Peter Smalle

Peter Smalle was a priest of the Church of England and a minor poet. He graduated B.C.L. at St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1602, and became rector of Pinnock, Gloucestershire, in 1604. He was the author of Mans Hay or a Moneths minde.

Life Peter Smalle, born in 1578 or the end of 1577, was a native of Berkshire. He matriculated from St. John's College, Oxford, on 5 November 1596, and graduated B.C.L. on 17 December 1602. It is prefaced by verses 'to all Gentlemen Students and Schollers', 'to the Reader the Authors Resolution', 'to the Right Worshipfull my most loving good friend Sir Henry Blomar of Hatherup in the county of Gloucester, knt.', and finally by a single stanza 'Ad eundem'. According to Carlyle, "The poet not only shows a keen appreciation of natural beauty, but describes contemporary fashions with quaint vividness." Copies of the book are in the British Library and Bodleian Library.