Fanshawe, Sir Richard [key], 1608–66, English diplomat and man of letters. He was secretary to the ambassador to Spain (1635–38) and chargé d'affaires there (1638). During the English civil war he served Prince Charles (after 1649 Charles II) in England, Ireland, and on the Continent until his own capture (1651) at Worcester. In subsequent retirement Fanshawe made the best-known of his many translations, The Luciad (1655), an English verse translation of Luis de Camões's masterpiece. After the Restoration he was sent (1661) on a mission to Portugal and served as ambassador to Portugal (1662–63), privy councilor, and ambassador to Spain (1664–66).
See his translation of The Luciad (ed. by J. D. M. Ford, 1940).
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