1586 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1586.
Events
- September 19 – The English poet Chidiock Tichborne, imprisoned in the Tower of London on the eve of being hanged, drawn and quartered for his part in the Babington Plot, writes his Elegy.
- September 22 – The English poet, critic, courtier and soldier Sir Philip Sidney is fatally wounded at the Battle of Zutphen.
- unknown dates
- *Francis Bacon takes a new seat as MP in the Parliament of England, that of Taunton.
- *Oxford University Press is recognised in a decree of the Star Chamber in England.
New books
Prose
- Caesar Baronius – Roman martyrology
- William Camden – Britannia
- Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert – Zedekunst
- Angel Day – The English Secretary
- Robert Greene – Morando, the Tritameron of Love
- John Knox – Historie of the Reformatioun of Religioun within the Realms of Scotland
- John Lyly – Pappe with an hatchet, alias a figge for my Godsonne
- Jerónimo Osório – De rebus Emmanuelis
- George Puttenham – The Arte of English Poesie
- Luis Barahona de Soto – Primera parte de la Angélica
- George Whetstone – ''English Myrror''
Drama
- Anonymous – Locrine
- Miguel de Cervantes – La conquista de Jerusalén por Godofre de Bullón
- Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe – ''Dido, Queen of Carthage''
Poetry
- Luis Barahona de Soto – Primera parte de la Angélica
- William Warner – Albion's England
Births
- April 12 – John Ford, English dramatist
- Unknown dates
- *Antony Hickey, Irish Franciscan theologian
- *Francisco de Moncada, Spanish diplomat, soldier and historian
- *Lady Mary Wroth, English poet
Deaths
- March 20 – Richard Maitland, Scottish statesman and historian
- April 8 – Martin Chemnitz, German Lutheran theologian
- June 1 – Martín de Azpilcueta, Spanish theologian
- June 28 – Primož Trubar, author of first printed book in Slovene
- August 1 – Richard Maitland, Scottish poet
- September 20 – Chidiock Tichborne, English poet and conspirator
- October 17 – Sir Philip Sidney, English poet and critic
- Unknown dates
- *Antonio Agustín y Albanell, Spanish historian
- *Birbal, Indian poet and wit
- *Giulio Cesare Brancaccio, Italian writer and entertainer
- *Sur, Hindu devotional poet