Samuel Harsnett
Samuel Harsnett | |
---|---|
Archbishop of York | |
![]() | |
Province | Province of York |
Diocese | Diocese of York |
Installed | 1629 |
Term ended | 1631 |
Predecessor | George Montaigne |
Successor | Richard Neile |
Other post(s) | Bishop of Chichester (1609–1619) Bishop of Norwich (1619–1628) |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1583[1] |
Personal details | |
Born | Samuel Halsnoth June 1561 Colchester, Essex |
Died | 25 May 1631 Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire |
Buried | St Mary's Church, Chigwell |
Nationality | British |
Denomination | Anglicanism |
Parents | William & Agnes Halsnoth |
Spouse | Thomasine Harsnett |
Children | Thomasine Harsnett |
Alma mater | Pembroke College, Cambridge |
Samuel Harsnett (or Harsnet) (June 1561 – May 1631), born Samuel Halsnoth, was an English writer on religion and Archbishop of York from 1629.
Early life
Born in St Botolph's parish,
Academic career
In March 1587 Harsnett became headmaster of Colchester Royal Grammar School.[4] In recognition of his achievements, the school has had, since 1908, a school house bearing his name.[6] Preferring his studies at Cambridge University to the position, he resigned his office in November 1588, disliking the "painful trade of teaching",[1] and returned to Pembroke Hall where he studied divinity,[4] gaining his BD c.1590.[1]
He re-entered himself into Pembroke Hall,
Ministerial career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Chigwell_School_1904.jpg/300px-Chigwell_School_1904.jpg)
In 1592 he served the office of
In 1598 he was promoted, becoming the
Having been Bishop of Chichester since 13 November 1609,[1] on 8 August 1619, he became Bishop of Norwich, resigning the living of Stisted he had held since 1609.[1] He spent most of his time when absent from his city at the bishop's palace in Ludham, which he rebuilt after a fire and consecrated a chapel for divine worship.[7][8] In May 1624 he was charged before Parliament with high-handedness by the citizens of Norwich and in that same year he also persecuted the Puritans in Great Yarmouth, leading to a complaint by them to King Charles I in 1627.[1]
On 26 November 1628, he was elected
Death and commemoration
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Samuel_Harsnett_gri_33125008701571_0010.jpg/220px-Samuel_Harsnett_gri_33125008701571_0010.jpg)
Towards the end of his life he fell ill, signing his will on 13 February 1631, to which he signed a
Hic iacet Samuell Harsnett quondam vicarius huius ecclesiæ primo indignus episcopus Cicestrensis deindignior Norwicencis demum indignissim' archiepiscop' Eboraceñ qui obiit XXV die maii anno dñi: 1631
Here lies Samuel Harsnett once vicar of this church, first unworthy bishop of Chichester, then more unworthy bishop of Norwich, finally most unworthy archbishop of York; he died on the 25th day in May in the year of our Lord 1631.
There are two changes from the inscription he requested in his will – his name is spelt as "Samuell", not "Samuel" and "deindignior" should have been "dein indignior".[1]
In his home town of Colchester he is commemorated by a statue on the
His collection of books was bequeathed to the borough of Colchester for the use of local clergy.[4] Harsnett's library now comprises 839 volumes with 20 incunabula and is in the Albert Sloman Library of the University of Essex.[10][11]
Religious views
Harsnett is noted for his sceptical attitude towards demons and witchcraft. As the chaplain to Bishop Bancroft, Harsnett was commissioned to write a treatise condemning the 1590s exorcisms of
In 1603, he wrote another book, A Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures, published by order of the
As a member of England's religious authority, Harsnett's sceptical attitudes, divided equally between
Harsnett was a strident anti-
Writings
Harsnett is known to have written eight works, which are as follows:
- Nemo necessario damnatur, a treatise written against Calvinism, which may have been his BD thesis;
- De Necessitate baptismi;
- Sermon against predestination, on the text of Ezekiel chapter 33, verse 11; preached at St Paul's Cross in 1584;
- A Discovery of the Fraudulent practises of Iohn Darrel, Bacheler of Artes, in his proceedings concerning the Pretended Possession and dispossession of William Somers at Nottingham; of Thomas Darling, the boy of Burton at Caldwell; and of Katherine Wright at Mansfield, & Whittlington; and of his dealings with one Mary Couper at Nottingham, detecting in some sort the deceitfull trade in these latter dayes of casting out Deuils, London, John Wolfe, 1599;
- A Declaration of egregious Popish Impostures, to with-draw the harts of her Maiesties Subiects from their allegeance, and from the truth of Christian Religion professed in England, under the pretence of casting out deuils. Pracised by Edmunds, alias Weston a Iesuit, and diuers Romish Priests his wicked associates. Whereunto are annexed the Copies of the Confessions, and Examinations of the parties themselves, taken upon oath before her Maiesties Commissioners, for causes Ecclesiasticall, James Roberts, Barbican, 1603; with a new title pages, London, 1605;
- Defence of Answer against a certain Reply concerning Usury, dated after 1604;
- Consideration of the better settling of Church government, presented by Laud to the King, and sent by the King to the Archbishop of Canterbury in December 1629;
- Instructions concerning certain articles to be observed and put in execution by the several Bishops in his Province, Lambeth Library.
Notes and references
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Stott, Godfrey (1960). A History of Chigwell School. W. S. Cowell Limited. pp. 170–7.
- ^ a b c Hughson, David; Stratford, William; Stratford, J. (1809). London, Being an Accurate History and Description. W. Stratford. pp. 293–4.
- ^ a b c d "Brass of the Month: Chigwell, Essex". The Monumental Brass Society. 31 October 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Chalmers, Alexander (1814). The General Biographical Dictionary. J. Nichols. pp. 188–9.
- ^ "Harsnet, Samuel (HRST579S)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ Martin, Geoffrey Haward (1947). The History of Colchester Royal Grammar School, 1539–1947. Borough of Colchester.
- ^ Britton, John; Wedlake Brayley, Edward; Nightingale, Joseph; Norris Brewer, James; Evans, John; Hodgson, John; Harris, John; Laird, Francis Charles; Shoberl, Frederic; Bigland, John; Rees, Thomas; Hood, Thomas (1810). The Beauties of England and Wales, Or, Delineations, Topographical, Historical, and Descriptive, of Each County. Thomas Maiden. p. 31.
- ^ Historic England. "Ludham Hall including attached chapel (Grade II*) (1171892)". National Heritage List for England.
- ^ "Virtual Tour of Colchester". 22 January 2005. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
- ^ Galligan, Francesca. "The Library of Archbishop Samuel Harsnett: A Report" (PDF). University of Essex. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Wyvern : News : November 2003". University of Essex. 5 January 2002. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
- ISBN 978-0851157979.
- ISBN 978-0-485-89005-1.
- ^ Harris 2014, p. 209.
- ^ Pearce 2004, p. 1. [...] for some of these [Modern] historians, Harsnett can be described as nothing less than the quintessential Arminian. Nicholas Tyacke positioned Harsnett in the vanguard of English Arminianism, or anti-Calvinism as he interchangeably terms Arminianism. For Conrad Russell, Harsnett ranked alongside William Laud, Lancelot Andrewes and Richard Neile, as among "the cream of the English Arminians". Julian Davies went even further, asserting that Laud, in drawing up the Royal Instructions of 1629, toned down the Arminian tenor of Harsnett's 'Conditions for the better Settling of Church Government', which effectively provided the first draft of the Instructions, and concluded, therefore, that Harsnett was "far more anti-Calvinist" than even Laud himself.
Sources
- Harris, Tim (2014). Rebellion: Britain's First Stuart Kings, 1567-1642. Oxford: Oxford university press.
- Pearce, Michael (2004). The career and works of Samuel Harsnett, Archbishop of York (DPhil thesis). Oxford: University of Oxford.
External links
- Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. .
- Image of Harsnett's epitaph