Wales
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George Herbert
Montgomery, Wales
Archival Overview
Welsh-born English devotional poet and Anglican priest whose metaphysical collection The Temple fused profound spiritual intimacy with dazzling architectural verse forms.
Biographical Record
George Herbert (1593–1633) was a metaphysical poet, orator, and Anglican priest born into an aristocratic Welsh family in Montgomery Castle; his brother was the philosopher Edward, Lord Herbert of Cherbury. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he served as the University's Public Orator and sat in Parliament before surrendering worldly ambition to take holy orders.
During his final three years as rector of the rural parish of Fugglestone with Bemerton near Salisbury, Herbert tended devotedly to his parishioners while composing the poems collected in The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations. Sent on his deathbed to his friend Nicholas Ferrar, The Temple contains intricate pattern poems ('Easter Wings', 'The Altar') and deeply moving explorations of divine love, grace, and human unworthiness.
Key Life Milestones
Cambridge Public Orator
Elected Public Orator of Cambridge University, representing the academy in official Latin speeches to King James I and foreign dignitaries.
The Temple Published
Posthumously published The Temple, recognized immediately as one of the crowning devotional achievements of English literature.
Memorial Guestbook & Tributes
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialBemerton, United Kingdom