samuel Rutherford . William M. Lamont writes: ... Prynne had no distrust of power or abstract love of freedom. His pamphlet, The Sword of Christian Magistracy , is one of the most blood-curdling pleas for total repressive action from the civil authority in the English language. Prynne also came into collision with John Milton , whose doctrine on divorce he had denounced, and

6592-534: The legions of Germania and the continued opposition of Galba in Hispania did not bode well for him. While Nero had retained some control of the situation, support for Galba increased despite his being officially declared a "public enemy". The prefect of the Praetorian Guard , Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus , also abandoned his allegiance to the Emperor and came out in support of Galba. In response, Nero fled Rome with

6695-474: The mercy of Galba, or appealing to the people and begging them to pardon him for his past offences "and if he could not soften their hearts, to entreat them at least to allow him the prefecture of Egypt ". Suetonius reports that the text of this speech was later found in Nero's writing desk, but that he dared not give it from fear of being torn to pieces before he could reach the Forum. Nero returned to Rome and spent

6798-402: The new emperor. Nero's mother married Claudius in AD 49, becoming his fourth wife. On 25 February AD 50, Claudius was pressured to adopt Nero as his son, giving him the new name of "Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus". Claudius had gold coins issued to mark the adoption. Classics professor Josiah Osgood has written that "the coins, through their distribution and imagery alike, showed that

6901-528: The period was riddled with deflation and that Nero intended his spending on public-work and charities to ease economic troubles. Nero became emperor in AD 54, aged 16. His tutor, Seneca , prepared Nero's first speech before the Senate. During this speech, Nero spoke about "eliminating the ills of the previous regime". H. H. Scullard writes that "he promised to follow the Augustan model in his principate, to end all secret trials intra cubiculum , to have done with

7004-508: The popular ear. As soon as the Long Parliament was re-established, Prynne got together a few of the members excluded by Pride's purge and endeavoured to take his place in the house. On 7 May 1659 he was kept back by the guards, but on 9 May he managed to get in, and kept his seat there for a whole sitting. Arthur Haslerig and Sir Henry Vane threatened him, but Prynne told them he had as good right there as either, and had suffered more for

7107-501: The population even after the rebellion was over. Nero decided to adopt a more lenient approach by appointing a new governor, Petronius Turpilianus . Nero began preparing for war in the early years of his reign, after the Parthian king Vologeses set his brother Tiridates on the Armenian throne. Around AD 57 and AD 58 Domitius Corbulo and his legions advanced on Tiridates and captured

7210-571: The readmission of the Jews. In particular, Prynne doubts the probability that the Jews would be converted to Christianity once in England. Oliver Cromwell allowed the Jews to return to the British Isles on the condition that the Jews attend compulsory Christian sermons on a Sunday, to encourage their conversion to Christianity. Cromwell based this decision on St. Paul's epistle to the Romans 10:15. The offer of

7313-440: The reconstruction, Nero's government increased taxation. Particularly heavy tributes were imposed on the provinces of the empire. To meet at least a portion of the costs, Nero devalued the Roman currency , increasing inflationary pressure for the first time in the Empire's history. In AD 65, Gaius Calpurnius Piso , a Roman statesman, organized a conspiracy against Nero with the help of Subrius Flavus and Sulpicius Asper ,

7416-548: The reign of Domitian , there was a third pretender. He was supported by the Parthians, who only reluctantly gave him up, and the matter almost came to war. In Britannia (Britain) in AD 59, Prasutagus , leader of the Iceni tribe and a client king of Rome during Claudius' reign, had died. The client state arrangement was unlikely to survive following the death of Claudius. The will of the Iceni tribal King Prasutagus, leaving control of

7519-404: The rights of parliament than any of them. They could only get rid of him by adjourning the house, and forcibly keeping him out when it reassembled. On 27 December when the parliament was again restored after its interruption by John Lambert , Prynne and his friends made a fresh attempt to enter, but were once more excluded. From May 1659 to February 1660 he went on publishing tracts on the case of

7622-464: The scope of the Act of Indemnity . He successfully moved to have Charles Fleetwood excepted, and urged the exclusion of Richard Cromwell and Judge Francis Thorpe . He proposed punitive and financial measures of broad scope, was zealous for the disbanding of the army, and was one of the commissioners appointed to pay it off. In the debates on religion he was one of the leaders of the presbyterians, spoke against

7725-548: The sectaries. Prynne was equally hostile to the demands of the presbyterian clergy for the establishment of their system: Prynne maintained the supremacy of the state over the church. 'Mr. Prynne and the Erastian lawyers are now our remora ,' complains Robert Baillie in September 1645. He denied in his pamphlets the right of the clergy to excommunicate or to suspend from the reception of the sacrament except on conditions defined by

7828-567: The significance of Agrippina's removal for Nero's conduct". He began to build a new palace, the Domus Transitoria , from about AD 60. It was intended to connect all of the imperial estates that had been acquired in various ways, with the Palatine including the Gardens of Maecenas , Horti Lamiani , Horti Lolliani , etc. In AD 62, Nero's adviser Burrus died. That same year, Nero called for

7931-765: The slope of the Aventine overlooking the Circus Maximus , or in the wooden outer seating of the Circus itself. Rome had always been vulnerable to fires, and this one was fanned to catastrophic proportions by the winds. Tacitus, Cassius Dio, and modern archaeology describe the destruction of mansions, ordinary residences, public buildings, and temples on the Aventine, Palatine, and Caelian hills. The fire burned for over seven days before subsiding; it then started again and burned for three more. It destroyed three of Rome's 14 districts and severely damaged seven more. Some Romans thought

8034-471: The son of Emperor Caligula . Otho overthrew Galba. Otho was said to be liked by many soldiers because he had been a friend of Nero and resembled him somewhat in temperament. It was said that the common Roman hailed Otho as Nero himself. Otho used "Nero" as a surname and reerected many statues to Nero. Vitellius overthrew Otho. Vitellius began his reign with a large funeral for Nero complete with songs written by Nero. After Nero's death in AD 68, there

8137-638: The task. When one of the horsemen entered and saw that Nero was dying, he attempted to stop the bleeding, but efforts to save Nero's life were unsuccessful. Nero's final words were "Too late! This is fidelity!". He died on 9 June 68, the anniversary of the death of his first wife, Claudia Octavia , and was buried in the Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, in what is now the Villa Borghese ( Pincian Hill ) area of Rome. According to Sulpicius Severus , it

8240-454: The throne with the backing of the Praetorian Guard and the Senate. In the early years of his reign, Nero was advised and guided by his mother Agrippina, his tutor Seneca the Younger , and his praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus , but sought to rule independently and rid himself of restraining influences. The power struggle between Nero and his mother reached its climax when he orchestrated her murder. Roman sources also implicate Nero in

8343-604: The trial; other controversies prevented him from finishing the book. In the rapidly shifting climate of opinion of the time, Prynne, having been at the forefront of radical opposition, soon found himself a conservative figure, defending Presbyterianism against the Independents favoured by Oliver Cromwell and the army. From 1644 he wrote pamphlets against Independents. He attacked John Goodwin and crossed his old companion in suffering, Henry Burton. He controverted and denounced John Lilburne , and called on Parliament to crush

8446-581: The triers, and discussed the right limits of the Sabbath. The proposal to lift the thirteenth-century ban on the residence of Jews, being promoted then in England by Manasseh ben Israel , among others, inspired him with a pamphlet against the scheme, called in brief the Short Demurrer . The pamphlet was printed shortly before the Whitehall Conference , and was influential in strengthening opinion against

8549-512: The two houses received the sacrament together. A few weeks earlier he had published a pamphlet demanding the revision of the prayer-book, but the new parliament was opposed to any concessions to nonconformity. On 15 July a pamphlet by Prynne against the Corporation Bill was voted scandalous and seditious. In January 1667 Prynne was one of the managers of Lord Mordaunt 's impeachment. He spoke several times on Clarendon 's impeachment, and opposed

8652-465: The usual ceremonies, including a dowry and a bridal veil. It is believed that he did this out of regret for his killing of Poppaea. In March 68, Gaius Julius Vindex , the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis , rebelled against Nero's tax policies. Lucius Verginius Rufus , the governor of Germania Superior , was ordered to put down Vindex's rebellion. In an attempt to gain support from outside his own province, Vindex called upon Servius Sulpicius Galba ,

8755-533: Was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty , reigning from AD 54 until his death in AD 68. Nero was born at Antium in AD ;37, the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger (great-granddaughter of the emperor Augustus ). Nero was three when his father died. By the time Nero turned eleven, his mother married Emperor Claudius , who then adopted Nero as his heir. Upon Claudius' death in AD 54, Nero ascended to

8858-478: Was a widespread belief, especially in the eastern provinces, that he was not dead and somehow would return. This belief came to be known as the Nero Redivivus Legend . The legend of Nero's return lasted for hundreds of years after Nero's death. Augustine of Hippo wrote of the legend as a popular belief in AD 422. At least three Nero impostors emerged leading rebellions. The first, who sang and played

8961-468: Was accused as a malignant and a tyrant. He occupied his imprisonment by writing verse. He was released by the Long Parliament in 1640. The House of Commons declared the two sentences against him illegal, restored him to his degree and to his membership of Lincoln's Inn, and voted him pecuniary reparation (as late as October 1648 he was still trying to collect it). He supported the Parliamentary cause in

9064-621: Was also able to convince Claudius to replace two prefects of the Praetorian Guard (who were suspected of supporting Claudius' son) with Afranius Burrus (Nero's future guide). Since Agrippina had replaced the guard officers with men loyal to her, Nero was subsequently able to assume power without incident. The main ancient Roman literary sources for Nero's reign are Tacitus , Suetonius and Cassius Dio . They found Nero's construction projects overly extravagant and claim that their cost left Italy "thoroughly exhausted by contributions of money" with "the provinces ruined". Modern historians note that

9167-605: Was customarily bestowed upon only magistrates and the Vestalis Maxima . In AD 55, Nero removed Agrippina's ally Marcus Antonius Pallas from his position in the treasury. Shotter writes the following about Agrippina's deteriorating relationship with Nero: "What Seneca and Burrus probably saw as relatively harmless in Nero—his cultural pursuits and his affair with the slave girl Claudia Acte —were to her signs of her son's dangerous emancipation of himself from her influence." Britannicus

9270-592: Was elected Member of Parliament for Newport in Cornwall for the Long Parliament . As soon as he took his seat, he showed his opposition to the army. He urged the Commons to declare them rebels, and argued that concessions made by Charles in the recent treaty were a satisfactory basis for a peace. Two days later Pride's Purge took place. Prynne was arrested by Colonel Thomas Pride and Sir Hardress Waller , and kept prisoner first at an eating-house (called Hell), and then at

9373-399: Was executed by Anicetus, who reported her death as a suicide. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome cautiously notes that Nero's reasons for killing his mother in AD 59 are "not fully understood". According to Tacitus , the source of conflict between Nero and his mother was Nero's affair with Poppaea Sabina . In Histories Tacitus writes that the affair began while Poppaea

9476-448: Was finally offered his liberty on giving security to the amount of £1,000 that he would henceforward do nothing against the government; but, refusing to make any promise, he was released unconditionally on 18 February 1653. On his release Prynne returned to pamphleteering. He wrote against suspected plots emanating from the Pope and attacked Quakerism , vindicated the rights of patrons against

9579-464: Was forced to retire. According to Tacitus, Nero divorced Octavia on grounds of infertility, and banished her. After public protests over Octavia's exile, Nero accused her of adultery with Anicetus, and she was executed. In AD 64 during the Saturnalia , Nero married Pythagoras , a freedman . The Great Fire of Rome began on the night of 18 to 19 July 64, probably in one of the merchant shops on

9682-493: Was given a sumptuous state funeral and divine honors , and was promised a temple for her cult. A year's importation of incense was burned at the funeral. Her body was not cremated, as would have been strictly customary, but embalmed after the Egyptian manner and entombed; it is not known where. In AD 67, Nero married Sporus , a young boy who is said to have greatly resembled Poppaea. Nero had him castrated and married him with all

9785-406: Was instigated by Nero to clear land for his planned " Golden House ". Tacitus claims Nero seized Christians as scapegoats for the fire and had them burned alive, seemingly motivated not by public justice, but personal cruelty. Some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources on Nero's tyrannical acts, considering his popularity among the Roman commoners. In the eastern provinces of

9888-539: Was involved in a serious political scandal. His mother and his two surviving sisters, Agrippina and Julia Livilla , were exiled to a remote island in the Mediterranean Sea . His mother was said to have been exiled for plotting to overthrow the emperor Caligula. Nero's inheritance was taken from him, and he was sent to live with his paternal aunt Domitia Lepida , the mother of later emperor Claudius 's third wife, Messalina . After Caligula's death, Claudius became

9991-449: Was known to be "irascible and brutal", and that both "enjoyed chariot races and theater performances to a degree not befitting their position". Suetonius also mentions that when Nero's father Domitius was congratulated by his friends for the birth of his son, he replied that any child born to him and Agrippina would have a detestable nature and become a public danger. Domitius died in AD 41. A few years before his father's death, his father

10094-460: Was not motivated by a sense of justice, but by a penchant for personal cruelty. Houses built after the fire were spaced out, built in brick, and faced by porticos on wide roads. Nero also built himself a new palace complex known as the Domus Aurea in an area cleared by the fire. The cost to rebuild Rome was immense, requiring funds the state treasury did not have. To find the necessary funds for

10197-613: Was poisoned after Agrippina threatened to side with him. Nero, who was having an affair with Acte, exiled Agrippina from the palace when she began to cultivate a relationship with his wife Octavia. Jürgen Malitz writes that ancient sources do not provide any clear evidence to evaluate the extent of Nero's personal involvement in politics during the first years of his reign. He describes the policies that are explicitly attributed to Nero as "well-meant but incompetent notions" like Nero's failed initiative to abolish all taxes in AD 58. Scholars generally credit Nero's advisors Burrus and Seneca with

10300-526: Was replied to by the poet in a passage in his Colasterion . Milton also inserted in the original draft of his sonnet On the Forcers of Conscience a reference to "marginal Prynne's ears". During 1647 the breach between the army and the Parliament turned Prynne's attention from theology to politics. He wrote a number of pamphlets against the army, and championed the cause of the eleven presbyterian leaders whom

10403-424: Was sentenced once more to a fine of £5,000, to imprisonment for life, and to lose the rest of his ears. At the proposal of Chief Justice John Finch , he was also to be branded on the cheeks with the letters S. L., standing for "seditious libeller". Prynne was pilloried on 30 June in company with Henry Burton and John Bastwick; Prynne was handled barbarously by the executioner. He made, as he returned to his prison,

10506-472: Was showing a renewed affection for his natural son." He notes that among ancient sources, the Roman historian Josephus was uniquely reserved in describing the poisoning as a rumor. Contemporary sources differ in their accounts of the poisoning. Tacitus says that the poison-maker Locusta prepared the toxin, which was served to the Emperor by his servant Halotus . Tacitus also writes that Agrippina arranged for Claudius' doctor Xenophon to administer poison, in

10609-649: Was still married to Rufrius Crispinus , but in his later work Annals Tacitus says Poppaea was married to Otho when the affair began. In Annals Tacitus writes that Agrippina opposed Nero's affair with Poppaea because of her affection for his wife Octavia . Anthony A. Barrett writes that Tacitus' account in Annals "suggests that Poppaea's challenge drove [Nero] over the brink". A number of modern historians have noted that Agrippina's death would not have offered much advantage for Poppaea, as Nero did not marry Poppaea until AD 62. Barrett writes that Poppaea seems to serve as

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