No person proposed to the early Royal Society has a less certain biography than Giles Rawlins. A ‘Mr. Rawlins’ was proposed as a candidate for election on 26 December 1660 in a group of seven. The other members of this group were Robert Boyle, Henry Oldenburg, John Denham, Elias Ashmole, John Evelyn and Nathaniel Henshaw. But whereas these six other men are greater or lesser luminaries of the Society, Rawlins is a blank. R. E. W. Maddison in 1960 could only ‘suggest’ his likely identity; and Michael Hunter in The Royal Society and its Fellows (1982 and 1994) went no further than Maddison.¹

Following my discovery in the National Library of Ireland of Rawlins's only autograph letter, it is possible for the first time to confirm his identity. Further, this discovery allows the reconstruction of the rest of Rawlins's life: his upbringing as the son of a minor diplomat; his work in the Interregnum as a cross-Channel royalist messenger; his consequent rise and reward in the Duke of York's household; and his death in one of the most notorious duels of the Restoration.

推荐给早期皇家学会的任何人的传记都没有贾尔斯·罗林斯（Giles Rawlins）那么确定。一个'先生。1660 年 12 月 26 日，罗林斯被提议作为七人小组的候选人参加选举。该小组的其他成员是罗伯特·博伊尔、亨利·奥尔登堡、约翰·德纳姆、埃利亚斯·阿什莫尔、约翰·伊夫林和纳撒尼尔·亨肖。但是，尽管这六个人或多或少是该协会的杰出人物，但罗林斯却是一片空白。1960 年的 REW Maddison 只能“暗示”他可能的身份；皇家学会及其研究员（1982 年和 1994 年）中的迈克尔·亨特（Michael Hunter ）仅比麦迪逊（Maddison）走得更远。¹

继我在爱尔兰国家图书馆发现罗林斯唯一的亲笔信后，第一次有可能确认他的身份。此外，这一发现使罗林斯的余生得以重建：他作为一名未成年外交官之子的成长经历；他在 Interregnum 担任跨海峡保皇派信使的工作；他在约克公爵家中的地位和奖励；以及他在维新时期最臭名昭著的决斗之一中的死亡。