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{{Short description|English vicar, naturalist, philologist, musician, and beekeeper}}
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'''Charles Butler''' (1560–1647), sometimes called the ''Father of English Beekeeping'',<ref>The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Beekeeping, [[Roger Morse]] and [[Ted Hooper]], 1985, E.P. Dutton, Inc.</ref> was a logician, grammarist, author, minister (Vicar of [[Wootton St Lawrence]], near [[Basingstoke]], [[England]]), and an influential [[beekeeper]]. He was also an early proponent of [[English spelling reform]]. He observed that bees produce wax combs from scales of wax produced in their own bodies; and he was among the first to assert that drones are male and the queen female, though he believed worker bees lay eggs.
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
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| name = Charles Butler
| image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [[brackets]] -->
| alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption =
| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date = 1571
| birth_place = [[Buckinghamshire]], [[England]]
| death_date = 29 March 1647
| death_place = [[Wootton St Lawrence]], [[England]]
| nationality = English
| other_names =
| occupation = Beekeeper
| years_active =
| known_for = Father of English Beekeeping
| notable_works =
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}}
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'''Charles Butler''' (1571<ref>{{Cite book|title=The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting|last=Crane|first=Eva|publisher=Duckworth|year=1999|isbn=0-7156-2827-5|location=London|pages=591}}</ref> &ndash; 29 March 1647),<ref name="mabbe">{{cite book|last1=Mabbe|first1=James|title=The Spanish Bawd|date=October 1, 2013|publisher=Modern Humanities Research Association|isbn=978-1907322099|pages=412}}</ref> sometimes called the ''Father of English Beekeeping'',<ref>The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Beekeeping, [[Roger Morse]] and [[Ted Hooper]], 1985, E.P. Dutton, Inc.</ref> was a logician, grammarian, author, priest (Vicar of [[Wootton St Lawrence]], near [[Basingstoke]], [[England]]), and an influential [[beekeeper]]. He was also an early proponent of [[English spelling reform]]. He observed that bees produce wax combs from scales of wax produced in their own bodies; and he was among the first to assert that drones are male and the queen female, though he believed worker bees lay eggs.


==Biography==
==Biography==
Butler was born into a poor family but was admitted to [[Oxford]] as a working student with scholastic scholarships. He remained at Oxford ten years, probably teaching, and graduating with his Master of Arts in 1587. In 1593, Rev. Butler became Rector of [[Nately Scures]] in [[Hampshire]], and later Master at the Holy Ghost School, [[Basingstoke]]. He resigned to accept a pastorage at Wootton St Lawrence in 1600 and served that rural post to his death in 1647.
Butler was born into a poor family in [[Buckinghamshire]], South East England, but became a boy chorister at Magdalen College, [[Oxford]] at the age of eight.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Feminine Monarchie edited by John Owen|last=Butler|first=Charles|publisher=Northern Bee Books|year=2017|isbn=978-1-904846-04-8|location=Yorkshire, UK|pages=5}}</ref> At the age of ten, he matriculated, taking his BA in 1584 and his MA in 1587. In 1593, Butler became Rector of [[Nately Scures]] in [[Hampshire]] in 1593 and in 1595 became also Master at the Holy Ghost School, [[Basingstoke]]. He resigned to accept an incumbency at [[Wootton St Lawrence]] in 1600 and served that rural post until his death on 29 March 1647. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the chancel of his church.<ref name=":0" />


==Beekeeping==
==Beekeeping==
Butler was engaged in [[beekeeping]] in rural Hampshire and made the first recorded observations about the generation of [[beeswax]], which was previously thought to be gathered by [[honeybees]] from plant materials. He was not the first to described the largest honeybee as a queen, rather than king (see [[Swammerdam]]) but he popularized the notion with his classic book ''The Feminine Monarchie'', 1609. Butler misinterpreted the queen's function and thought that the workers lay eggs. An influential beekeeper, he was the first to assert that drones are male and the workers female, and is sometimes called the ''Father of English Beekeeping''.
Butler was engaged in [[beekeeping]] at his rural parsonage in Hampshire and made the first recorded observations about the generation of [[beeswax]], which was previously thought to be gathered by [[honeybees]] from plant materials. He was not the first to describe the largest honeybee as a queen, rather than king - a distinction usually granted to Spaniard Luis Mendez de Torres for his 1586 observation, which was confirmed by [[Swammerdam|Swammerdam's]] later microscopic dissections. However, Butler popularized the notion with his classic book ''The Feminine Monarchie'', 1609. Butler may have misinterpreted the queen's function when he found queenless colonies sometimes develop eggs laid by "laying workers", however there is no doubt he saw the queen as an Amazonian ruler of the hive. As an influential beekeeper and author, his assertion that drones are male and workers female, was quickly accepted. For his discoveries and his book, Butler is sometimes called the ''Father of English Beekeeping''.


===The Feminine Monarchie===
===The Feminine Monarchie===
''The Feminine Monarchie'', 1609, is the first full-length English-language book about beekeeping. The book's first edition was revolutionary for [[Natural history]], being the first known natural history of [[bees]]. It remained a valid and practical guide for beekeepers for two hundred fifty years, until [[L. L. Langstroth|Langstroth]] and others developed and promoted moveable comb hives. Butler revised ''The Feminine Monarchie'' in 1623 and 1634. It was translated into [[Latin]] in 1678 and 1682, then from Latin back to English again in 1704. The book gives an excellent account of [[skep]] beekeeping, including methods of predicting - from tone pitch of the buzzing bees - when swarming will occur. Butler even transliterated the tones and included them on a musical score in the book.
''[[The Feminine Monarchie, or the History of Bees|The Feminine Monarchie]]'', originally published by Joseph Barnes, Oxford, in 1609, is the first full-length English-language book about beekeeping. It remained a valid and practical guide for beekeepers for two hundred fifty years, until [[L. L. Langstroth|Langstroth]] and others developed and promoted moveable comb hives. Butler revised ''The Feminine Monarchie'' in 1623 and 1634. It was translated into [[Latin]] in 1678 and 1682, then from Latin back to English again in 1704. The title expresses Butler's main idea that the colony is governed, not by a king-bee, as Aristotle claimed, but by a queen-bee. The last edition written by Butler contains ten chapters, including sections regarding bee gardens, hive-making materials, swarm catching, enemies of bees, feeding bees, and the benefits of bees to fruit ([[pollination]]). The book gives an excellent account of [[skep]] beekeeping, including methods of predicting - from tone pitch of the buzzing bees - when swarming might occur. Butler even transliterated the tones and included the Bees' Madrigal on a musical score in the 1623 edition. He further suggested that musicians may trace the roots of music back to the sounds of the hive.<ref>Sarton, George (1943). "The Feminine Monarchie of Charles Butler", ''Isis,'' Vol 34, No 6. pp. 469-472.</ref>


==Spelling Reform==
==Spelling reform==
Charles Butler published an English grammar (1633) with proposals to improve spelling to a phonetic alphabet. In his book, Butler condemned the vagaries of traditional English spelling and proposed the adoption of a system whereby ''''''men should write altogeđer according to đe sound now generally received''''''. The 1634 edition of his beekeeping classic was written and published in his new orthology.
Charles Butler published an English grammar (1633) with proposals to improve spelling to a phonetic alphabet. In his book, Butler condemned the vagaries of traditional English spelling and proposed the adoption of a system whereby ''''''men should write altogeđer according to đe sound now generally received''''''. The 1634 edition of his beekeeping classic was written and published in his new orthography.


==Other Writings==
==Other writings==
He also authored a bestselling school textbook, ''[[The Logic of Ramus]]'' (1597), an introduction to the mould-breaking Renaissance philosophy of martyred Protestant French contemporary [[Pierre de la Ramée]]. He also published a book on music theory, ''The principles of musik'' (1636), and a theological defence of marriage between first cousins, coinciding with the engagement and subsequent marriage of his daughter to his nephew.
Butler authored a bestselling school textbook, ''[[The Logic of Ramus]]'' (1597), an introduction to the philosophy of the Protestant French contemporary [[Pierre de la Ramée]]. He also published a book on music theory, ''The principles of musik in singing and setting'' (1636), and a theological defence of marriage between first cousins, coinciding with the engagement and subsequent marriage of his daughter to his nephew.


== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


== External links ==
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Butler, Charles
*{{IMSLP|id=Butler, Charles}}

| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
{{Authority control}}
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =

| DATE OF BIRTH = 1560
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 1647
| PLACE OF DEATH =
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}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Charles}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Charles}}
[[Category:Beekeepers]]
[[Category:1571 births]]
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[[Category:1560 births]]
[[Category:1647 deaths]]
[[Category:1647 deaths]]
[[Category:Grammarians of English]]
[[Category:English beekeepers]]
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[[Category:Linguists of English]]
[[Category:Orthographers]]
[[Category:Orthographers]]
[[Category:English Christian ministers]]
[[Category:17th-century English Anglican priests]]
[[Category:English music theorists]]
[[Category:English music theorists]]
[[Category:People of the Tudor period]]
[[Category:16th-century English writers]]
[[Category:16th-century English people]]
[[Category:16th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:16th-century writers]]
[[Category:17th-century English writers]]
[[Category:17th-century English people]]
[[Category:17th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:17th-century writers]]
[[Category:Beekeeping pioneers]]
[[Category:English writers]]
[[Category:People from Wootton St Lawrence]]

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[[da:Charles Butler]]
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Latest revision as of 03:31, 30 March 2024

Charles Butler
Born1571
Buckinghamshire, England
Died29 March 1647
Wootton St Lawrence, England
NationalityEnglisch
OccupationBeekeeper
Known forFather of English Beekeeping

Charles Butler (1571[1] – 29 March 1647),[2] sometimes called the Father of English Beekeeping,[3] was a logician, grammarian, author, priest (Vicar of Wootton St Lawrence, near Basingstoke, England), and an influential beekeeper. He was also an early proponent of English spelling reform. He observed that bees produce wax combs from scales of wax produced in their own bodies; and he was among the first to assert that drones are male and the queen female, though he believed worker bees lay eggs.

Biography

[edit]

Butler was born into a poor family in Buckinghamshire, South East England, but became a boy chorister at Magdalen College, Oxford at the age of eight.[4] At the age of ten, he matriculated, taking his BA in 1584 and his MA in 1587. In 1593, Butler became Rector of Nately Scures in Hampshire in 1593 and in 1595 became also Master at the Holy Ghost School, Basingstoke. He resigned to accept an incumbency at Wootton St Lawrence in 1600 and served that rural post until his death on 29 March 1647. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the chancel of his church.[4]

Beekeeping

[edit]

Butler was engaged in beekeeping at his rural parsonage in Hampshire and made the first recorded observations about the generation of beeswax, which was previously thought to be gathered by honeybees from plant materials. He was not the first to describe the largest honeybee as a queen, rather than king - a distinction usually granted to Spaniard Luis Mendez de Torres for his 1586 observation, which was confirmed by Swammerdam's later microscopic dissections. However, Butler popularized the notion with his classic book The Feminine Monarchie, 1609. Butler may have misinterpreted the queen's function when he found queenless colonies sometimes develop eggs laid by "laying workers", however there is no doubt he saw the queen as an Amazonian ruler of the hive. As an influential beekeeper and author, his assertion that drones are male and workers female, was quickly accepted. For his discoveries and his book, Butler is sometimes called the Father of English Beekeeping.

The Feminine Monarchie

[edit]

The Feminine Monarchie, originally published by Joseph Barnes, Oxford, in 1609, is the first full-length English-language book about beekeeping. It remained a valid and practical guide for beekeepers for two hundred fifty years, until Langstroth and others developed and promoted moveable comb hives. Butler revised The Feminine Monarchie in 1623 and 1634. It was translated into Latin in 1678 and 1682, then from Latin back to English again in 1704. The title expresses Butler's main idea that the colony is governed, not by a king-bee, as Aristotle claimed, but by a queen-bee. The last edition written by Butler contains ten chapters, including sections regarding bee gardens, hive-making materials, swarm catching, enemies of bees, feeding bees, and the benefits of bees to fruit (pollination). The book gives an excellent account of skep beekeeping, including methods of predicting - from tone pitch of the buzzing bees - when swarming might occur. Butler even transliterated the tones and included the Bees' Madrigal on a musical score in the 1623 edition. He further suggested that musicians may trace the roots of music back to the sounds of the hive.[5]

Spelling reform

[edit]

Charles Butler published an English grammar (1633) with proposals to improve spelling to a phonetic alphabet. In his book, Butler condemned the vagaries of traditional English spelling and proposed the adoption of a system whereby 'men should write altogeđer according to đe sound now generally received'. The 1634 edition of his beekeeping classic was written and published in his new orthography.

Other writings

[edit]

Butler authored a bestselling school textbook, The Logic of Ramus (1597), an introduction to the philosophy of the Protestant French contemporary Pierre de la Ramée. He also published a book on music theory, The principles of musik in singing and setting (1636), and a theological defence of marriage between first cousins, coinciding with the engagement and subsequent marriage of his daughter to his nephew.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Crane, Eva (1999). The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting. London: Duckworth. p. 591. ISBN 0-7156-2827-5.
  2. ^ Mabbe, James (1 October 2013). The Spanish Bawd. Modern Humanities Research Association. p. 412. ISBN 978-1907322099.
  3. ^ The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Beekeeping, Roger Morse and Ted Hooper, 1985, E.P. Dutton, Inc.
  4. ^ a b Butler, Charles (2017). The Feminine Monarchie edited by John Owen. Yorkshire, UK: Northern Bee Books. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-904846-04-8.
  5. ^ Sarton, George (1943). "The Feminine Monarchie of Charles Butler", Isis, Vol 34, No 6. pp. 469-472.
[edit]
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