Francis Tregian the Younger (1574–1619) was the son of the Catholic exile Francis Tregian the Elder

Francis Tregian the Elder

Francis Tregian the Elder was the son of Thomas Tregian of Wolvenden of Probus, Cornwall and Catherine Arundell. A staunch Catholic, he inherited substantial estates on the death of his father, including the manors of Bedock, Landegy, Lanner and Carvolghe, and the family home, 'Golden', in the...

 (1548–1608).

He was educated in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and in 1592 obtained a position in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 as chamberlain to Cardinal William Allen. On Allen's death in 1594 he returned to England to reclaim his father's estates in Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, but in 1609 he was accused of recusancy

Recusancy

In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...

 with a debt of £200; his lands were seized and he was imprisoned in the Fleet Prison

Fleet Prison

Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the Fleet River in London. The prison was built in 1197 and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846.- History :...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, where he remained up to his death in 1619. It has been noted that with Tregian's family connections to the houses of Arundel

Arundel

Arundel is a market town and civil parish in the South Downs of West Sussex in the south of England. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Worthing east southeast, Littlehampton to the south and Bognor Regis to...

, Baron Stourton

Baron Stourton

Baron Stourton is a title in the Peerage of England, It was created created by writ in 1448 for John Stourton. In 1878, the ancient barony of Mowbray was called out of abeyance in favour of the twentieth Baron Stourton. About two weeks later, the barony of Segrave was also called out of abeyance in...

, Stanley

Stanley

Stanley may refer to:- Australia :* Stanley, Tasmania* Stanley, Victoria* County of Stanley, Queensland- Canada :* Stanley, British Columbia* Stanley, New Brunswick* Port Stanley, Ontario- Falkland Islands :...

 and Grey

Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford

Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford , known as the Lord Grey of Groby from 1614 to 1628, was an English nobleman and military leader. He was the eldest son of Sir John Grey and Elizabeth Nevill...

 it would be unlikely that he would have been under continual imprisonment.

Francis Tregian the Younger is widely believed to have been the main copyist of three vast musical anthologies, of which the most renowned is the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book

Fitzwilliam Virginal Book

The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who bequeathed this manuscript collection to Cambridge University in 1816...

, although the attribution, confirmed by comparisons with autograph mss known to be by Tregian, has lately been disputed. One of the other Tregian Manuscripts (British Library

British Library

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...

, British Library MS Egerton 3665) has been published in facsimile. A third, the Sambroke Manuscript formerly in the Joseph William Drexel

Joseph William Drexel

Joseph William Drexel was a banker, philanthropist, and partner of Baring Brothers in London and Rothschild et fils in Paris.-Biography:...

 collection, is conserved in the New York Public Library

New York Public Library

The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...

.

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