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Worthies
(The Nine). (See Nine.)
The Nine Worthies of London.
(1) Sir William Walworth, fishmonger, who stabbed
Wat Tyler, the rebel. Sir William was twice Lord Mayor. (1374,
1380.)
(2) Sir Henry Pritchard, who (in 1356)
feasted Edward III., with 5,000 followers; Edward the Black Prince;
John, King of Austria; the King of Cyprus; and David, King of
Scotland.
(3) Sir William Sevenoke, who fought with
the Dauphin of France, built twenty almshouses and a free school.
(1418.)
(4) Sir Thomas White, merchant tailor, son
of a poor clothier. In 1553 he kept the citizens loyal to Queen Mary
during Wyatt's rebellion. Sir John White founded St. John's College,
Oxford, on the spot where “two elms grew from one
root.”
(5) Sir John Bonham, entrusted with a
valuable cargo for the Danish market, and made commander of the army
raised to stop the progress of the great Solyman.
(6) Christopher Croker. Famous at the siege
of Bordeaux, and companion of the Black Prince when he helped Don
Pedro to the throne of Castile.
(7) Sir John Hawkwood. One of the Black
Prince's knights, and immortalised in Italian history as Giovanni
Acuti Cavaliero.
(8) Sir Hugh Caverley. Famous for ridding
Poland of a monstrous bear.
(9) Sir Henry Maleverer, generally called
Henry of Cornhill, who lived in the reign of Henry IV. He was a
crusader, and became the guardian of “Jacob's
well.”
The chronicle of these worthies is told in a mixture of prose
and verse by Richard Johnson, author of The Seven Champions
of Christendom. (1592.)
Among these nine worthies we miss the names of Whittington,
Gresham, and Sir John Lawrence (Lord Mayor in 1664), second to
none.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Worthies from Infoplease:
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