Edward Nicholas
Sir Edward Nicholas | |
---|---|
Born | 4 April 1593 Wiltshire, England |
Died | 1669 West Horsley, England |
Spouse | Jane Jay |
Sir Edward Nicholas (4 April 1593 – 1669) was an English officeholder and politician who served as
Life
Nicholas was the eldest son of John Nicholas of a
After studying law at the
- The wisest king did wonder when he spide
- The nobles march on foot, their vassals ride
- His majestie may wonder now to see
- Some that would needs be king as well as he.
From 1635 to 1641 Nicholas was one of the clerks in ordinary to the council. In this situation, he had much business to transact in connection with the levy of ship-money. When in 1641 King Charles I went to Scotland, he remained in London and was responsible for keeping the king informed of the proceedings of parliament. When Charles returned to London, Nicholas was knighted and appointed a privy councillor and a Secretary of State, in which capacity he attended the king while the court was at Oxford and carried out the business of the Treaty of Uxbridge.[1]
Throughout the Civil War, Nicholas was one of Charles's wisest and most loyal advisers. He arranged the details of the king's surrender to the Scots on 5 May 1646, although he does not appear to have advised or even to have approved of the step. He also had the duty of treating for the capitulation of Oxford on 24 June 1646, which included permission for Nicholas himself to retire abroad with his family. He went to France, being recommended by the king to the confidence of the Prince of Wales.[1]
In 1648 Nicholas wrote a pamphlet, An Apology for the Honorable Nation of the Jews, which called for the readmission of the Jews to England. It is one of the few examples of pro-admission writing that does not also call for the conversion of the Jews and is cited by Menasseh Ben Israel in his Humble Addresses, although Cecil Roth wonders whether the pamphlet might actually have been written by a Jew.[2]
After the king's death, Nicholas remained on the continent, concerting measures on behalf of the exiled Charles II with
... I conceive his Majesty should do well to set a good price on his head and all the heads of the chief commanders in Ireland and also in Scotland ...[3]
Nicholas returned to England at the
Family
Nicholas married Jane Jay, a daughter of Henry Jay, an alderman of London and had several sons and daughters. His eldest son was
His younger brother Matthew Nicholas (1594–1661) was successively Dean of Bristol, canon of Westminster and Dean of St Paul's.[1] His country seat was at Sunninghill in Berkshire.
Correspondence
The collected correspondences of Nicholas were published in three volumes by the Royal Historical Society in 1920.
Arms
The arms of Nicholas’s father were: Argent, a fess wavy between three ravens sable, a differencing of the arms of Nicholas of Winterborne Earls, Wiltshire.[4]
In 1649, augmented arms were granted to Sir Edward Nicholas, blazoned Argent, on a cross gules an imperial crown or, which he bore in the 1st & 4th quarters, with his paternal arms in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.[4]
References
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2019) |
- ^ a b c d e f g h public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Nicholas, Sir Edward". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 656. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Scult, Mel (1978). Millennial Expectations and Jewish Liberties: A Study of the Efforts to Convert the Jews in Britain, Up to the Mid Nineteenth Century. Brill Archive. pps.27.
- ^ 'The Nicholas Papers, Vol IV' p.13, London: Offices of the Society, 1920
- ^ a b Burke, Sir Bernard, The General Armory, London, 1884, p.732
Further reading
- Donald Nicholas (1955), Mr Secretary Nicholas (1593–1669), His Life and Letters
- Shaw, William Arthur (1894). . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 40. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 430–435.