1580 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1580.
Events
- March – Thomas Legge's Latin play about Richard III of England, Richardus Tertius, the first known history play performed in England, is acted by students at St John's College, Cambridge.
- July 12 – The Ostrog Bible, the first complete printed Bible translation into a Slavic language, is first printed at Ostroh in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by Ivan Fyodorov.
New books
- Book of Concord
- Jean Bodin – De la demonomanie des sorciers
- Veronica Franco – Lettere familiari a diversi
- Robert Greene – Mamillia
- John Lyly – Euphues and his England
- Michel de Montaigne – Essais
- Anthony Munday – ''Zelauto''
New drama
- Robert Garnier – Antigone
- Thomas Legge – ''Richardus Tertius''
Poetry
Births
- March 5 – Christophe Justel, French scholar
- April 18 – Thomas Middleton, English poet and dramatist
- June 9 – Daniel Heinsius, Dutch scholar
- September 17 – Francisco de Quevedo, Spanish Golden Age writer
- October 12 – Hortensio Félix Paravicino, Spanish poet
- unknown dates
- *Charles François d'Abra de Raconis, French theologian
- *Manuel de Almeida, Spanish historian
- *Francisco de Araujo, Spanish theologian
- *Philipp Clüver, German historian
- *Ling Mengchu, Chinese vernacular writer
- *Francisco Rodrigues Lobo, Portuguese poet
- *Francisco de Lugo, Spanish theologian
Deaths
- May 3 – Thomas Tusser, English poet
- June 10 – Luís de Camões, Portuguese poet
- June 22 – Hernando de Acuña, Spanish translator
- August 20 – Jeronymo Osorio, Portuguese historian
- October 8 – Hieronymus Wolf, German historian
- November 3 – Jeronimo Zurita y Castro, Spanish historian
- unknown dates
- *Sebastián de Horozco, Spanish poet and dramatist
- *Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie, Scottish chronicler
- probable – Raphael Holinshed, chronicler