Thomas Carve, or Carew (1590-1672?)

A priest from Co. Tipperary who seems initially to have been stationed in the diocese of Leighlin.  Carve identified himself as a descendant of the distinguished Carew family, though this was questioned by his opponent Anthony Bruodin, who believed his surname was Carran – Carve acknowledged that the Irish for his name was O Carrain.  He had close ties with the Butler family, and he travelled to Germany for four years as chaplain to Walter Butler, who was then colonel of an Irish regiment in the army of Ferdinand II of Austria.  He returned to Ireland for some time, but travelled again to Germany in 1630, remaining in the entourage of Walter Butler for a further two years.  After another short return home, he left for Germany in 1633, and was still there the following year when he heard of the death of Walter Butler, at which point he switched his services as chaplain to Walter Devereux, Butler’s former right-hand-man.  He travelled continually during the wars, and in 1640 was appointed chaplain-general of all the English, Scotch, and Irish forces in the Imperial army.  In 1643 he moved to Vienna in his capacity as notary apostolic and vicar-choral of St Stephen’s Cathedral.  His writings include his important account of his travels and engagements during the Thirty Years’ War (n.1) and his Lyra, a historical work which aroused the savage censure of the Irish Franciscan Anthony Bruodin in his Propugnaculum (see entry for Bruodin), to which Carve responded in turn in his Responsio veridica.

Works

1.            Itinerarium R.D. Thomae Carue Tripperariensis..Cum Historia Facti Butleri, Gordon, Lesley & Aliorum, (Mainz, 1639), 12mo; 1st ed of pt 2, 1641; pt 3, Speyer 1646.

2.         Rerum Germanicum ab anno 1617 ad annum 1641 Gestarum Epitome (1641), 12mo.

3.         Lyra Seu Anacephalaeosis Hibernica in Qua de Exordio, Seu Origine, Nomine, Moribus, Ritibusque Gentis Hibernicae succincte tractatur; cui quoque accessere Annales ejusdem Hiberniae nec non Rerum gestarum per Europam ab anno 1148 usque ad annum 1650, (Vienna, 1651), Quarto.

4.            Galateus, Seu de Morum Elegantia, Lib. 12 (Nordhausen, 1669).

5.            Enchiridion Apologeticum Contra Sordidorum Mendaciorum Faraginem RP Antonij Bruodini (Nuremberg, 1670), 12mo.

6.            Responsio Veridica Ad Illotum Libellum Cui Nomen Anatomicum Examen P Antonii Bruodini Hiberni..Sub Ementito Nomine P. Cornelii O Molloni Editum (Sulzbach, 1672), 12mo.