Peter Bales
Encyclopedia
Peter Bales English calligrapher, one of the inventors of shorthand writing
, was born in London in 1547, and is described by Anthony Wood
as a "most dexterous person in his profession, to the great wonder of scholars and others". We are also informed that "he spent several years in sciences among Oxonian
s, particularly, as it seems, in Gloucester Hall
; but that study, which he used for a diversion only, proved at length an employment of profit".
He is mentioned for his skill in micrography
in Holinshed's Chronicle
:
Bales was likewise very dexterous in imitating handwritings, and between 1576 and 1590 was employed by Secretary Walsingham
in certain political manoeuvres. We find him at the head of a school near the Old Bailey
, London
, in 1590, in which year he published his Writing Schoolemaster, in three Parts. This book included an Arte of Brachygraphie, which is one of the earliest attempts to construct a system of shorthand. In 1595 he had a great trial of skill with one Daniel Johnson, for a golden pen valued at £20, and won it; and a contemporary author further relates that he had also the arms of calligraphy given him, which are azure, a pen or. Bales died about the year 1610.
Shorthand
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed or brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphē or graphie...
, was born in London in 1547, and is described by Anthony Wood
Anthony Wood
Anthony Wood or Anthony à Wood was an English antiquary.-Early life:Anthony Wood was the fourth son of Thomas Wood , BCL of Oxford, where Anthony was born...
as a "most dexterous person in his profession, to the great wonder of scholars and others". We are also informed that "he spent several years in sciences among Oxonian
Oxonian
An Oxonian is a member of the University of Oxford, England. The term is derived from Oxonia, the Latin form of Oxenford or Oxford. The term can also refer to an inhabitant of the city of Oxford, but is less used in this context.The matching word for Cambridge and the University of Cambridge is...
s, particularly, as it seems, in Gloucester Hall
Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in the eighteenth century, but its predecessor on the same site had been an institution of learning since the late thirteenth century...
; but that study, which he used for a diversion only, proved at length an employment of profit".
He is mentioned for his skill in micrography
Micrography
Micrography , also called microcalligraphy, is a Jewish form of calligrams developed in the 9th century, with parallels in Christianity and Islam, utilizing minute Hebrew letters to form representational, geometric and abstract designs...
in Holinshed's Chronicle
Raphael Holinshed
Raphael Holinshed was an English chronicler, whose work, commonly known as Holinshed's Chronicles, was one of the major sources used by William Shakespeare for a number of his plays....
:
Bales was likewise very dexterous in imitating handwritings, and between 1576 and 1590 was employed by Secretary Walsingham
Walsingham
Walsingham is a village in the English county of Norfolk. The village is famed for its religious shrines in honour of the Virgin Mary and as a major pilgrimage centre...
in certain political manoeuvres. We find him at the head of a school near the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
, 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...
, in 1590, in which year he published his Writing Schoolemaster, in three Parts. This book included an Arte of Brachygraphie, which is one of the earliest attempts to construct a system of shorthand. In 1595 he had a great trial of skill with one Daniel Johnson, for a golden pen valued at £20, and won it; and a contemporary author further relates that he had also the arms of calligraphy given him, which are azure, a pen or. Bales died about the year 1610.