1572 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1572.
Events
- January 3 – James Burbage, on behalf of Leicester's Men, writes to their patron, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, requesting that they be given the special status of "household servants".
- unknown dates
- *Vagabonds Act in England prescribes punishment for rogues. This includes actors' companies lacking formal patronage.
- *George Gascoigne becomes a "soldier of fortune" in the Low Countries.
New books
- Remy Belleau – La Bergerie
- Rafael Bombelli – L'Algebra
- John Field – A View of Popish Abuses yet remaining in the English Church
- Libro d'Oro of Corfu
- ''Bishops' Bible''
New drama
- Jean de la Taille – ''Saül le furieux''
Poetry
- Luís de Camões – Os Lusiadas
- Fernando de Herrera – Canción por la Victoria del Señor don Juan
- Thomas Palfreyman – ''Divine Meditations''
Births
- January 7 – Antoine de Gaudier, French Jesuit theologian
- January 22 – John Donne, English poet and Dean of St Paul's
- June 11 – Ben Jonson, English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor
- July 25 – Theodorus Schrevelius, Dutch Golden Age poet
Deaths
- March 27 – Girolamo Maggi, Italian poet and polymath
- April 12 – Jean Crespin, French martyrologist and printer
- June 28 – Johannes Goropius Becanus, Dutch humanist writer and linguist
- September 23 – Henry Scrimgeour, Scottish diplomat and book collector
- September – Denis Lambin, French classicist