Pope, the founder of Trinity college, afterwards published separately with considerable additions. In 1761 appeared his "Life and Literary Remains of Dr. Bathurst." He had published some minor works, when in 1771 he was presented to the small living of Kiddington in Oxfordshire, almost the only ecclesiastical preferment which he received. In 1774 was published the first volume of the work by which chiefly he is remembered, "The History of English Poetry," of which the third volume appeared in 1781. In 1785 he was appointed Camden professor of history, but contented himself with delivering an inaugural discourse. In the same year he succeeded Whitehead as poet-laureate, and published his edition of Milton's minor poems (he is said to have accumulated the material for it during forty years), with notes so full of taste as well as learning, that Leigh Hunt called the work "a wilderness of sweets." Warton died in 1790. In 1802 were published his poetical works, with memoirs of his life and writings, by Mr. (afterwards Bishop) Mant. As a poet and critic Thomas Warton co-operated with his brother Joseph in forwarding the triumph of the romantic school. His "History" has done more than any other single work to diffuse a knowledge of, and to rouse curiosity respecting our antique poetry. Unfortunately, it is a fragment breaking off abruptly with the satirists of the Elizabethan age, and leaving its great poets and dramatists untouched. Its modern editor, Mr. Richard Price, has not attempted to continue it. His edition of 1824 forms the basis of the latest and best, that of 1840, revised by Mr. Richard Taylor, with many valuable additional notes by Sir Frederick Madden and others.—F. E.
WARWICK (Beauchamps), Earls of, one of the most illustrious of the ancient baronial families of England. The founder of this house was Hugh de Beauchamp, the companion in arms of William the Conqueror, and a large sharer in the spoils of the Conquest. His descendant, William de Beauchamp, lord of Elmly, in the reign of Henry III. married Isabel, sister and heiress of William Mauduit, earl of Warwick, and their eldest son, William, inherited this famous title, which had been originally possessed by the Newburghs. This nobleman fought with great distinction in the Welsh and Scotch wars of Edward I. His son Guy, second earl, acquired high military renown at the battle of Falkirk and the siege of Caerlaverock, as well as in France, and was rewarded with extensive grants of land in Scotland. He was a party to the league against Piers Gaveston, the favourite of Edward II., who had nicknamed the earl "the Black Dog of Ardenne," and when that unhappy minion fell into the hands of his enemies upon the surrender of Scarborough castle in 1312, the earl laid violent hands upon him, and after a summary trial caused him to be beheaded at Blacklow hill, near Warwick. For this and other unwarrantable proceedings, Warwick afterwards extorted a pardon from his feeble sovereign; but he is said to have ultimately died of poison administered in revenge by the partisans of Gaveston. This potent nobleman was a munificent benefactor of the church. His second son, John, was captain of Calais in the reign of Edward III.; admiral of the fleet; standard bearer at Cressy; and one of the original knights of the garter. Thomas, third earl, eldest son of Earl Guy, was an illustrious warrior, and held an important command both at Cressy and Poictiers. After these heroic achievements he took the cross, and gained fresh renown on the plains of Palestine. He brought home the son of the king of Lithuania, who was baptized in London, the earl himself standing sponsor for the new convert. This nobleman rebuilt the famous Warwick castle, which was originally erected by Henry de Newburgh, a follower of William the Conqueror, but was destroyed in 1265. Like his brother he was one of the original knights of the garter. Thomas, fourth earl, was appointed by parliament governor to Richard II. in his minority, but was soon dismissed by the young and facile monarch, who allowed himself to be governed by his worthless favourites. The earl was afterwards seized at a feast given to him by the king, and condemned to death, on the charge of having several years before taken up arms along with the duke of Gloucester. His sentence, however, was commuted into banishment to the Isle of Man, while his castle and vast estates were bestowed on the earl of Kent, but they were restored by Henry IV. after the deposition of Richard. Richard, fifth earl, styled "The Good," was not only famous for his courage and military skill, but also for his gallantry in the lists, exhibited in France and Italy as well as in England. He made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he was treated with great honour on account of his renown in arms. Henry V., by whom he was created, in 1417, earl of Aumerle for life, employed him in many important services, and appointed him by his will governor to his infant son and successor, Henry VI. During the absence of the duke of Bedford in England in 1425, the earl acted as regent of France, and carried on the war with great success. Again, in 1437, on the recall of the duke of York from the regency of France, the earl of Warwick was sent over as his successor. He died at Rouen in 1439; but his body was brought over and interred in the church of St. Mary at Warwick, in a magnificent tomb which cost the enormous sum of £2481. His son Henry, sixth earl, was a great favourite with Henry VI., who created him on 2nd April, 1444, premier-earl of England, and three days after, duke of Warwick, with precedence next to the duke of Norfolk. He was also crowned by Henry himself king of the islands of Wight, Jersey, and Guernsey. But he did not long enjoy these honours. He died on the 11th of June, 1445, when his dukedom became extinct, and the earldom devolved upon his only daughter, Anne, who died at six years of age in 1449. The honours and estates of the illustrious house of Beauchamp then devolved on the sister of the duke, Anne, wife of Richard Nevill the renowned kingmaker, the eldest son of Richard Nevill, who married the heiress of the Montacutes, earls of Salisbury, and had that earldom revived in his person in 1442. He obtained extensive grants of land from Henry VI., and various important offices; but when the civil war broke out between the houses of York and Lancaster, he espoused the cause of the White Rose, gained, along with the duke of York, who was his brother-in-law, the battle of St. Albans; defeated Lord Audley at Bloreheath in 1458, and at Northampton in 1460, when he was made great chamberlain of England by the Yorkists; but in the same year he was defeated and taken prisoner at Wakefield (where the duke of York fell), and immediately beheaded. His eldest son—
Richard, second earl of Salisbury, created Earl of Warwick on his marriage with the heiress of the Beauchamps, was the greatest man of his family, and the strength and glory of the party of the White Rose. The alliances, honours, and estates of the Nevills at this period have never been equalled by any English house. The head of the family was the great earl of Westmoreland. The three uncles of the earl of Warwick were Barons Fauconberg, Abergavenny, and Latimer; his brother was Baron Montague; his uncle Richard, duke of York, was the lineal heir to the throne; while the Talbots, Beauchamps, Percys, Scroops, and other great old families were connected with the house by marriage. In addition to his extended connections and vast possessions, the "stout earl" greatly increased his influence by his eminent personal qualities; his courage and military renown; his general talent, frankness, and affability; and his boundless hospitality. He kept open house wherever he resided, and thirty thousand persons are said to have been entertained daily at his various mansions. "When he came to London," says Stow, "he held such a house, that six oxen were eaten at a breakfast, and every tavern was full of his meat."
The first public service rendered by this peer was in 1448, when he accompanied his father, the earl of Salisbury, and the earl of Northumberland in an incursion into Scotland. When the contest broke out in 1455 between the rival houses of York and Lancaster, he at once joined his uncle, the duke of York, and mainly contributed by his impetuous valour to gain the battle of St. Albans, fought on the 22nd of May. His father was then appointed chancellor by the parliament, while Warwick himself was created captain-general of Calais, at that time the most important military charge in Europe. Two or three years later Henry VI. himself gave him the command of the fleet for five years, and a grant of precedency above all the earls of England. When the Yorkists again took up arms in 1459, Warwick came over from Calais with a large body of veterans, and commanded the van of the army at Northampton on the 10th of July, when the Lancastrians were signally defeated, and the king fell into the hands of the victors. The earl shared, however, in the reverses of his party in the ensuing battles of Wakefield (30th December) and St. Albans (17th February, 1461), the former of which proved fatal to his father and uncle, while the latter restored Henry VI. to liberty. But immediately after this last defeat Warwick united his forces to those of Edward, now duke of York, compelled the Lancastrians to retire to the north, and marching to London, proclaimed his cousin king by the title of Edward IV. (4th March).
